This thread is the perfect opportunity for all those posters with poor memories to conveniently forget what a tremendous fighter Oscar was in his prime. De La Hoya via early stoppage.
Why is this such a ridiculous question to some? Because Oscar was in the past therefore more mythical? If Floyd Vs Pac at 140 is 50/50 then no doubt Pac-Oscar is competitive. IMO Pac is now a full blown JWW and Oscar at the time was a JWW. Good fight, Both have speed & power, Oscar had the better chin, Pac a lot quicker and more agile and better stamina.
I never thought Oscar had a good chin. I thought he avoided getting in slugfests because he knew his chin was not great. He was a safety first fighter, which others of the 1990's guys were like Roy Jones Jr. It was such a let down from the 1980s with guys like Hagler and Hearns who came to fight.
I'm a pac fan and I have high respects with ODLH. I'd say it depends on the weight catergory. Of course the heavier the better for ODLH to win. The lighter the better for pac.
Safety first? Are you kidding me! He traded with the best of them in every weight class. The only time he purely used his superior boxing skill was against Trinidad, and he owned him in the ring.
Oscar had good defense, that does not make him safety first. Coming to fight? You could say Hearns fought the last half of his Leonard fight in a safety first stye.