By Steve Kim
In front of 27,000 fans that attended his 'Homecoming' at the Home Depot Center soccer stadium, Oscar De La Hoya did the expected by decisioning the game, yet physically overmatched, Steve Forbes over 12 rounds. It was a solid, if unspectacular performance by 'The Golden Boy' and it sets up a September rematch ('This Time the World Can Wait - But You'll Get it Regardless') versus Floyd Mayweather Jr.
But I have to disagree with my buddy and HBO color commentator Emanuel Steward, who believed that Oscar was 'spectacular', turned back the clock and looked as good as he has in about a decade.
Really?
Now, perhaps Steward is getting a cut of the pay-per-view revenue for the Mayweather rematch, or he's playing the role that Charles Barkley does for Shaquille O'Neal as his personal protector, but to these eyes, De La Hoya not only didn't look as good as he has in the past, he looked as though he has even regressed physically from last May, when he was first defeated by Mayweather. His reflexes didn't look quite as sharp, he only showed brief moments of the explosion and acceleration that marked his prime, and while he was able to shake Forbes late in the fight, he never really came close to stopping a guy who was about 10 pounds past his optimum weight class.
In short, I witnessed a guy who is still pretty good at age 35, but a guy who simply will not be competitive against the ‘Pretty Boy'. Don't let the HBO and Golden Boy rhetoric fool you, don't be blinded by 24/7, the family drama that is the Mayweather clan or the fact that the first encounter was decided by a single, solitary point. The De La Hoya of 2008 is not even the De La Hoya of May 5th, 2007.
And please, don't listen to Oscar's rhetoric (because he's so good at it and it comes with that million dollar smile that can sway even the harshest of cynics). When asked if the rematch is much more personal with Mayweather Jr., he would state, "First fight, believe me, I wanted to beat him. There was a lot of hype, a lot of new strategies that were being implemented when it comes to marketing and trying to make the biggest event ever. You do get caught up in that. Now that I've been in there with Floyd, now that I've been through that situation, it's all business now. I mean, this is personal.
"I'm gonna beat him, you watch. I'm going to beat him. We're going to go and fight. It's about having the perfect game plan and I just can't go in there and be stiff, it doesn't work. The harder you try, the better it is for Floyd Jr. So we have to take our time, be on our toes, pop, pop, pop, and pick our shots, get him on the side. So we'll get it down.
"But this is personal. You watch, I'm going to beat the best."
Oh, yeah, this is now personal!!! He's got Floyd Sr. back in his corner!!! Sign me up, I'm in...uh, wait a minute, he almost had me going there for a quick second (I told you this guy was good). But I'm sure a large majority of the two million-plus that threw away their hard-earned money last May for what turned out to be a multi-million dollar business transaction in boxing gloves will prove PT Barnum correct once again.
In many respects, Oscar is a lot like the aforementioned Shaq (who's just a year older at 36), who at one time was the most dominant force in the NBA. But now, while he can still have big nights against the Jeff Fosters, Brendan Haywoods, Erick Dampiers, Rasho Nestorovics and DeSagana Diops of the world, he's a far cry from the self-styled M.D.E. (Most Dominant Ever) and no longer in the stratosphere of Tim Duncan and Dwight Howard. Back a few months ago, as he was introduced to the Phoenix Suns crowd after his trade out of Miami, he would stand tall and point at his finger, as if to signify that the elusive Larry O'Brien Trophy was on the way to the desert. Perhaps his gesture was in regards to his impending divorce, but he certainly didn't deliver on his promise to the Suns, as the first place Suns would sit in sixth place and get bounced out of the first round of the playoffs.
Folks, what Oscar is stating now is very similar to the empty promises made by 'the Big Liability.' The heart and spirit may be willing, but there simply isn't enough left in the tank. He showed flashes of hand-speed, his left-hook is still stout, his jab still sharp as a knife. But there is simply no consistency in his output. Against Forbes, he showed a certain type of stamina that has been absent in the past. But perhaps it was because of Forbes’ shortcomings- and no, that has nothing to do with his height - that De La Hoya didn't have his usual fade down the stretch.
He's still a pretty damn good fighter, but not nearly the fighter he once was. And no longer is he the caliber of fighter that can stay with Mayweather.