TalkingBoxing News
DLH Camp Notes & Pics
MON April 24 - ‘The Golden Boy’ Oscar De La Hoya is rigorously preparing for his May 6 WBC super welterweight championship against Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga at the Wilfredo Gomez Gym in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
De La Hoya is using an extreme and “back to the basics” training regime to prepare for the unpredictable Mayorga. The extreme training drills include intense speed mitt drills, exhausting speed bag interval training, inverted gravity boot sit ups and abdominal strengthening exercises. He is already on weight for the fight and has demonstrated superb conditioning and focus symbolically represented by his nearly shaven head and serious demeanor. The Golden Boy is back!
A day in camp life looks likes this—
5 am – Runs 5 miles everyday.
7:00 to 8:30 am—Calisthetics (push ups, sit ups, etc.) Chops wood for half hour.
9:00 am – Breakfast (egg whites, oatmeal, and fruit.)
10:00am to 2:00pm—Rest
3:00 to 4:00 pm – Family time with newborn son (rejuvenates the spirit)
6:00-8:00 pm. Boxing. School is in session with Mr. Floyd Mayweather Sr.
TEAM DE LA HOYA QUOTES - Oscar De La Hoya, Trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr., Second Joel De La Hoya Jr. and Conditioner Rob Garcia (Quotes and Photos (taken from April 19 media day in Puerto Rico.)
Oscar De La Hoya
“This fight is very important to me because I want to become a world champion again and I want to retire as a world champion. That being said, I did not want to fight 
an easy fight so I chose a very dangerous opponent in Ricardo Mayorga. I knew he would bring out the best in me”
“I have worked very, very hard in training camp to show up on May 6 in tremendous shape with no excuses to give the fans what they want and to be ready for anything that Ricardo Mayorga can throw at me”
“If Ricardo Mayorga has been training with chickens, then he is in big trouble because this fight is no joke. I am very serious and for all of the remarks that Mayorga has made about my family, my wife, my heritage and slapping me on the back of my head while I wasn’t looking…he is going to pay. I am not much of a talker outside of the ring. I am going to do my talking inside of the ring on May 6 and he is going get what he deserves for saying what he has said.”
Floyd, Sr. Mayweather - Trainer:
“This is one of the best camps that we have ever had with Oscar. The long layoff has made him hungry, focused and determined to put a beating on Mayorga come 
May 6. It is very difficult to train for Ricardo Mayorga because he is so unpredictable and sneaky. He will shove you, punch you in the back of the head and throw you on the ground. This is what makes this fight so risky for Oscar. He has never fought anyone like this before.”
“There is a lot of bad blood between these guys and Oscar’s biggest challenge is going to be to stick to the game plan and pick him apart early to set up for a knock out later in the fight. This is going to be very difficult for Oscar because it is going to be very tempting for him to go toe to toe early with Mayorga because he wants to put a beating on him.”
Joel, Jr. De La Hoya – 2nd
“We’ve been working on a lot of different things in sparring to help Oscar get ready for Mayorga’s unconventional style. The key to this is bring in different sparring partners on a regular basis to keep Oscar always guessing in practice because that is very similar to what the fight is going to be like.”
Rob Garcia – Strength and Conditioning Coach / Nutritionist
“Oscar’s body has responded extremely well to the time off. In many ways it has been good for him. Here we are 2 weeks out from the fight and Oscar’s already 
making weight. The guy is a work horse and is willing to push himself hard day in and day out and that makes all the difference in the world.”
“At 33 years old, strength and conditioning training is done differently than when you are twenty-five years old. We have introduced many new routines into this camp that seems to have really motivated and excited Oscar about being back in action again. He seems as fast, strong and fit as ever:”
Tickets for De La Hoya vs. Mayorga, “Danger Zone,” priced at $1250, $950, $750, $350 and $150 are on sale now at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office and are also available at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (Tower Records/WOW!, Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Robinsons-May stores and Ritmo Latino). Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also will be available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
The De La Hoya vs. Mayorga pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on May 6 has a suggested retail price of $49.95, will be distributed domestically by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 56 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in high-definition television for those viewers who are HDTV capable. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For your daily De La Hoya vs. Mayorga fight week updates, log onto www.HBOPPV.com.
Someone's "0" Must Go
MON April 24 -
Undefeated featherweight prospect Manuel “Manos Del Muerte” Perez has signed on the dotted line to face fellow undefeated prospect Rashiem Jefferson on May 5th at the New Alhambra in Philadelphia. They will face off for Jefferson’s WNBC featherweight title (The WBC‘s national title). The bout will be promoted by Power Productions.
Perez (6-0, 2kos) is coming in on the heels of 8months of inactivity, with his last win coming in September of last year. Perez stepped up 3 weight classes to fight Felix Rios on a few days notice. Perez showed the heart of a champion in getting up from the canvass in the fifth round to finish strong and earn a split decision victory over the power punching Rios.
“I felt I did O.K. in the Rios fight but I could have done a lot of things better. I would rate my performance about a C. I think I could have controlled the tempo a little better and I also fell back into some old habits we have been working to change in the gym. Lots of things happened in the ring that night, that I hadn’t experienced before, but that’s what will make me grow as a fighter.”
Jefferson (9-0-1, 5kos) on the other hand has been very busy fighting five times in ‘05 and already once this year. In his last bout he stepped up to the 10 rounders and won a lopsided unanimous decision over Elvis Martinez to capture the WNBC title.
Both fighters have extensive amateur backgrounds with Perez winning countless state and regional titles. The highlights of his amateur career include making it to the quarter final round of the 2002 National Golden Gloves and winning the Ringside National Tournament in 2001.
“I had a real good run as an amateur and learned a lot. I do feel that I am built for the pros, always knowing that I was a pace fighter and sometimes that would affect me in the amateurs but it will only benefit me as a pro. The experience of having a little over 100 amateur bouts with only 14 losses will help me as a pro because I have seen a lot of styles in all shapes and sizes and I will have many more rounds as a pro to figure out and break down the guy in front of me.”
Jefferson’s amateur career was stellar as well fighting elite competition in many national tournaments and winning the gold at the 2002 National Golden Gloves at 118lbs.
Regardless of the amount of pro experience each fighter has this is championship boxing between prospects at it’s best. This is definitely the type of fight you would expect to find on Showtime’s “ShoBox: The Next Generation”. Two young, hungry boxers willing to put it all on the line to prove themselves to the world.
“I think Jefferson is a very good fighter and that’s exactly why I always wanted to fight him in the amateurs, because he was the best in his division, at least in his weight class.”
“He is a very fast handed fighter that likes to throw combinations. My prediction and plan in this fight is to weather the storm in the first couple of rounds and take him into the deep water of the later rounds where I know I can finish him off. So yes, I am looking for a later round knock out and if not, then a convincing decision.”
Trevor Wittman, Manuel’s trainer, had this to say about the match up:
Manuel is Colorado’s future champion who was built for the pros. He is unlike most young fighters that I have trained because he takes his training serious. Most young fighters want to enjoy outside influences and with Manuel, his first priority is his family and then comes boxing. He works 6o hours a week a the 9-5 job and then comes in to the gym for a 2-3 hour work out. The amazing thing is after a 10 hour day on the job he still comes to the gym with a champion’s work ethic. We run the mountains every weekend and he runs at 5 am each weekday morning before going to work. I think this fight is going to be a great match-up with Jefferson having the faster hands but Manuel being the bigger, stronger man in the ring that night. We are not going to try to match Jefferson’s speed but use his speed against him, by countering him as he steps back after his fast combinations, and continue to break his body down from the opening bell. I predict a ninth round knock out in this one.”
Two undefeated prospects will enter the ring on May 5th, only one will keep his perfect record intact.
Darchinyan To Defend
MON April 24 - In a terrific matchup of unbeaten flyweights, International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion Vic “The Raging Bull’’ Darchinyan will defend his crown against IBF No. 8 contender Luis Maldonado Saturday, June 3, 2006, on SHOWTIME.
The 12-round world title fight, which was announced by SHOWTIME Sports & Event Programming General Manager Ken Hershman, will precede the highly anticipated rubber match between World Boxing Council (WBC) Lightweight Champion Diego Corrales and former two-time WBC titleholder Jose Luis Castillo. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING world championship doubleheader from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, will begin at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).
Darchinyan (25-0, 20 KOs), of Sydney, Australia, by way of Vanadvor, Armenia, is coming off of a sensational eighth-round TKO over Diosdado Gabi March 3, 2006, on the SHOWTIME boxing series, “ShoBox: The New Generation.” A pint-sized powerhouse armed with bone-crunching power, Darchinyan is one of the hardest pound-for-pound hitters in boxing. The Lord of the Flys has won seven consecutive bouts by knockout. This will be the southpaw’s fourth title defense. Darchinyan also holds the International Boxing Organization (IBO) 112-pound belt.
Maldonado (33-0-1, 25 KOs), of Mexicali, Mexico, had a 33-fight winning streak end in his last outing when he boxed to a 12-round draw against slick southpaw boxer Cristian Mijares in a flyweight elimination bout on Feb. 24, 2006. An aggressive, offensive-minded slugger who makes for great fights and never takes a backward step, Maldonado will be the naturally bigger man against Darchinyan. The unbeaten crowd pleaser, who also is the World Boxing Organization (WBO) No. 6 contender, will make his second United States start.
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