Ignoring the fact that the Oscar who fought at 154 pre-Hopkins is distinctly different to the won that beautifully pummeled Mayorga (in build and in style -- post B-Hop bit slower but more frequent power-shots). If this fight had happened, who would you have favoured? I could see both winning & have a hard time splitting it. This, indeed, was a fight that should've happened but never did! And it is a fight which poses some interesting questions on both sides which I hope this thread will explore.
i'd wanna go with winky, i think he's always been alittle underrated, but in his prime, no one really wanted to fight him. he had a great defense and a powerful right jab, but nothing much came after that since he was a right hander fighting southpaw. he usually did well vs. punchers like tito and shane, even tho it was a very close fight with shane the second time some people thought shane took it. i think winky might of taken oscars best shots, but just barely wins a split decision. i think winky's bigger frame and cocky attitude might of made him open up vs. oscar and make him alittle overconfident. still, he took bhops shots, i think he can take oscars. winky wins
Winky is all wrong for DLH. ONce Winky covers up, DLH can pretty much do nothing. Winky jabs DLH all night en route to a UD.
I'd see Oscar doing a better job than Mosley (yes, styles) for the first 1/2 of the fight. I see Winky catching Oscar with some good left-hand counters from time to time with Oscar pushing the action while his cardio & spirit holds for the first 1/2 of the fight [[some very close rounds, hard to decide who to give it to]] ... then, fatigue (as is usual for Oscar) would set in + Winky would win atleast 3 of the final 4 rounds... -- hence resulting in the controversial split. I think Oscar's left-hook coming round Winky's blind-side would shock Winky a few times, also. Having said that, Oscar has always been a bit of a sucker for counter-punchers & as his cardio begins to deplete.. Winky's jab & left-hand would begin to takeover. I guess what I'm most interested in is this: could Winky stay on his feet the whole fight despite eating a decent number of jaw-shattering signature DLH left-hooks?
as expected, I can see a lot of people overlooking Oscar's work-rate, here. Whilst he's not gassing, his work-rate & accuracy could swarm Winky -- while they wouldn't land flush... they'd win him a fair few rounds
DLH would start strong, but fades as usual and Wink takes over mid/late rounds. Winky by close UD or SD
Oscar can't get past Winky's defense or his jab. Winky wins clearly 8-4 or 9-3. A prime Winky Wright is a very underrated fighter here.
very close fight. If the DLH that showed up to the sturm fight shows up vs Winky, then it's Winky UD, but the DLH that outboxed Vargas could possibly box and even get through Winky's defense winning a UD.
I'd favour Winky prime for prime at 154lbs. Wrights southpaw stance and tight guard would pose Oscar major problems. While De La Hoya's flashy combo's maybe effective against more open defences, against Wright he lands one shot before closing the doors and blocking the follow up punches. Fighters who in the past that have beaten Wright have done so by getting inside and out muscling him and out working him, Oscar doesn't have the style, strength or stamina to do so. Winky by UD in a competitive fight.
