Hmmm, the last fight in which he looked good in was the vargas fight. But you can still see he wasnt as fast or energetic as he used to be.... When do you think delahoya started losing his prime?? He still looked pretty good in the tito fight :good
but theirs definitely a difference between the oscar that fought quartey and vargas isn't their? He looks slower and like his reaction isnt the same
Id say probably after the 2nd Mosley fight he slowed down a little,althought I think he was still an elite fighter until the Forbes fight.
Hopkins was the last fight imo he was prime. He retires afterward and when he comes back he's no longer the same. Oscar looked very fast vs Vargas, the only thing is today Vargas is criminally underrated, that is the Vargas of the past. But Oscar is sharp in that fight, employing triple jabs and crisp combos, his right hand is also an underrated weapon and he shows it in that fight.
I agree. That was the last time he looked fast and light on his feet. Some fans will tell you his decline was sooner than that because of his performance in the Felix Sturm fight, but we all know he just slacked in training for that fight. Post Hopkins was when De La Hoya actually started to decline.
Agree about post Hopkins. You can say he looked good in the Mayorga fight but Mayorga is a willing target and not an elite fighter.
Agree on Hopkins fight as a gatekeeper in DLH career, the following decline is not due to aging but to lack of focus, boxing is a full time job, you cannot belong to a boxing elite when your training sessions happen between company meetings
I think he was on a decline when he took on Vargas. 2000 was probably the last year he was at his best... Physically he was there, but a lot had to do with his desire in boxing , he seemed to loose focus after the Trinidad fight. The Trinidad fight was probably his last performance when he was at his best.
How? Oscar kicked his arse until he/his corner decided to get on their bike and try coast the last 3 odd rounds.
