A vote for Oscar over Hopkins.....
WOULD HOPKINS REALLY OVERWHELM DE LA HOYA?
September 23, 2002
by Ivan Goldman
Off in the distance, Oscar De La Hoya may challenge Bernard Hopkins at middleweight. If he does, conventional wisdom says the bigger Hopkins would tear right through him. I'm not so sure.
Ever since Hopkins shocked the world a year ago by dominating and ultimately stopping then-undefeated Felix Trinidad, he's been looked upon as a Grade A hurricane. When you see Hopkins coming, you're supposed to board up the windows, head inland and hope to be spared somehow. THE RING rates him as the No. 1 fighter in the world.
A while ago KO magazine asked four experts to predict a De La Hoya-Hopkins outcome. Their only disagreement was on how long Oscar would last.
Trainer Kevin Rooney figured he'd be stopped within five rounds. IBF junior middleweight titlist Winky Wright, ex-middleweight champ William Joppy, and HBO's own Jim Lampley figured De La Hoya's chin would keep him upright long enough to lose on the scorecards. I respect their knowledge. But smart, well-informed people make wrong choices all the time.
Consider that Napoleon thought it was a nice idea to invade Russia. The NFL used to say Doug Flutie was too short to play quarterback. And Bill Clinton decided he'd like to know Monica Lewinsky better. See what I'm talking about?
The experts figure Hopkins is too rugged, too powerful, too large, too much of everything for De La Hoya, who broke into the pros at 130 pounds. They may be right. But I guarantee you the outcome is no slam dunk.
The Executioner versus the Golden Boy is one of the most lucrative fights out there. Minutes after Fernando Vargas left for the hospital after "Bad Blood", De La Hoya's promoter Bob Arum brought up Hopkins as a potential opponent.
Some people believe Arum would wrestle alligators before he would actually let his golden goose tangle with Hopkins. But they said that about Rafael Ruelas, Miguel Angel Gonzalez, Ike Quartey, Trinidad, Shane Mosley, and Vargas, and De La Hoya fought all of them.
De La Hoya's people asked Mosley to keep May 4 - the evening before Cinco De Mayo - open, though Trinidad gets the date if he wants it. That means even if Tito stays on the sidelines, De La Hoya and Hopkins wouldn't get it on for at least a year.
Although no one has an easy time making a deal with Hopkins these days, you can bet De La Hoya would be the exception. Anyone within three weight classes wants to get next to one of those Oscar-sized purses. He gets called out by a different fighter every two or three days.
Winky Wright's people were already sending out press releases demanding a De La Hoya fight while Vargas was falling to the canvas. At the post-fight press conference, Vernon Forrest yelled out his own challenge.
Why do I think De La Hoya could defeat Hopkins? The obvious first reason is that Hopkins will be 38 next year. He's beautifully conditioned, but the aging process has to kick in sometime. Unless he's an extraterrestrial, he's gradually losing lung capacity and speed.
Also, Hopkins' easy win over Trinidad was like a blow to the head of the experts. It made them forget that Hopkins, 41-2-1 (30), hasn't faced nearly as many top fighters as De La Hoya, 35-2 (28).
You could argue that De La Hoya's latest spectacular victory is more recent than Hopkins' latest spectacular victory. So maybe I'm the one caught up in the amnesia syndrome, not the other guys. But I can find you plenty of witnesses who'd tell you I voiced this same opinion BEFORE De La Hoya defeated Vargas.
Not that I think Hopkins is a pushover. He's a great fighter with so much ring-savvy he can hurt opponents without even throwing punches. Against Trinidad, his ring generalship was A-plus, as were his jab, his defense and his endurance.
But Oscar is not exactly helpless. He has greater speed, including a jab that will get there first and a left hook that looks quick even in slow-motion replay. Hopkins' old-time toughness is a real plus. But his power is not overwhelming and may be less than Vargas'.
Hopkins would get inside because he knows how and he's too smart to stay at a distance. But De La Hoya, a great counterpuncher with a vicious uppercut, is vastly underrated inside.
It's obvious the egomaniacal Floyd Mayweather Sr. improved De La Hoya's defense. But perhaps more important, he has Oscar's respect. So in camp, Oscar does what he's told. He trains harder. That's why his endurance improved against Vargas.
Against both Trinidad and Mosley, De La Hoya faded in the later rounds. Against Hopkins, I would look for Hopkins to fade. Dealing with too much speed makes you tired.
Hopkins, although no longer with his long-time trainer Bouie Fisher, could conceivably end up with a corner as competent as his old one. But both in camp and in the corner, Hopkins is likely to be in charge. In the legal world, they say a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for an attorney. Ditto for fighters who are their own trainers.
Hopkins' will to win is as strong as De La Hoya's. But so was Vargas'. De La Hoya-Hopkins could very well be a replay of Sugar Ray Leonard versus Marvelous Marvin Hagler, with the slighter, quicker De La Hoya frustrating and carving a close victory over his stronger, determined adversary.
(Ivan Goldman can be reached at iggoldman@netscape.net) |
