By Mark Vester
Felix Trinidad Sr., trainer of Felix "Tito" Trinidad and Jose Bonilla, trainer of WBO welterweight champ Carlos Quintana, analyzed Oscar De La Hoya's twelve-round decision win over Steve Forbes, and his chances in a rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Trinidad Sr. was not impressed with De La Hoya's performance and feels that he needs to do a lot of work if he plans to win a planned rematch with Mayweather Jr. in September.
"From now to September, he better be prepared. Oscar De La Hoya is not the same fighter anymore," Trinidad Sr. said. "He did well (against Forbes), but the opponent is not the same quality as Mayweather and he hand-picked (Forbes) for himself. The major problem I see for De La Hoya in a rematch is the fight being at 147-pounds. He is going to sacrifice his body (to get down in weight) and it's going to be an uphill battle to beat Mayweather.
Bonilla thinks De La Hoya was not as impressive against Forbes because he fought to the level of his competition. He doesn't rule out a better prepared De La Hoya in September.
"There are times when the big name fighter goes up against an opponent with a much smaller name and they are not motivated. The performance by De La Hoya was a little dull, but that doesn't mean he is finished. He looked like he lost a lot of weight in a small amount of time because his body did not have definition."
While De La Hoya is talking about a possible December fight with Miguel Cotto (if he gets by Floyd), Bonilla doubts De La Hoya's intention of taking on any fighter that can hurt him.
"I believe his last fight is going to be against Mayweather, who is a defensive fighter and not a puncher. I don't believe that he is going to fight one of the punchers in the division like Cotto, Quintana or Margarito because he can be hurt badly," Bonilla said.
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