Who should Oscar De La Hoya fight next? To my way of thinking there is only one fighter out there for Oscar to face and that is Antonio Margarito. Forget Manny Paquiao, forget Sergio Mora, and please, forget Felix Trinidad, whom Oscar has already beaten once fair and square. Trinidad is just a shell of his former self. He should fight Antonio Margarito. It’s the only real win -win fight out there for him and, just as importantly, for boxing fans.
It has to be tempting for Oscar to think about going out with a win over Manny, but that’s the business side of Oscar. This fight is a no win situation for Oscar, though I doubt he would lose this fight, it would really mar his career if he did and a win over Manny would produce more yawns than a George Bush State of the Union address. Because of the size difference Oscar has been criticized for even considering this fight. Personally, I don’t see the problem, especially when you consider that Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, and especially Tommy Hearns, all made a good living fighting Roberto Duran and were all naturally bigger men than Duran, who began his career as a 118 lb fighter and was the lightweight champ for seven years before moving up to the welterweights and then ultimately, the middleweights, where at the age of 38, he beat a much larger and younger Iran Barkley in 1989 to win the WBC Middleweight title. The truth is he was just a blown up light weight. As far as I’m concerned that cancels out any criticism of De La Hoya.
Again, with all that being said, Oscar should fight Margarito. Call me crazy, but It’s not inconceivable to me that Oscar, even at the age of 35, could win against Margarito, though the odds would certainly be stacked against him. Miguel Cotto has already laid out the blue print for beating him, but even if he had not, Oscar possesses the skills to out box Margarito. Style wise, and you can disagree with me if you want, Margarito is tailor made for Oscar but that is not what Oscar has to concern himself with. The bottom line with Margarito is heart and chin but he is not unbeatable, despite how unbeatable he looked against Cotto.
There is no trickery or dishonesty about the way Margarito fights, he just fights. Again, you can disagree with me if you want but Oscar De La Hoya is also an honest fighter, though his style is different than Margarito. When he has lost, he never made excuses , he took it like a man and when he has won, he did so with grace and he never ducked anyone. What more can we ask of him? My hope is that Oscar will think with the fighter side and not the business side of him, his heart not his brain and decide to fight Margarito. This would be a classic Chicano vs. Mexican fight. I’m starting to feel like one of the last of the Mohicans in my support of Oscar De La Hoya but I would like to see this fight and I would like to see Oscar win. Win, lose or draw this is the way to go out.
Oscar De La Hoya's Career Record
Antonio Margarito's Career Record
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