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by Cliff Rold - It will matter if he loses this Saturday, especially considering the size advantage Oscar De La Hoya takes into the ring with Manny Pacquiao. It just won’t matter forever. Oscar’s surest path to defeat is a calendar only months away from a thirty-sixth birthday more than the man in front of him. In choosing Pacquiao, De La Hoya has selected the available opponent with the biggest name and smallest chances. A loss would be fitting comeuppance for taking the fight at all, but won’t detract much from De La Hoya’s standing in history.
That is, if a place in history can be clearly assigned to the “Golden Boy.”
It is sometimes hard to imagine the smiling star of the 1992 Olympics nearing middle-age but it’s a destination most get to and surpass with reluctance. Turned pro mere months after the Gold Medal win which began his story, De La Hoya has been the biggest star of his time but, sixteen years later, it’s tough to figure how Oscar will be remembered.
He doesn’t categorize well.
Having fought at some point in six different weight divisions, he’s difficult to rate in any of them. Compared to other historical scale jumpers, mixed successes in the last ten years and the immediacy of memory make him difficult to measure as well. Could it be that time will allow the sum of his career parts to take on greater meaning? The question is asked: [details]
That is, if a place in history can be clearly assigned to the “Golden Boy.”
It is sometimes hard to imagine the smiling star of the 1992 Olympics nearing middle-age but it’s a destination most get to and surpass with reluctance. Turned pro mere months after the Gold Medal win which began his story, De La Hoya has been the biggest star of his time but, sixteen years later, it’s tough to figure how Oscar will be remembered.
He doesn’t categorize well.
Having fought at some point in six different weight divisions, he’s difficult to rate in any of them. Compared to other historical scale jumpers, mixed successes in the last ten years and the immediacy of memory make him difficult to measure as well. Could it be that time will allow the sum of his career parts to take on greater meaning? The question is asked: [details]
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