De La Hoya (WBO sfw champ, '94) vs Morales (WBC Int'l sfw champ, '05)

This is why you're one of my favorite posters..because you always bring knowledge and objectivity...

..that said, at 130 Morales really struggled with Jesus Chavez size and speed. Chavez was also fighting one armed with an injured arm.
Oscar was way bigger than Jesus Chavez, and a lot faster.

Oscar was green, but was very experienced, he had 225 am fights backing him up. Sure DLH can get KD, but I see Oscar overwhelming Morales similar to the way he overwhelmed Chavez using his youth, power, and speed.

 

3.5 years after becoming pro he had had :

10 title fights
4 time world champion
3 division champion

Beaten champs like:

Julio Cesar Chavez
Jesse James Leija
Jorge "Maromero" Paez
Genaro "El Chicanito" Hernandez
John John Molina
Rafael Ruelas

 

I agree.

De La Hoya has the physical advantages, but it's just so hard for me to pick him at that point, with 11 pro fights, over someone as seasoned and experienced as Morales.

1995 was the breakout year for DLH.

 

wtf

 

This is in hindsight though.

I agree that De La Hoya probably was better than Moore, but the way Moore was considered before the Duran fight, is higher than De La Hoya was in '94 by experts. I say "experts" as there was much more casual hype around De La Hoya, but many people thought Moore would easily beat Duran. Duran. Sure, they got it wrong, but that tells you the kind of hype which was around Moore at that time and for good reason. He was more proven than De La Hoya was in '94.

And whilst Morales wasn't as good, Duran was no longer elite at that point in his career whereas Morales beat Pacquiao, in what will turn out to be his career best win. I agree that Morales wasn't at his prime too, but I still think he was a much more formidable fighter than Duran at those points in their careers.

It's not really a point I can prove with enough certainty to stand by it firmly, but I compare De La Hoya at 130lbs to Khan at 135lbs. They drained to fight for lesser fighters and easily blow them away, but even though they were impressive, I don't consider it a really good weight for them, you know? I think their careers there were just to put on a show. Even though it's just 5lbs, I consider De La Hoya a serious fighter at 135lbs but not at super feather.

 

That's not pro experiance though.

You see some Cubans who have vast experience turn pro and look green. Yoan Pablo Hernandez was clueless against the first good fighter he fought and it's happened a couple more times with the, supposedly, can't miss Cuban prospects.

I actually think too much amatuer experience hurts a fighter, if he is rushed. De La Hoya have 225 fights in he amatuers, 11 in the pros. When he gets hit hard, what do you think he would resort to? An amatuer style because it's what he knew. That's why amatuers with good careers need to mature into a professional and rushing a young De La Hoya into an ATG Morales, regardless of physical attributes, is a mistake.

 

Oscar was succesful in the ams because he had a pro style with a lot of speed.

Oscar was KO people in the ams. When he became pro, he brought him am style, and tweaked it with abit more power punching...but the fundementals like the superb jab, timing and footwork were there.

Some people have a difficult time ad******g to pro, like the cubans who fight in the ams well into their 20's, but Oscar didn't, it's the reaon he accomplished so much in his first 3 years as a pro, more than anynone in the last 20 years BY FAR.

Like I said, we can look at DLH's weaknesses, but we cannot turn a blind eye at Morales'.

Just because Morales is an ATG doesn't mean he wasn't easily on the down side of his career at 130. I bring back the Chavez fight..Morales showed he was struggling against the bigger fighter, and later he showed Zahir Raheem's speed and size were a problem..and that was EXACTLY one year after jumping up to SFW.

EVEN a 11-0 ODLH is leagues above ZAHIR Raheem.. think about that.

 

Good post:good And although i agree with you about Oscar being much better at 135. He was still damn good at Jl and even at 11 fights better better than Moore.

 

Funny thing about this DLH is he wasn't close to being prime yet, but I consider this DLH one of the most lethal lightweights that ever existed. The guy had yet to reach his welter days but ****, the man was a wrecking machine.