Should De La Hoya Get An Oscar?

Day 5 has now fallen off the calender and the countdown continues. So far we’ve looked at a number of topics about Oscar Dela Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. ranging from their lives away from the ring to their greatest triumphs in it. Today and tomorrow we appease the haters and critical members of the media as we look at speculation about the boxers the two fighters that bring obvious taint to their names. This is not an effort to cast stones, but rather uncover certain things about these two fighters that help us understand why they remain human, despite the larger than life image they carry. So, with no further ado, let us first grab the proverbial ‘shovel’ and dig directly into the mind of the “Golden Boy”. Is he an authentic Champion or is it all merely an act? Read on to find out…. Sunny Smile, Shady Person? Oscar Dela Hoya has gotten the media’s benefit of the doubt on many occasions regarding many different things as he continues to live up his reputation as Boxing’s “Golden Boy”. Obviously great in many ways, most of his opponents continue to dislike him for what’s viewed as a bit of fan ‘trickery’. Many question what makes Oscar so good? Some say his talent, other’s find it to be his power; And not his power in his hands, but more so his overruling power. The power that gives him the right to dictate terms of fights when they seem to benefit no one but him. One incident that comes to mind was his decision to take away the stinging ‘pop’ of a much stronger opponent, as he refused to allow Fernando Vargas to wear anything other than a 10 oz glove in their fight as opposed to the thin layered, heavy hitting 8 oz gloves. This was written off by some members of the media as basically a non-issue. In many other fights he took away the notable strengths of his opponents but none like what he has gotten away with for his upcoming bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Stipulations for this match includes everything from a much smaller ring size which obviously is to slow a faster boxer from having room to escape him, to the type of gloves worn, to the mandatory weight and of course the money. Never have I, in many years of watching boxing heard a fighter demand that his opponent come in at a certain weight. The weight limit is set for 154lbs, but Oscar has it contractually written that Floyd CANNOT come in on fight night weighing less than 151lbs which is obviously a desire to make a slimmer, quicker man heavier and more sluggish on his feet. Why a man who’s confident in his skills would go out of his way to gain leverage is beyond me but Oscar made it very clear that he wouldn’t take the fight without Mayweather Jr. agreeing to everything beforehand. This affirms that the man in boxing who appears untouchable plans to stay that way, even in a sport known for the exact opposite. Oscar Dela ‘Benjamins’? Now it’s time to talk money. If we were to translate the name of Oscar Dela Hoya, it would read Oscar of the ‘Pit’. If we were to suddenly go silent and listen to the rumblings around him, it would further translate the fact that buried somewhere in that ‘pit’ is an awful lot of money, as most believe that boxing’s “Golden Boy” is nothing other than a fighter facing the twilight of his career and trying very hard to pad his bank account before a near exit from the sport. Kinda hard to see how people can come to this conclusion considering he has one of the biggest hearts in the sport, but when you look at a few details in particular things suddenly appear to become more clear. Two years in a row Oscar has strategically targeted his ONLY FIGHTS OF THE RESPECTIVE YEARS on Cinco De Mayo, a famous Mexican holiday where people’s only plan is to be festive and knock down more brews than they could handle. Now granted he is a promoter and setting up a fight on this day is quite a marketing bomb, but that brings up the second aspect of this argument. He demanded a certain purse level which is believed to be upwards of $30M for his upcoming fight with Mayweather…and that’s only as the fighter. As the promoter, he’ll rake in tons more. Imagine Don King and Mike Tyson being the same person. All of a sudden when learning that Oscar stands to make upward of $30M for the fight, plus, plus, plus, it’s alot easier to understand why people have view him as a man who’s only in search of the Benjamin’s. This isn’t to say that he won’t come to win on May 5th, but even if he loses, he wins, and in a mighty big way. Not bad for a guy who is known as the “Golden Boy”. These two issues surrounding the “Golden Boy” are for the reader’s to debate. Tomorrow’s edition of the countdown will take a look at Floyd Mayweather Jr. in: Floyd Or Fraud? A piece taking a look at the fact that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has taken an easy road to his mega-fight, as opposed to facing potential up and comer’s who stood a real shot at stealing his thunder.

About Tim Starks

Tim is the founder of The Queensberry Rules and co-founder of The Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (http://www.tbrb.org). He lives in Washington, D.C. He has written for the Guardian, Economist, New Republic, Chicago Tribune and more.

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