Shaq’s personality is such that he is the most entertaining portion of the above program, “Shaq Vs.,” more so than the idea of him fighting Oscar De La Hoya. Calling himself “Manny Shaquiao” is a stroke of comedy genius. His attempted assault on Bernard Hopkins mid-fight was hilarious.
But I do think anyone who watches will likely come away with a healthy respect for how hard boxing is. Shaq is a pretty amazing athlete. “This is a man’s workout,” he said at one point.
The fight itself? Shaq did look a bit better than I’d expect of anyone who’d never been in a fight. His jab was nice, and I think it actually puffed up De La Hoya’s face a little. Shaq admitted the punches hurt during a midfight interview, but he did behave very much like a boxer by pretending they didn’t. It wasn’t a bad scrap, competition-wise, even if it was a tad awkward; at times, both men seemed to be really fighting, and at times, both men seemed to take their foot off the gas.
All in all — surprisingly good entertainment.
