What was De La Hoyas bravest fight to take on

Hopkins. There was public pressure on De La Hoya to take on Mosley and Trinidad. Had he not fought them, he would have been ripped for ducking. No one would have complained if Oscar had not taken the Hopkins fight. Hop was a monster who was the bigger and stronger man and at the top of the pound for pound lists. Oscar deserves a lot of props for taking that fight.

 

Hopkins

 

If Oscar thought he was faster than Mosley, he was clearly on crack.

 

Like JackPresscot and his alterego Gayb?

 

No question.

It was Hopkins, who began (and continues) at 175.

Oscar began at 130.

 

Felix Sturm. DLH had no chance but still agreed to take this fight.

 

De La Hoya was 26 years old when he fought Trinidad, which was in and around his prime. Trinidad never had a great chin and was known for being one dimensional.

It was that fight that highlighted that Trinidad was one-dimensional.

 

trinidad

oscar didnt have to fight a young prime undefeated puncher

but he did

 

Trinidad had brutally knocked out a top five (at least) middleweight in William Joppy before he fought Hop. He looked like 160 pounds was his natural weight and he certainly appeared to carry his power. Tito was a heavy favorite in the Hopkins fight; very few people thought Oscar could beat Hopkins. Oscar had struggled in his first bout at 160. That's probably why those outcomes are looked at differently. In retrospect, maybe people were wrong to favor Tito, but most did.

As far as the amount of money Oscar made meaning it was never a high risk/low reward situation for him, you could say that about a lot of fighters. In that case, Mosley jumping up to 147 to fight Oscar was not a risky move because he got his highest payday against ODLH. Besides, Oscar has shown the ability to make a ton of money fighting people like Yory Boy Campas and Ricardo Mayorga. He didn't have to fight Hopkins or Pretty Boy to add to his bank account.

 

Agreed. :good

Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems that people want to keep DLH and Trinidad in the same boat as far as the issues of weight goes. But when it comes right down to it, Trinidad is just naturally able to carry more weight better than Oscar. People say that DLH was out of his league at 160 because he didn't accomplish **** there, and it's obvious by his fight with Sturm that he was in way over his head. Trinidad on the other hand, as you've said.. crushed WBA champion William Joppy. Everyone's just different when it comes to moving from one division to another.... who would've thought that Roy Jones would eventually come up from 160 and dominate the light-heavyweight division for what seems like a life-time.

 

True. No one was calling Tito a blown up welter before the Hopkins fight. In fact, a lot of people were saying the opposite, that he had been starving himself to make 147 for so long and 160 was a perfect fit. Also, the next proposed fight after he beat up Hopkins was supposed to be a fight with Roy Jones Jr at 168.

 

That doesn't sound completely unbelievable. I always did feel that he resembled an ethiopian at 147.

 

There are loads and that's why he is loved and will be remembered. Through it all, he deserves it. Unfortunately he couldn't compile a record that was quite as substantial as a Leonard or Robinson BUT...

...he dared, and that means ALOT!

 

hopkins no contest. he was too big, too strong, too good for oscar. oscar deserves respect for pushing for and making that fight happen, he really wanted that fight to solidify his legacy instead of fattening his wallet, unlike most fighters nowadays.

 

Mosley I & II, Trinidad, Quartey, Hopkins, Mayweather.