After the loss to Mayweather in May of 2007, Oscar didn’t return to the ring for a year. His return bout was with Steve Forbes at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California at a catchweight of 150 lbs. De La Hoya’s plan was to return to the welterweight division, and then back down to 140 lbs. after that. I found the idea to be totally ridiculous, simply because as any person ages, fighters especially, you get bigger and gain weight. To try and reverse that process is stupid, and I knew the end result would be disastrous for the no longer ‘Golden Boy’.
His fight with Forbes was boring, and his performance was lackluster at best. Watching the bout on HBO, I could clearly see how far Oscar had declined, and could not longer beat a top name fighter. The idea that he could turn back time was delusional, because time doesn’t stand still for anyone. He won a unanimous decision over Forbes, but only proved to me that he had slipped as a boxer.
Incredibly, a fight with Manny Pacquiao was signed for December in Las Vegas. The boxing magazines were hyping it as ‘The Big Man vs. The Little Man’, but I knew that was all crap. Oscar was never an imposing physical specimen, didn’t have a muscular frame, and the only thing advantage he had over Manny was in height. At nearly 36 years old by fight time, I knew he was going to lose.
I had no plans to even pay for the bout, but a friend from my winter time job, invited me over his house to watch it. His wife was an executive with the local cable company, and he got everything for free. Happily I agreed to go over his house to watch the bout, certainly curious to see the outcome.
Oscar had weighed in at only 145 lbs., vs. Manny’s 142 lbs. The difference was, Oscar looked gaunt and weak, while Pacquiao looked healthy and strong. After rehydrating following the weigh-in, by fight time, Manny actually outweighed De La Hoya!
The first round was enough for me to prove that De La Hoya had no chance to win. I remarked how bad he looked to my friend, and while hoping he would somehow do better as the bout progressed, those hopes were dashed as each round passed. Pacquiao thoroughly dominated Oscar, outpunching him, and hurting him in every round. After 8 rounds, De La Hoya quit on his stool. and I knew he was done as a fighter for good.
The loss didn’t really bother me that much, because even though I liked Oscar, he lost most every big bout over the last part of his career. He was never a favorite to me like Evander or George Foreman had been, so I hardly blinked an eye. With Christmas only a few weeks away, I was more focused on that, thanked my friend for getting to see the bout for free, and went home.
I look at De La Hoya as a good fighter, not a great one. He lost too many big bouts to be considered great, which is a term so-called boxing experts throw around. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2014, an honor he truly deserved. He also started Golden Boy Promotions, and is the only ex-fighter to become a hugely successful promoter, certainly something he deserves credit for. With his faults, he was certainly a huge star on the boxing landscape for 15 years, and not many fighters can say that.
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