"As the fight unfolded there was a feeling that an epic battle would erupt at any moment in the middle of the ring. Unfortunately, the bout never came close to achieving that climatic peak that fans were so anxiously anticipating."
These guys wrote that about a fight that happened in '99. And it was just as true of De La Hoya-Mayweather I as it was of De La Hoya-Trinidad.
This morning, I watched this and mourned for Oscar just a little bit.
The old Oscar was all head and no heart. That's why he couldn't beat Tito. The Oscar I saw last night showed heart. And was his typical heady self. But he still couldn't beat Mayweather. As if it's all too little, too late. The boxer finally became a fighter, but when he did, there wasn't enough boxer left in him to claim his place in history.
Or maybe Oscar was just outmatched. But not by much. 'Cause Floyd, Jr. didn't have enough boxer or fighter in him to overwhelm Oscar and scratch his name alongside Ali, Sugar Ray and Roy. Leaving us with a mediocre, split-decision of a fight.
Which, naturally, left me rather underwhelmed. And now that I'm $60 lighter, I really miss Roy Jones, Jr. 'Cause even when his matches were merely a spectacle, I always felt like I got my money's worth.
Last night, not so much.
Next time, maybe so. As long as that history doesn't repeat.
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