Can Anyone Say "Fait Accompli"?

By Charles Jay

Who is Oscar De la Hoya kidding? Who is the media kidding? Who are WE kidding?

Most importantly, who is Floyd Mayweather Sr. kidding?

I could be wrong. I've been wrong before, and I'm sure I'll be wrong again. But with all due respect to Mayweather Sr., he's largely a non-factor in De la Hoya's decision as to whether to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. or not.

Oscar De la Hoya's trainer told USA Today, "I don't give a damn what he wants. I'm the daddy and in this particular situation, I'm calling the shots."

Uh, not exactly.

Oscar is a businessman. No, check that; he's a money machine, first and foremost, and if he doesn't take a fight with Floyd Jr., it's not going to be because Floyd Sr. stood in the way. The father may very well serve as a very convenient excuse if Oscar decides that it's in his career's best interest to steer away from a fight with the Pretty Boy, so strategically, it's probably best that he remain non-committal about his trainer's status, and how it relates to future plans.

But make no mistake about it - if Oscar decides he wants to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr., he's going to facilitate that bout happening no matter what.

You see, the trainers who are considered "top shelf" by the people who cover this sport have, by way of their modus operandi, positioned themselves as perhaps the most interchangeable parts in this business. A Floyd Mayweather Sr., Buddy McGirt or Freddie Roach will pop into a champion or contender's career for a few fights and pop out of it just as quickly, chasing the almighty dollar just like everybody else. They're hired in the first place because somebody saw them in someone else's corner on television, draping a belt symbolic of a diluted world title around a fighter's waist, which meant they must have had the magic potion that led to success where none existed before.

Of course, none of this fosters an atmosphere of loyalty, inasmuch as it is quite obvious that the fighter wasn't loyal to his last trainer and the one before that, all the way back to the one who taught him to fight in the first place (like Floyd Jr., come to think of it). And truth be known, the "gurus" are all too happy to be beneficiaries of that disloyalty, because there is usually a considerable paycheck in it for them without having to go through the arduous task of actually developing the fighter.

So let's not have any illusions about where everybody's interests lie.

Oscar De la Hoya is not married to Floyd Mayweather Sr., any more than he was to any of his numerous previous handlers. And he shouldn't be, because none of them were married to him either. And if De la Hoya got on his bicycle to get out of the range of Bob Arum, who masterfully cultivated Oscar's marketability like few other promoters have done for a fighter, do you think he'd let anyone throw a road block in front of the mega-million dollar pot, if that's what he really wanted to reach for? After all, if this was a comeback, it wasn't designed to begin and end with Ricardo Mayorga.

Oh, and do you think in the mercenary world that "high level" trainers inhabit, that Floyd Sr. wouldn't be delighted to take a nice paycheck in the way of step-aside money, especially if it were "explained" to him in the right way?

Ponder that question.

Then go ask Floyd Mayweather Jr. whether, when it comes down to it, he could care less who's in the other corner.

There are people who don't think this fight will ever happen, no matter how agreeable the circumstances may seem to be. One of them is my friend, the newly-elected Hall of Fame historian Hank Kaplan.

"I have a feeling it won't go through," says Kaplan. "The size of the two guys is so vastly different. I just don't think it's a match. De la Hoya is too big for Mayweather. When they go into the ring, Mayweather's going to be 150 pounds, and Oscar's going to be 170."

Hank also sees another problem that might get in the way of the Fight of 2006 ever materializing. "It's the division of monies," he says. "How would that work for two guys with such big egos?"

That might put a crimp in the negotiations, but ultimately it's not a deal-breaker. De la Hoya is going to feel a very strong pull toward this fight, for the following reasons:

1) THIS IS WHAT OSCAR DOES - PERIOD. De la Hoya's had his critics through the years; there's no doubt about that. But one thing you have to say about him is that he's not been in the habit of ducking and dodging people. When there's been a challenging opponent or a major fight to be made, he's generally been there, as evidenced by the roster of opponents he's gone in with (with their records at the time in parentheses): John John Molina (36-3), Rafael Ruelas (43-1), Genaro Hernandez (32-0-1), James Leija (30-1-2), Julio Cesar Chavez (97-1-1), Pernell Whitaker (40-1-1), Hector Camacho (64-3-1), Miguel Angel Gonzalez (41-0), Ike Quartey (34-0-1), Felix Trinidad (35-0), Derrell Coley (34-1-2), Shane Mosley (34-0), Arturo Gatti (33-4), Fernando Vargas (22-1), Javier Castillejo (51-4), Felix Sturm (20-0), Bernard Hopkins (44-2-1) and Mayorga, who had a 28-5-1 record but held a world title at the time.

Several of the aforementioned could have been considered contenders for the mythical pound-for-pound title when De la Hoya fought them. So it would be completely consistent with his career pattern for Oscar to meet up with Mayweather.

2) PROCESS OF ELIMINATION DISQUALIFIES OTHERS. I don't think Oscar wants to pack it in. And there would be a natural tendency to want to gain "revenge" over people who have beaten him. So taking a look at the other people who could conceivably be opponents for him, we have Trinidad and Mosley, along with Winky Wright, who may or may not be a middleweight champion very soon. Trinidad is Puerto Rican and would bring some of his own fans to the table, plus he has something of an aura as a puncher. But he's also damaged goods. He wasn't just beaten by Hopkins and Wright - he was emaciated, embarrassed, shamed. And exposed. Remember, the first time De la Hoya and Trinidad met, it was a "superfight" between two undefeateds who were high on the pound-for-pound lists. Not now. Sure, Oscar could get his revenge, but would it mean very much at this point in time?

As for Mosley, I guess it would be convenient, because Shane has a relationship with Golden Boy Promotions. He holds two wins over De la Hoya, and one of them produced much controversy. But am I just imaging this, or has Shane lost an awful lot of luster? Somehow I just can't get excited about the prospect of De la Hoya-Mosley III, maybe because Mayweather is the kind of fighter Mosley always aspired to be but never could.

Wright, try as he might, would never be the kind of magic attraction that could bring huge money. Certainly nothing in the neighborhood of a Mayweather fight, although he might be attractive to Oscar if he has a middleweight title belt.

3) OSCAR RECOGNIZES A RESPONSIBILITY TO BOXING. The Trinidad fight, and to a lesser degree, a fight with Mosley, is self-indulgent. This sounds corny, I know, and there is unquestionably enough motivation of a self-serving nature to take the fight with Floyd. But there is something else too. It is obvious that De la Hoya understands and recognizes his status as a standard-bearer for the sport, and knows that being active again is enough to raise the game's profile. A fight with the reigning pound-for-pound king, which should do mammoth numbers if the pay-per-view count from the Mayorga fight was any indicator, would provide the proverbial "shot in the arm" for boxing. And De la Hoya knows full well that what is good for boxing will, over the course of time, residually increase the value of what he is doing now as a key player in the promotional end of things.

4) DE LA HOYA SEES ADVANTAGES FOR HIMSELF. Yes, Mayorga and Mayweather are very opposite fighters, and Floyd Jr. presents a whole different challenge. But De la Hoya, after 20 months off, saw and studied the weaknesses of his opponent, took a game plan into the ring, followed it, and succeeded resoundingly. I know he believes he can put together a master plan for Mayweather (even if it's without the OTHER Mayweather). He goes into the fight as the bigger, stronger guy, and mindful of the fact that Mayweather hasn't established real power credentials above 140 pounds. Meanwhile, at least De la Hoya can knock out someone at 154 - we just saw that. He's also a little more familiar with the mega-fight atmosphere, and because he's the draw, he will be able to dictate certain terms in the agreement, like when the weigh-in takes place, what kind of gloves will be used, etc. Watch it happen.

5) THE FIGHT STAMPS HIS....AHEM, LEGACY. The term "legacy" is way overused in boxing - I'm still waiting for the moment when some half-ass writer refers to some eight-round fighter's "legacy." But Oscar really does have a legacy (see #1 above). And even though he's no Sugar Ray Leonard, by the standards of 2006 he can be considered legendary.

Oscar knows all about history, and where his place might be in the landscape of it, and likewise knows there would be nothing better than to knock off the world's #1 fighter. As far as I'm concerned, just taking part in it is something we can point to as a positive in a ring career filled with positives.

For Oscar, it's certainly worth a shot.

And he WILL give it a shot - just you wait and see.