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By Cliff Rold - A four-part, two hour HBO commercial; a feature article in Vibe magazine…we are only at the beginning of the hype machine towards Oscar de la Hoya versus Floyd Mayweather. It’s boxing’s biggest star versus arguably its best fighter. While some use this moment to wax poetic about days gone by, about the lost days of regular superfights, about the times when boxing truly was still king, still others celebrate it as a chance to breathe new life into a game that needs it. In that sense, it is like so many ‘last great superfights’ that boxing has had or will have; the heir of a great tradition.
An overlooked feature of this ‘superfight’ is its link to boxing’s foundation. When Oscar (38-4, 30 KO) and Floyd (37-0, 24 KO) touch gloves at center ring, it will be only the 34th battle between former U.S. Olympic medalists. Oscar’s Olympic moment is the more celebrated, his 1992 Gold Medal at the Barcelona Games a tribute to his recently deceased mother. Floyd settled for a Bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Games, a victim of the notorious amateur scoring system. Still, it was a medal and with it Floyd, like Oscar before him, joined a select fraternity. [details]
An overlooked feature of this ‘superfight’ is its link to boxing’s foundation. When Oscar (38-4, 30 KO) and Floyd (37-0, 24 KO) touch gloves at center ring, it will be only the 34th battle between former U.S. Olympic medalists. Oscar’s Olympic moment is the more celebrated, his 1992 Gold Medal at the Barcelona Games a tribute to his recently deceased mother. Floyd settled for a Bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Games, a victim of the notorious amateur scoring system. Still, it was a medal and with it Floyd, like Oscar before him, joined a select fraternity. [details]
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