Size Matters: Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather

[psychopath]

Of course size always does matter but with the skills and hand speed and foot speed of PBF, DLH's advantage in size should be neutralized.

Both are smart and well skilled so it boils down to "timing".

[chito]

I am not sure you can say that:

Oscar did start at lightweight, just like Floyd...Yes, Oscar was always big for the weight, but he was able to make the weight...It is not also about who is the most "skilled" or who is the most "athletic", those attributes can sometimes (if the fighter is Very good/Great) with other things, like Power, Timing, Speed, and "Will."

Floyd has fought good competition, but nothing like Oscar has...
I know these are "What If" questions, but What if:
what would Floyd's record look like if he faced who Oscar faced?
Could Floyd have beaten Tszyu in his prime, or even before his injuries? maybe, but maybe not.


Floyd does have weaknesses, so lets not act like he is a "God"...he is not Sugar Ray Robinson.

just a point for clarification, did oscar ever faced tszyu? was tszyu's style similar to oscar?

[chito]

[QUOTE=psychopath;1968202]Of course size always does matter but with the skills and hand speed and foot speed of PBF, DLH's advantage in size should be neutralized.

Both are smart and well skilled so it boils down to "timing".[/QUOTE]

you've hit the right word, it will always be timing. and floyd has it right now at aged 29. im worried about dlh coz he's 33 and by that age, your timing was never the same as when you're 28. if tito trinidad (who some critics say is a one-dimensional fighter) beat dlh by a majority decision, floyd would probably frustrate him even more. well, that's just my opinion.

[champ007]

This just boils down to Floyd not getting beat up. if he can avoid Oscar he wins. Floyd will not engage just get away and occasionally throw,if the opening is 100 percent. Oscar will cut the ring off and hurt em.

[Deeznuts]

Why is Oscar considered such a great fighter at this time. We all know he is beatable and PBF is the #1 P4P. This is just a "get money" fight.

[hugh grant]

PBF should be favourite in this match. He is p4p the best so you will have to go with him. But PBF has a lot to prove to me. I think it will be very much tactical.

DLH has lost more than he has won of late, so i will put PBF as favourite, but it wouldnt suprise me if DLH won, because as i say PBF has a lot to prove to me.

Because PBF is favourite in his fights it could prove how good people think he is, or it could be that he isnt facing the best opponents. If PBF enters a fight as an underdog, i would like to see how he overcomes the odds.

[mECHsLAVE]

In my opinion.

The winner of this fight, will have their stock sky rocket. If Floyd hypothetically knocked Oscar out, he'd be one of the greatest all time if he retired after that. If Oscar finishes Floyd in dramatic fashion he only adds to his legend status. You could rank DLH higher on a "P4P" scale despite his years in the ring...even though he's not even rated right now withing a top ten concensus. That's pretty ridiculous if you ask me but it doesn't matter, because according to everyone that lives by the "ring magazine" or whatever....you'd have to beat the man to become the man. At this point in time the number 1 man is Floyd Mayweather Jr. and that really is the bottom line.

So after that there's really no dis*****g Oscar's place inside boxing history, or Floyd's for that matter. And only if he retired....because I don't see a need for him to keep fighting if he did in fact beat Oscar convincingly. He's already acheived enough in his career to be remembered as one of the most dominant defensive fighters of all time at any weight. Floyd that is and vice versa for Oscar.

I have to disagree with some of this. I think Oscar has more to gain than Floyd. I mean, if Floyd wins that means we probably saw a pretty boring fight, and it's Oscar at the twilight of his career, so the win (for Floyd) will definitley have an asterik attached to it with the fans and will probably not be that memorable, either. We've seen Oscar lose before. I mean, we've seen him win some that he lost, and lose some that he won. He's forgiven the off-nights because his career's level of competition is simply off-the-charts.... no other active fighter can even come close to matching it. And we all know he could turn in either performance, especially at this stage of his career.

Oscar's legacy can't really go down, it can only go up. And if he beats Floyd, then it's in the cosmos.

Floyd's legacy is a little tender, mainly due to the level of competition he's faced in recent years (which is not necessarily his fault). To compare DLH's career to Floyd's... he would've already had names like Hatton, Cotto, Tszyu, Margarito, etc on his resume (once again, not all his fault, just facts).

Obviously, I think a win over DLH obviously moves him up a rung, but then again, beating DLH in a wary, defensive manner (which is certainly how he will win, if he does) will probably not overly impress most fans or writers. We've seen Mosely stand toe-to-toe and trade with a prime DLH and win. We've even seen Sturm outbox DLH. I had Quartey beating DLH by a point. etc. I don't see a cautious win over this version of DLH as vaulting Mayweather into this mythic immortality as some others do. I think it obviously boosts him a little, yes, but it'll be more about "How would he have done against a prime DLH?" if Mayweather wins. And if Mayweather loses, then his level of competition is going to be re-examined by fans and writers alike, and Oscar will retire to a rose pedal parade.

Oh, and the size thing is neglible. Floyd and Oscar have always had large frames for the lower weights they started at. 147-154 is really the weight a fighter with the frame of Floyd should settle into.

[jai mari078]

Of course size always does matter but with the skills and hand speed and foot speed of PBF, DLH's advantage in size should be neutralized.

Both are smart and well skilled so it boils down to "timing".

Speed can be neutralized with a good jab, and when Oscar uses his jab it is still one of the best in the business. Floyd has already not looked as quick moving to 147, we will see how much moving to 154 will affect his speed, because I beleive he will lose a little quickness.

[jai mari078]

[QUOTE=chito;1968264]

Of course size always does matter but with the skills and hand speed and foot speed of PBF, DLH's advantage in size should be neutralized.

Both are smart and well skilled so it boils down to "timing".[/QUOTE]

you've hit the right word, it will always be timing. and floyd has it right now at aged 29. im worried about dlh coz he's 33 and by that age, your timing was never the same as when you're 28. if tito trinidad (who some critics say is a one-dimensional fighter) beat dlh by a majority decision, floyd would probably frustrate him even more. well, that's just my opinion.

First offf, Tito did not beat Oscar he was given a deision,there's a big difference. Had Oscar not have stopped fighting the last couple rounds it would have been an easy win. Even at that point Oscar won the majority of the rounds and worse case scenario, the fight could have been a draw and that's pushing it.

[cortdawg25]

Oh, and the size thing is neglible. Floyd and Oscar have always had large frames for the lower weights they started at. 147-154 is really the weight a fighter with the frame of Floyd should settle into.

Dude this part was insane... ever since Floyd has went up to 135, he has been the smaller man. His prime weight I think is 135 to 140. I dont think Floyd walks around at 154 lbs let alone being his ideal weight to fight.