This thread was started at the request of loyal blogger MATMTWTBAG, who is an admitted Amat fan. He asked for my thoughts and I will give them and you can share yours.
BOXING COLUMNIST ROBERT MORALES’ EARLY THOUGHTS: “I think Oscar is going to win. I think he’s going to stop him late, because any time someone has crossed the line and talked as much smack as Mayweather has, De La Hoya has stopped that fighter.
in reference to Mayweather’s smack … “De La Hoya told me today, and I asked him straight out, of those three guys (Ricardo Mayorga, Fernando Vargas and Mayweather), who has been the worst? He said Mayweather, by far. I saw the look in Oscar’s eye today, and believe me, he’s going to win this fight.
how it’s going to happen … “He’s (De La Hoya) still very fast. Mayweather may be faster, but Oscar is still a hard hitter. He’s going to be aggressive, yet patient at the same time. When the perfect time comes to crack Mayweather with that left hook, he’ll land it and drop Mayweather. I don’t think Mayweather can hurt Oscar.”
ARAM’S THOUGHTS ABOUT ROBERT MORALES: First off, I should tell you that Morales is an Edgewood High alum. He’s also the best boxing writer in the country. You won’t find anyone better. He garners a certain respect from the boxers, and I’m talking about the biggest of the big, that other writers just can’t get. Morales now works out of the Long Beach Press-Telegram, and I miss our boxing conversations when he was in this office. His opinion is priceless.
ARAM’S THOUGHTS: First of all, I’ve been saying for a quite a while that May 5 is going to be the best sports day of the year. It’s Kentucky Derby day, the fifth weekend of baseball season and last but certainly not least, De La Hoya-Mayweather. Not to mention everything is set in the backdrop of it being Cinco De Mayo on a Saturday!!!! I hate to see what my house is going to look like at midnight.
I haven’t been this excited about a fight since I knew Lewis would kick Tyson’s ass a few years back. In terms of hype and setting, this could be the biggest fight in quite some time. You can be certain it will shatter all Pay-Per View records and anyone involved is going to get rich.
RACE CARD – You’d have to be a fool to not know, that for whatever stupid reason, African Americans and Latinos haven’t been getting along. You can bet that the promoters of this fight will use this as a very strong selling point. I think it’s safe to say this is very much going to be viewed the same way Holmes-Cooney was in the early 80s – substitute white for Mexican.
I don’t know if it’s only a SoCal thing, or what. I don’t know if it’s really been handed down from the jail cells of black and hispanic gang leaders, but it’s definitely going down. And now you have De La Hoya vs. Mayweather. Never before has De La Hoya appeared more Mexican to his fans. I have both black and hispanic friends. My Mexicano friends who used to root for De La Hoya to get beat because he wasn’t “true to the game” in their eyes, are all of a sudden HUGE De La Hoya fans.You wouldn’t believe the things they said about De La Hoya before he fought Chavez. I’m not Mexican, but my girlfriend is, several of my buddies are and so on. I’m just wondering, if Mayweather beats De La Hoya, is Cinco De Mayo ruined?
This fight is so great that it shouldn’t be about race, but it will be.
ANALYSIS: I actually like De La Hoya to win the fight. I think he has to knock Pretty Boy out to win, because you can’t beat him in a technical fight. But, I kinda question who Pretty Boy has fought. I thought that Zab Judah, who isn’t that strong, actually held his own for much of his fight against Mayweather. I don’t think beating Gatti is anything special. Meanwhile, you look at De La Hoya and see nothing but great wins AND losses against GREAT fighters. I think De La Hoya is stronger, fast enough and will be very inspired. I don’t think Pretty Boy can knock him out and his only shot is to out-point him. I’ll take the +200 with De La Hoya.
