I would say the Vargas fight. He had to dig deep to come back and pull off the upset by slugging it out against a roided Vargas. I feel after that fight he started to play it more cautious and box more (Mosley rematch, Hopkins, etc).
Yeah and people forget how good of a fight it was. That's one I'm always down to give a re-watch.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=YjuUwmEJRMg&si=PNkMl4us9IvEmnWw
Yeah its treat , but my fav ODLH fight is the one against Ike Quartey that was a war ..................
I agree De La Hoya's was beginning to steadily decline during or after his fight with Vargas, as he had confessed he having issues with alcohol and cocaine after his win, perhaps because his ego took a hit when Trinidad was given the win and because of personal issues. However he was still a top level fighter and overcame adversity when he was hurt in the first round. The Vargas he fought who used steroids, would best a world champion of today like Fundora or Tszyu.
In the fight in Mosley II, De La Hoya made adjustments after understanding how Mosley fights and understood how explosive his opponent is (or how hard he hits). Think he should had won, but wouldn't say a close fight is a robbery either. De La Hoya overcame his performance from first challenge despite having declined by having a better understanding and putting extra effort.
Mosley 2 he looked great IMHO and should have won ........Went downhill from there
Yeah and people forget how good of a fight it was. That's one I'm always down to give a re-watch.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=YjuUwmEJRMg&si=PNkMl4us9IvEmnWw
Shane Mosley-ODLH 2
Circa 2003
Oscar gave his all in that fight. It was his last big hurrah and I thought he won but the judges gave it to Mosley. I wouldn't call it a robbery but I think that was De La Hoya's night and should have set up a Mega Trilogy.
Some say Mosley was on the juice that night but dont know if that was true or not.