Oscar De La Hoya('99) vs Vernon Forrest('02) @ 147

The only way to beat a prime Forrest is to be extremley physical and dog him like Mayorga did, or to be a puncher like Hearns. De La Hoya would not outbox Forrest, and everyone knows Oscar had problems with good jabbers.

 

Forrest in a close decision

Another of those fights where Oscar didn't quite do enough

 

:deal prime Vernon would have iced him

 

good thread topic, i like this matchup a lot and never really thought about it. too bad we never got to see it. seeing as this is a hypothetical fight between two great fighters i don't think anyone can say with certainity who would win. But it is fun to analyze each fighters qualities and imagine how the fight would play out. forrest is slightly taller (by an inch and a half i believe) but their reach is almost identical. both had great jabs, and oscar possessed a dynamite left hook. However, i believe forrest's arsenal was a bit more versatile, he could use both hands very well while oscar's right hand was subpar imho. Oscar also looked very tense and flatfooted in a lot of his fights while forrest seemed more fluid. Forrest also knew how to fight tall and use range well. if someone put a gun to my head and forced me to choose i would say forrest by decision, especially if oscar fought flat footed. however if oscar used his legs i would say it would be a toss up 50/50 fight.

 

I remember some boxing writer comparing oscar to tommy hearns in that regard. saying that while both were hall of famers and had good wins over elite fighters, they both failed in career defining mega fights.

 

Ding ding ding!! We have a winner! Lol. For a fighter with as much talent as a lot of people believe., DLH **** the bed in way too many high profile fights. I guess he's like a guy who hits 50 home runs, but batted .270 and struck out 160 times.

 

Forest however theirs no shame for DLH losing against a huge Welterweight.
Much like Floyd, losing a fantasy fight 3 divisions up from your natural weight limit is pretty much inevitable

 

:good he rarely did enough in big fights. That's the reason why I'd pick most over him in a fantasy fight. Whenever I look at his resume I always believe his loses are far more telling than his wins :-(

 

The same forrest that got clowned and ktfo by a limited Mayorga??? DLH by KO.