Silence Speaks Volumes…Talk Ends, Fight Begins All of the commercials, the promotions, the hype….the talk. Everything that’s been done and discussed over the last three months finally culminates into a massive entertainment spectacle before our very eyes tonight as Oscar Dela Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. put it all on the line. As the countdown days have decreased, the questions have rapidly increased but no matter how tough they are, tonight they must all be answered for their’s no turning back now. It’s easy to see why this event has a sort of ‘intimate progression’ as it’s been all ‘build up’ and tonight will finally be the big ‘release’ of all the emotions and energy trapped in the minds of everyone from the fighters to the fans. With nothing left to dissect, we take a look at a few key stats. Deal-Breakers?: Could These Stats Mean A “W”?
- Floyd Mayweather Jr. outlanded his last 4 opponents a collective total 537-177 which is an advantage ratio for Floyd of 19 to 5 punches landed per round. (4 Opponents were Baldomir, Judah, Gatti, and Mitchell). This is why they call him “Pretty Boy”. Few have been able to land at will against one of the best defenders ever in the sport.
- Floyd Mayweather Jr. is 15-0 past 8th round, Oscar Dela Hoya is 8-4, dropping 3 of his last 7.
- Oscar Dela Hoya has a slight height advantage (5’11” to 5’8”), but their reach is identical at 72 inches.
- Oscar’s listed as the bigger fighter, but aside from chest, biceps, and forearms, Mayweather is actually bigger across the board. Most notable is the thigh, calf, and neck, which could be pivotal because the leg base is where the power shots come from and the neck obviously helps absorb the high-placed power shots.
- Oscar is calm prior to his fights and super aggressive during the fight, while Floyd is aggressive prior to his fights but generally is rather calm in his execution during. This is important because calm execution is key in an epic battle like this where the crowd can cause a fighter to overreact.
- Oscar Dela Hoya is undefeated in the month of May (career record 6-0) and has only gone past round 7 in the month of May once.
- Oscar Dela Hoya has only fought 27 rounds in the last 3 years and hasn’t gone past round 9 since June ’05.
- Could changing trainers affect Oscar? Possibly, but maybe not as even his trainer, the great Freddie Roach has conceded that when things get testy for any fighter they’ll likely revert to what they’ve always done.
- If Floyd wins this fight, keep an eye on the left eye (if standing in front) of Oscar Dela Hoya. This eye will be the main problem for Oscar throughout the fight if Floyd does get the “W”.
