Ken Buchanan - Oscar de la Hoya at 135

Duran may have had a better arsenal, but punch for punch, Oscar hit harder. I've said it before, Duran was never a one punch knockout artist. Oscar coulld take you out with one punch.

 

I think Kenny eventually drowns a young Hoya.

Absolutely no doubt at all that Oscar's speed and ranginess would see him win many rounds..especially early on.

But KB is to smart...to tough...to much skill. I think self doubt would creep into Oscar's head around the 4th or 5th round when he sees his bombs cant dent the teak tough Scotsman. He finds himself in with a guy who can match him for technical ability and fleet footwork.
Kenny knows to many tricks up close and starts grinding Oscar down to his inevitable gassing later on.


Over 15 I have little doubt that Kenny has enough time up his sleeve to win a fairly comfortable decision after soaking up a bit of punishment earlier on. Over 12 there is a very good chance Oscar could edge it, especially considering the handicaps he has at times started with that seem to get him decisions...but of course Kenny wouldnt fight him the same anyway and would probably just up the pace earlier..not that that guarantees him a win, I think it could either way over the shorter distance.
As much as I truly admire Oscar as a great fighter, one of the best of his era, I do question his willingness to go out on his shield. Which some on here have brought up before and I think Im more or less paraphrasing how someone else had already put it.
I think once the combination of fatigue and frustration at not being able to have his way with Kenny set in Oscar would rather just let rounds tick by against him then go through hell to wretch them back.
Thats no knock on him at all...just some fighters are like that and Kenny on the otherhand was not.

 

People forget just how good Oscar was at 135. He was a beast. Buchanan was a very good fighter, but he was not quite in the upper echelon of champions. There is a difference in very good and special. Oscar was special.

 

And as I pointed out and you couldnt seem to get back to me on..why is it then that Roberto has many one punch stoppages throughout his career and quite often against high class opposition?

Did they not happen?

 

Like who? I see Oscar blasting out opposition early and late, while in my book, Duran wore down most of his opposition, like Buchanan.

 

there is so much love for buchanan i think this is a very close fight and either could win it
buchanan is a very pleasing on the eye boxer but i am in the minority as i feel he gets a little overated

 

Even though I've been ambivalent about Oscar as a person for years, I do think he gets the least amount of credit for what he was and did of all the guys regularly talked about on ESB. Largely because his losses seem to obscure his wins, even when they're very close losses. Oscar would be a great opponent for any fighter from every weight class he fought in up to 147, and a good opponent for any fighter up to 154. That's saying an immense amount for him. He didn't really have a middleweight identity to me, title or not. But that was a ballsy stretch he made. At lightweight he hadn't matured but he was still more mountain than mole hill. Few fighters of his era chose to consistently fight at the highest level possible the way he did.

 

:good I wasn't even a fan of Oscar at the time, but I always watched his fights because he was a crowd pleaser and had amazing skills.

 

Robertson, Rojas, Takayama, Brooks, Villa, Ortiz and probably dozens more over fighters not worth mentioning. Maybe some were 1-2 knockouts but they were abrupt and they were brutal.

Dont assume that an early stoppage means a one punch Ko and late stoppage does not.

Oscar had plenty of his Ko's that were stoppages, not clean 10 count KO's..
Oscar had very impressive one punch power...but saying Duran did not is just not true. I think his right hand is nearly as good has Oscar's left hook in this regard.

 

I'm not saying that Duran couldn't knock out his opponents, because he obviously had power, but Oscar dented some pretty solid chins, that were never dented the way Oscar did it. Duran beat you up in all kinds of ways, though. He was a savage. Oscar took you out more cleanly.

 

Both men liked to take it into the trenches late, I just think aesthetically Buchanan is the better and more awkward boxer.

Oscar was basically a one-handed fighter in his prime and I feel over 12 Buchanan would be able to figure him out and do enough, over 15 and Buchanan is really going to show his strength and class.

Buchanan PTS De La Hoya; very close though, Oscars natural gifts will shine through against pretty much anyone.

 

Kidding aside, I was a fan of Oscar and saw some good technical skills. But he wouldn't beat Buchanan.

That phony smile every time the camera was on was very annoying, but he was a great asset for the sport and was not a bad fighter at all. But he wouldn't beat Buchanan.

 

I think Duran clearly hit as hard than Oscar. His power went up to Middleweight really, against decent opposition. Personally, I think the Duran that faced Moore would've been a little more savage with the Vargas and Mayorga De La Hoya fought. In their peak weights, I'd say it's clear Duran was as big and much better a puncher. Oscars right hand was never a huge factor, and Duran beat on the whole, better opposition.

When you look at the left hook that hurt Leonard in the 2nd round of Montreal, you think Oscar would've bettered that, would've thrown himself into and landed that punch like Duran did? De La Hoya would get blitzed by Ray Leonard, his chin keeping him in there longer than he needs to be.

I think De La Hoya has his place in history now; a good fighter, no doubt, definitely one of the top 100 fighters of all time.

But nowhere near approaching the top 50 I don't feel.

 

Duran was up and down in the bigger weights. He definately proved himself more at LW than Oscar, and his great performance against Leonard proved he could be a great WW, but he couldn't knock Leonard out, and was totally inconsistent after that. If anything Oscar was consistent, and proved he could knock out the big boys at WW. He also proved to be more than just a puncher at WW. You have to give him credit. Duran could never fight the way he fought Leonard that night in Montreal.

 

Duran fought Palomino before Leonard and put on a fantastic performance. I'd put my Parents House on Oscar not doing as good against either fighter.