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BIRTH OF A BOXING FAN
-My own story of how this obsession came about.
ERIC 'THE PRINCE' MARTIN
1958-2007
-My tribute to my friend and former Bay Area
boxing great
-My own story of how this obsession came about.
ERIC 'THE PRINCE' MARTIN
1958-2007
-My tribute to my friend and former Bay Area
boxing great
Two boxing experts that I highly respect are picking Oscar De La Hoya to knock out Manny
Pacquiao tomorrow night.
Initially, I felt the same way. When talks of this match-up began I thought it was a farce because of
the size differential. Then the fight was signed and the hype began. And I started to think of ways
that Pacquiao could win. So I confess I may be getting caught up in all the hype. What was once
viewed as a farce can now be viewed as a highly competitive match-up.
Delahoya is listed as a -$1.65 favorite. Pacquiao is the +$1.35 underdog. So for every $100 bucks
you bet on Pacquiao you’ll get back $135. The oddsmakers have gotten caught up in the hype as
well making this a relatively even match, odds wise.
Or have they? Is this indeed a competitive fight?
The most intriguing question in this bout is how much does size really matter? After Sugar Ray
Leonard knocked out Don Lalonde in 1988 there was talk about him facing the pound for pound best
at that time, Julio Cesar Chavez. Leonard immediately dismissed that possibility as a “joke.” He was
probably right. Chavez did not have a fighting style that translated well to going up in weight. Body
shots, outworking the opponent on inside, the “Mexican” style of breaking a fighter down would not
have worked against the elite in higher weight classes. But fighters who have had success moving up
in weight are invariably those who have speed as their primary weapon. Sugar Ray Leonard was
able to outpoint the bigger Marvin Hagler and stop the much bigger Don LaLonde. Floyd
Mayweather Jr. annexed the Jr. Lightweight division all the way up to Jr. Middleweight. Vinny
Pazienza was a lightweight who came up to super middleweight (30 pounds!) to stop Dana
Rosenblatt. Michael Spinks was a light heavyweight who decisioned long time champ Larry Holmes
by being faster and peskier. These men had similar weight disadvantages that Pacquiao faces. But
they didn’t for the most part, have the disadvantage Pacquiao faces in height.
The height and reach of Delahoya will be the biggest problem Pacquiao will have to solve. The
biggest fighter Pacquiao ever faced was Erik “El Terrible” Morales. Morales was 5’8” and skinny as
a rail.
He is also the last fighter to beat Pacquiao.
In their first match, Morales fought brilliantly and took the “Pacman” to school. Morales boxed, used
his jab and kept the destructive Pacquiao at bay. In the subsequent rematches, Morales aged a bit
and was dismantled in ten and third rounds respectively. Nonetheless, that first bout no doubt
provides the blueprint of success against Pacquiao. Critics may argue that Pacquiao has improved
significantly since then and I agree. But he would have had his hands full against the primed Erik
Morales on that night even in his current state of near pugilistic perfection.
Delahoya, on the other hand, has faced numerous small fighters during his ascent. Delahoya always
had the size advantage during his prime until he moved to welterweight. But even during his
welterweight title winning effort against Pernell Whitaker, it was Delahoya who had advantages in
height and reach. I thought Delahoya handled the slick southpaw Whitaker nicely but…That was
over ten years ago. And Delahoya has slowed considerably since then. The prime Delahoya would
have outworked the passive Mayweather Jr. during their superfight. In his last bout, Delahoya could
not hurt a much smaller Steve Forbes (nothing is made out of the fact that Forbes himself started his
career at 130 pounds). Clearly, Delahoya has slowed. And Pacquiao is demon quick.
But the intangibles, in my opinion, actually favor Oscar. I define the “intangibles” as “who wants it
more.” However, in this case it is a matter of “who needs it more”. If Delahoya loses, his legacy is
shot down a peg or two. He will forever be remembered as the guy who was in one super fight after
another and always found a way to lose. Pacquiao, on the other hand, has nothing to lose and
everything to gain. Even if he loses and loses valiantly, his stock goes up. If he wins…Shit…They
may make a giant golden statue of him in front of all those Catholic churches in the Phillipines.
So the big question is can a great little man defeat a good and older bigger man. There are two
scenarios I see here. Pacquiao wades in and gets picked apart by the bigger and stronger Delahoya.
Pacquiao is hurt every time he engages and gets on his bicycle. Delahoya then bounces him up and
down the canvas like a basketball en route to a merciful stoppage.
Or I see Pacquiao outworking Delahoya. The difference in age and speed is all too apparent and the
Pac Man turns it up, round after round…His quickness is too much and he nails Delahoya with
smacking left crosses throughout the bout en route to a decision victory.
I won’t make a pick here as it would strictly be a guess. This is one of those bouts wherein I have to
see the first round first. It is just a feeling I get when fighters are feeling each other out, you can tell
who is stronger and faster. If size does matter, it will be evident by the end of the first three
minutes. Too bad you can’t make a bet after watching round one, eh?
Okay, fine. Here's my pick. Pacquiao by split decision.
Pacquiao tomorrow night.
Initially, I felt the same way. When talks of this match-up began I thought it was a farce because of
the size differential. Then the fight was signed and the hype began. And I started to think of ways
that Pacquiao could win. So I confess I may be getting caught up in all the hype. What was once
viewed as a farce can now be viewed as a highly competitive match-up.
Delahoya is listed as a -$1.65 favorite. Pacquiao is the +$1.35 underdog. So for every $100 bucks
you bet on Pacquiao you’ll get back $135. The oddsmakers have gotten caught up in the hype as
well making this a relatively even match, odds wise.
Or have they? Is this indeed a competitive fight?
The most intriguing question in this bout is how much does size really matter? After Sugar Ray
Leonard knocked out Don Lalonde in 1988 there was talk about him facing the pound for pound best
at that time, Julio Cesar Chavez. Leonard immediately dismissed that possibility as a “joke.” He was
probably right. Chavez did not have a fighting style that translated well to going up in weight. Body
shots, outworking the opponent on inside, the “Mexican” style of breaking a fighter down would not
have worked against the elite in higher weight classes. But fighters who have had success moving up
in weight are invariably those who have speed as their primary weapon. Sugar Ray Leonard was
able to outpoint the bigger Marvin Hagler and stop the much bigger Don LaLonde. Floyd
Mayweather Jr. annexed the Jr. Lightweight division all the way up to Jr. Middleweight. Vinny
Pazienza was a lightweight who came up to super middleweight (30 pounds!) to stop Dana
Rosenblatt. Michael Spinks was a light heavyweight who decisioned long time champ Larry Holmes
by being faster and peskier. These men had similar weight disadvantages that Pacquiao faces. But
they didn’t for the most part, have the disadvantage Pacquiao faces in height.
The height and reach of Delahoya will be the biggest problem Pacquiao will have to solve. The
biggest fighter Pacquiao ever faced was Erik “El Terrible” Morales. Morales was 5’8” and skinny as
a rail.
He is also the last fighter to beat Pacquiao.
In their first match, Morales fought brilliantly and took the “Pacman” to school. Morales boxed, used
his jab and kept the destructive Pacquiao at bay. In the subsequent rematches, Morales aged a bit
and was dismantled in ten and third rounds respectively. Nonetheless, that first bout no doubt
provides the blueprint of success against Pacquiao. Critics may argue that Pacquiao has improved
significantly since then and I agree. But he would have had his hands full against the primed Erik
Morales on that night even in his current state of near pugilistic perfection.
Delahoya, on the other hand, has faced numerous small fighters during his ascent. Delahoya always
had the size advantage during his prime until he moved to welterweight. But even during his
welterweight title winning effort against Pernell Whitaker, it was Delahoya who had advantages in
height and reach. I thought Delahoya handled the slick southpaw Whitaker nicely but…That was
over ten years ago. And Delahoya has slowed considerably since then. The prime Delahoya would
have outworked the passive Mayweather Jr. during their superfight. In his last bout, Delahoya could
not hurt a much smaller Steve Forbes (nothing is made out of the fact that Forbes himself started his
career at 130 pounds). Clearly, Delahoya has slowed. And Pacquiao is demon quick.
But the intangibles, in my opinion, actually favor Oscar. I define the “intangibles” as “who wants it
more.” However, in this case it is a matter of “who needs it more”. If Delahoya loses, his legacy is
shot down a peg or two. He will forever be remembered as the guy who was in one super fight after
another and always found a way to lose. Pacquiao, on the other hand, has nothing to lose and
everything to gain. Even if he loses and loses valiantly, his stock goes up. If he wins…Shit…They
may make a giant golden statue of him in front of all those Catholic churches in the Phillipines.
So the big question is can a great little man defeat a good and older bigger man. There are two
scenarios I see here. Pacquiao wades in and gets picked apart by the bigger and stronger Delahoya.
Pacquiao is hurt every time he engages and gets on his bicycle. Delahoya then bounces him up and
down the canvas like a basketball en route to a merciful stoppage.
Or I see Pacquiao outworking Delahoya. The difference in age and speed is all too apparent and the
Pac Man turns it up, round after round…His quickness is too much and he nails Delahoya with
smacking left crosses throughout the bout en route to a decision victory.
I won’t make a pick here as it would strictly be a guess. This is one of those bouts wherein I have to
see the first round first. It is just a feeling I get when fighters are feeling each other out, you can tell
who is stronger and faster. If size does matter, it will be evident by the end of the first three
minutes. Too bad you can’t make a bet after watching round one, eh?
Okay, fine. Here's my pick. Pacquiao by split decision.
For Delahoya versus Pacquiao
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