Is Oscar De La Hoya an all-time great?

[Dan...]

Who Tito? A prime young fighter running for his life? When has a fighter been that far ahead and had to RUN? Usually they either coast (continue doing what they were doing before)...or they go for the KO! Unless...they aren't that far ahead...or worse.

And there was supposed to be a rematch, remember? Well, only one of them wanted it. The other didn't want to avenge the "robbery."

What difference does it make if he ran? So what? You are letting your personal feelings towards the man influence your opinion, which is unusual for you. Around 90% of the knowledgable guys I have spoken to believe he won that fightm myself included. Personally I think he won the second fight with Shane as well. I probably would not go as far as to call them robberies however I certainly think he won them.

[Mr. Fantastic]

hopkins has fought real fights..calzaghe hasnt

People coming up 10+ pounds to fight him is real fights??

[IMDAZED]

Chicano, JABS, and Danc (of course)...GREAT debate.

[IMDAZED]

What difference does it make if he ran? So what? You are letting your personal feelings towards the man influence your opinion, which is unusual for you. Around 90% of the knowledgable guys I have spoken to believe he won that fightm myself included. Personally I think he won the second fight with Shane as well. I probably would not go as far as to call them robberies however I certainly think he won them.

What difference does it make?

Winning and losing, that's what.

[JAB5239]

As I said to the public DLH is an ATG but to boxing fans who revere the greats as supermen I can't honestly believe a true fan of the sport would list DLH in the top 100 all time. I'm sure if you're a big DLH fan then you will always argue his claim but if you're realistic about it then you see the flaws and massive holes in the resume of a would-be ATG who never lived up to Arum's promise of the next SRL.

No reaonable person can expect one man to live up to another mans promises for him.

And no, at this point I can't satand Oscar anymore, but that doesn't change the facts.

You make a list of a hundred better fighters than Oscar and I PROMISE I can tear down enough names and resumes to put Oscar on that list. If you want, you can go to the boxing history section and use Bert Sugars top 100 as a reference.

[Allucard]

yeah he is... even if it's just for his impact

Exactly. Popularity like he's up there with Ali but because i consider boxing a sport and not a dancing with the stars type of show i will say no. Hall of famer? What the hell is that anyway? ATG means all time great, meaning there never was someone fighting like he did. I have to say no. I will reserve those tittles to Ali, Robbinson, Louis, and more recently worth of mention i only find: Mayweather Jr, Jones Jr, SR Leonard, Hagler, Duran, Lewis, Hopkins, Chavez and on a slightly lower level and finally, Oscar, Trinidad, Castillo and forgive me if i'm forgetting someone. This is the hard truth and i really tried to make room for some fighter i like like Hollyfield and Hatton but just couldn't fit them here.

[Dan...]

What difference does it make?

Winning and losing, that's what.

Do you feel he won that fight though? I think he did.

Having said that I know it is irrelevant as it is what the records say that count. I agree with a lot of what you say. It is a significant black mark against De la Hoya that he never beat the best or completely cleared a division. I accept there is a very legitimate argument for him not being an ATG, I just sit on the other side of it.

I also accept that I may be partially biased on this subject. I have always been an Oscar fan so it may be a little difficult for me to approach this debate with complete objectivity.

[JAB5239]

An article in TheRing after the Hopkins fight was telling, DLH said everytime he moves up in weight he loses his advantage which he said was speed. So by making Floyd and Manny move up to fight up by dangling the $20 million carrot in front of them is for one reason and one reason only. He wants the small guys to suffer the same fate he did against the bigger Hop, I hope Manny beats him and finally ends all this talk of the ATG wannabe DLH.

I hope Manny beats him too. But it won't change what he's already accomplished.

[lparm]

To lparm and IMDAZED: Does your opinion change if De la Hoya gets the decision against one or both of Mosley or Tito?

If DLH had beaten one or both them then yes, I would absolutely give DLH credit for being the best in his divison after beating the major stars at his weight. But I can't honestly say he's ever been the best since he's lost to every man who had a claim in his division. Take his current division, 147, why is he going after Manny and not Margs? If he beats the dangerous Margs and cleans out the division then he's undisputedly an ATG but he hand picks the guys that generate the most money and who he feels are the most beatable. The only reason DLH wanted Floyd at 154 or Hop at 156 is because he was betting on them being sluggish from the weight gain/loss, but both times he lost. What has he done lately?

[MELLY-MEL...]

yes he is.