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Superstar Oscar De La Hoya, aka "The Golden Boy," fights in front of a hometown crowd for the first time since 2000 when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: OSCAR DE LA HOYA VS. STEVE FORBES is seen live SATURDAY, MAY 3 (10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT) from The Home Depot Center in Carson, Cal., exclusively on HBO. Discuss this fight here!
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Re: WCB: May 3, 2008: De La Hoya vs. Forbes
May 2, 2008 10:06 PM
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To say a fight is entertaining is opinionated. Mayweather plans on Knocking Oscar out, personally I don't see it happening, but I would love to see it.
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Extreme HATING may cause constipation.
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Re: WCB: May 3, 2008: De La Hoya vs. Forbes
May 2, 2008 9:48 PM
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I easily see De La Hoya beating forbes by KO. There will be no way in hell I will purchase DLH vs. PBF 2! Mayweather will throw a few punches, run, and act just like he did in the first one. Mayweather in my opinion is not a boxer; in the contrary he is a very good actor. I loathe when the millions get to a boxers head! They no longer give the multitude the type of fights that entertains us. Such boxers as Mayweather, Hopkins, Wright, and Mosley fall under this criteria. I may be placing De La Hoya in this troop depending on the type of fight he gives the fans. A boxer is someone of the caliber of a Cotto, Margarito, Arce, Pacquiao.
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Re: WCB: May 3, 2008: De La Hoya vs. Forbes
May 2, 2008 6:03 PM
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It's official. Both DeLaHoya and Forbes each weighed in at 150lbs. exactly.
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Re: WCB: May 3, 2008: De La Hoya vs. Forbes
May 2, 2008 6:00 PM
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> Fraud/Carsalesman II. Funny, but more Like Money vs
> More money II.lol.
DeLaHoya is purposely and inadvertently making the whole Mayweather family a rich one.
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Re: WCB: May 3, 2008: De La Hoya vs. Forbes
May 2, 2008 6:00 PM
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> Fraud/Carsalesman II. Funny, but more Like Money vs
> More money II.lol.
>
> --
> Extreme HATING may cause constipation.
all the more reason not to support that fight.
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Re: WCB: May 3, 2008: De La Hoya vs. Forbes
May 2, 2008 5:56 PM
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Fraud/Carsalesman II. Funny, but more Like Money vs More money II.lol.
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Extreme HATING may cause constipation.
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Re: WCB: May 3, 2008: De La Hoya vs. Forbes
May 2, 2008 5:31 PM
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> *
>
>
> What a waste of time!!! Forbes was a champ at WHAT
> WEIGHT??..LOL
>
> Is there anyone gullible enough to believe that
> Forbes was not instructed not to endanger
> Fraud/CarSalesman 2 ????
>
> And why is there a second Fraud/CarSalesman 2
> anyway???
>
> Here is the sales pitch to snooker the public for the
> second fight:
>
> Ugly Mayweather Sr. has the secret to beat
> Fraud...LMAO.
>
> Here's the truth: The CarSalesman wants KESH, he is 5
> years washed up, he is now older, slower, weaker,
> less motivated.
>
> But the HBO hype machine will reel in the gullible
> hook, line, and sinker..lol
>
> Hey, Osco, that's right, he is now Osco, selling
> generic and cheap fights to the masses just like
> Cosco does merchandises.
>
> RETIRE ALREADY AND LEAVE THE FIGHTING TO REAL
> FIGHTERS LIKE PACQUIAO AND PAVLIK....AND TAKE YOUR
> DELUSIONAL FRIEND HOPKINS WITH YOU.
>
>
>
> *
GREAT POST!
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Re: WCB: May 3, 2008: De La Hoya vs. Forbes
May 2, 2008 5:23 PM
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Steve Forbes by UD! I hope & believe he'll win b/c dat means Floyd & Cotto will fight sooner.
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Re: WCB: May 3, 2008: De La Hoya vs. Forbes
May 2, 2008 4:45 PM
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*
What a waste of time!!! Forbes was a champ at WHAT WEIGHT??..LOL
Is there anyone gullible enough to believe that Forbes was not instructed not to endanger Fraud/CarSalesman 2 ????
And why is there a second Fraud/CarSalesman 2 anyway???
Here is the sales pitch to snooker the public for the second fight:
Ugly Mayweather Sr. has the secret to beat Fraud...LMAO.
Here's the truth: The CarSalesman wants KESH, he is 5 years washed up, he is now older, slower, weaker, less motivated.
But the HBO hype machine will reel in the gullible hook, line, and sinker..lol
Hey, Osco, that's right, he is now Osco, selling generic and cheap fights to the masses just like Cosco does merchandises.
RETIRE ALREADY AND LEAVE THE FIGHTING TO REAL FIGHTERS LIKE PACQUIAO AND PAVLIK....AND TAKE YOUR DELUSIONAL FRIEND HOPKINS WITH YOU.
*
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Re: WCB: May 3, 2008: De La Hoya vs. Forbes
May 2, 2008 4:18 PM
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De La Hoya to come home to cheers, not jeers
Straight out of East L.A., Oscar De La Hoya will fight in his own backyard on Saturday, at the Home Depot Center, for the first time in eight years.
Many think backlash from some Latinos over the success of East L.A. boxer will finally be put to rest when he fights Steve Forbes in his first match here in eight years.
There was a time, not so long ago in Oscar De La Hoya's memory, when the "Golden Boy" from East L.A. was treated not to hometown worship, but to boos.
On Saturday, he fights Steve Forbes, and for De La Hoya it is in a sense a homecoming because he hasn't boxed here in eight years.
Many close to the Olympic gold medalist predict a cascade of cheers from the expected capacity crowd of 27,000 at Home Depot Center's soccer stadium -- a tribute, they say, that will finally end what they see as a stubborn backlash to De La Hoya's success.
That success came swiftly. He won instant fame after the 1992 Barcelona Games, and his leading-man looks and charisma fueled wild popularity when he turned pro.
Yet, there was an undercurrent of disfavor.
Some still call him a traitor. Others still revile him as a pretty boy. Some in his own neighborhood still are ready to boo him. The disdain is less mean now, though, and certainly less enveloping.
"I didn't understand it," De La Hoya said the other day. ". . . Everywhere I'd go, I'd get booed. It was frustrating."
Ron Shelton, who wrote and directed "Bull Durham" and "White Men Can't Jump," has closely followed De La Hoya.
"We have a lot of icons in L.A., but not many of them are homegrown," Shelton said. "Magic was drafted from Michigan, Koufax came from Brooklyn, Fernando was from Mexico. This guy's one of us. And he's immortal."
Fame came so fast for De La Hoya, now 35, yet has been so lasting: A bronze statue of the boxer will be joining those of Magic Johnson and Wayne Gretzky outside Staples Center.
It began with the gold medal won for the U.S., and for his mom, who had died of cancer. Many still remember how he fought back tears on the victory stand.
By 1996, he was 21-0 as a pro. Then he landed a fight against the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez of Mexico. Chavez, who held the World Boxing Council light welterweight title, was beloved by Latino boxing fans here for his toughness, his Mexican roots and his common-man persona.
De La Hoya destroyed Chavez in a fourth-round technical knockout. He destroyed something else too: part of his fan base. Many Latinos were left feeling angry, they loved Chavez so. They openly mocked De La Hoya as a pretty boy and a "pocho" -- not a true Mexican, and not a true American, the boxer's former publicist Bill Caplan recalled.
This scorn flew full force later that year, when Chavez fought Joey Gamache in Anaheim and De La Hoya made a public appearance there. He was greeted with ear-splitting boos.
"Here I am, an athlete thinking only about being a champion," De La Hoya said. "I beat the biggest name in Mexico, and it was like everyone turned on me. The die-hard boxing aficionados couldn't stand me. I didn't understand."
Alexandro Jose Gradilla, assistant professor of Chicano studies at Cal State Fullerton, said De La Hoya probably never will be able to win over Latinos with strong roots in Mexico.
"This hits at the heart of the 'old' versus the 'new' thinking," Gradilla said. "While De La Hoya represents through his charities and financial success something that many can point to as a great thing, a source of great national pride is boxing.
"This is something the immigrant does better, and for some, the one thing they at least had was boxing and Julio Cesar Chavez."
Gradilla noted that even De La Hoya's style gets picked on.
"From the perspective of Mexicans, they don't get Oscar, a Mexican American, walking into the ring with mariachis. . . . It's a combination of national and male pride," he said. "Oscar can't measure up to the 'manliness' of a Mexican man. He's always going to be viewed with suspicion."
For De La Hoya, Saturday's bout is a pre-Cinco de Mayo celebration intended to welcome fans from all backgrounds and income levels -- some tickets have a face value of $25.
"He's good for us, because he's an example to everybody," Jairo Contreras, 23, an admitted former gang member, said last week as he stood on an East L.A. corner distributing job fliers to students at De La Hoya's old school, Garfield High. "We need more people to come out of the ghetto, you know?
"You need a spark, because without a spark, there's no hope. . . . There's a better life. Seeing Oscar do it from here, you say, 'I can do it too.' "
It is clear De La Hoya has helped to inspire. He has held several world boxing titles, is building his L.A.-based Golden Boy Promotions, and with John Long, founder of real estate investment firm Highridge Partners, formed Golden Boy Enterprises to invest in housing and mixed-use developments in Latino communities.
"I grew up in a rough and tough neighborhood, but you have people there who want to succeed and work hard and live the American dream," De La Hoya said. "I struggled, I came from humble beginnings. But I'll continue to fight and make sure the message is still out there: Work hard, go after your dreams."
But the boos made it tough. It got so bad that De La Hoya was criticized for something as simple as moving from East L.A. to Montebello, which is next-door, though he now resides in Puerto Rico with his wife, Millie, and two of his five children.
At one point, "I said, 'The heck with it, I don't need to be the guy who gives back,' " he said. "And I had this mind-frame for quite awhile."
Comedian Paul Rodriguez, a friend of De La Hoya, said the audience that rooted most venomously against De La Hoya was "the Mexican who speaks Spanish and who roots for the Mexico soccer team over the U.S. soccer team, even though it's hard to understand why you're loyal to a country that wasn't loyal to you."
That sentiment still exists in spots.
Robert Hernandez, 50, emerged from working under a pickup at Rosemead Radiator in Boyle Heights to explain that he thinks of De La Hoya as "kind of a sissy; he's never fought the tough guys."
At Sunday's Fiesta Broadway downtown, Fernando Lopez of Oaxaca, Mexico, said he won tickets to De La Hoya-Forbes on a radio call-in show but refused to take them because he dislikes De La Hoya.
Lopez, wearing a Mexican soccer club's jersey, also admitted his favorite boxer was Chavez. "I don't like [De La Hoya] much because he claims the American flag and the Mexican flag," he said. "He can't decide where he's from. And he fights like a woman."
Amid a lunchtime crowd at El Tepeyac Cafe in Boyle Heights, school bus driver Gabriel Aguilar, 30, recalled how he once dismissed De La Hoya's victories as "fixed fights" and had explained away Chavez's loss by citing the loser's age.
Yet, Aguilar said, he finally realized some of the ridicule was misguided after his female cousin said her husband "hated" the boxer but, he said, "that was only because she had got Oscar's signature on her bra."
Working at a swap meet on East L.A.'s Whittier Boulevard, fan Veronica Montesdeoca badly wanted to talk about De La Hoya. A Spanish speaker, she hurriedly found a translator.
Montesdeoca, 29, who has bought every De La Hoya pay-per-view bout since 1998, said women she knows watch him "just because they like him and how he fights."
"His face is so beautiful," she said. "The guys say things. . . . I guess when you fight, your face is supposed to be ugly. But I'm proud of him. His family is Mexican, and I'm Mexican."
Shelton, the director, said De La Hoya took care of whatever boxing questions lingered in his last dozen bouts by going 7-5 against some top fighters: Felix Trinidad, Shane Mosley (twice), Fernando Vargas, Bernard Hopkins, Ricardo Mayorga and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
It was Vargas who taunted De La Hoya before their match by declaring himself the "real Mexican." Vargas lost in an 11th-round technical knockout, and then tested positive for steroids.
It was that stirring triumph over the street-toughened Vargas, Aguilar said, that gained De La Hoya the greatest respect from his most fervent doubters.
"When someone is as successful as Oscar is, some resent it," Shelton said. "He's the greatest thing to ever happen to Southern California boxing. He's crossed over ethnic lines, gender lines, young, old. He's a movie star who doesn't act, and he's never failed to fight well."
De La Hoya has donated millions of dollars to Southland causes. On L.A.'s Eastside, he has opened a youth center and cancer treatment and neonatal centers at White Memorial Medical Center. He has also established the charter Oscar De La Hoya High School and routinely offers food and toy giveaways.
Helping his hometown, he decided, was the right thing to do, even if, he said, "two out of 100 people are booing you."
"You think about the big picture and realize people need help," he said. "I still hear things here and there, but I chalk it up to characters whose girlfriend may have a crush on me. I hope those people who were booing me have had kids born in this country now who they want to achieve the American dream, like me."
That dream is still fresh.
"From the day those fans -- literally thousands -- went to LAX and greeted me after Barcelona, there was no way I'd ever forget that," he said. "The flashbacks from that day, that reminds me that they're the ones who started my career, and this is something I have to do back for them."
Rodriguez points to De La Hoya's "presence in the community, his investment in us," and said that some in the community should bring signs to Saturday's fight reading, "I'm sorry."
"He's suffered hearing those things that he's too pretty, or not Mexican enough," Rodriguez said. "But, for my money, he's the best thing to ever come out of East L.A."
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Re: WCB: May 3, 2008: De La Hoya vs. Forbes
May 2, 2008 4:04 PM
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De La Hoya begins retirement tour
By Tim Dahlberg, AP Boxing Writer
LOS ANGELES ? Oscar De La Hoya hasn't fought much in recent years, and there's only so much time he can spend in the office tending to business matters. So he's had time, and lots of it, to plan for a future that doesn't include the risk of his handsome face being rearranged by a wayward punch.
At home in Puerto Rico, he discussed retirement with his wife, who had no problem with him quitting boxing. His father was even more eager to sign on, since he thought De La Hoya should have retired after stopping Fernando Vargas nearly six years ago.
That left one other person to convince. He proved to be the biggest hurdle of all.
"I'm the stubborn one," De La Hoya said. "I think I can still do this, and it makes me want to keep doing it."
At the age of 35 he won't be doing it much longer, assuming he sticks to a plan he carefully crafted to say goodbye to a career that has made him the richest and most successful fighter of his time. And that's a big assumption, considering De La Hoya is a fighter and fighters rarely know when to quit.
But he insists boxing fans will see the last of him this year in a series of three fights beginning with his bout Saturday night against light-hitting Steve Forbes.
"It's been the most difficult decision I had to make, to convince myself to prepare myself for retirement," De La Hoya said. "It took me a long time, but I'm ready to go."
De La Hoya will be helped along the way with a nice retirement package that includes a fat bank account, an office tower he owns in Los Angeles and a thriving boxing promotion business. He also owns Spanish language newspapers, Ring magazine and a healthy portion of the Houston Dynamo soccer team, among other things.
And then there's the $50 million or more he'll pocket this year, with most of it coming from a planned September fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. that will be the rematch of the richest fight ever.
But even a golden parachute for the Golden Boy won't completely soften his exit from the sport that has consumed him since his father introduced him to gloves as a child.
"I'm going to feel very sad to retire," De La Hoya said. "But I'm 35 and it's time to go. Nothing is going to convince me to come back. Nothing."
Ever the promoter, De La Hoya has plotted a retirement strategy that will maximize both his exposure and his bank account. It starts with a homecoming of sorts for the product of East Los Angeles before a crowd that could reach 30,000 at the Home Depot Center.
The fight is little more than a tuneup for De La Hoya, who hasn't fought since losing a split decision to Mayweather a year ago. He hand picked Forbes for the comeback effort, hoping to put on a performance that will make boxing fans forget that he has won only two of his last five fights and hasn't had a win over a significant opponent since stopping Vargas in September 2002.
It's not that his cold streak has cost him any popularity. He remains the only fighter who can sell big pay-per-views like the record 2.4 million for Mayweather, and the only fighter who would even dream of trying to fill the Home Depot Center, where tickets are priced starting at $25.
But even though De La Hoya remains a huge draw and a big fan favorite, a look at his record shows two very different career halves. The first half was the De La Hoya who was 31-0 before employing a disastrous strategy and losing his September 1999 fight with Felix Trinidad when he ran in the final rounds, while the second is his 7-5 record since then.
Forbes, who otherwise had only good things to say about the man who will give him his biggest payday, suggested himself that most of his wins came against fighters who were fading by the time that De La Hoya met them.
"I'm a boxing historian and I don't think he's beaten anybody in their prime in his prime," Forbes said.
That doesn't mean De La Hoya will necessarily have any trouble with Forbes, a decent fighter who once held the 130-pound title and lost in the final of the "Contender" reality series. De La Hoya is a 17-1 favorite to win the scheduled 12-round fight, which has a 150-pound contract limit, and stay on course for his September megafight rematch with Mayweather.
Forbes should have an insight to how De La Hoya will fight. He was trained by Mayweather's father, Floyd Jr., who is now back with De La Hoya after sitting out his fight against Floyd Jr. for family reasons, and now has Mayweather's uncle, Jeff, in his corner.
"I think he's overlooked me a little big," said Forbes, who is 33-5 but has only nine knockouts. "I think now he's putting a little more thought in me than at first."
De La Hoya insists he doesn't view Forbes as a pushover, and has trained since January to get back to a weight he hasn't fought at since stopping Arturo Gatti seven years ago. He says he's a hungry fighter, inspired by a retirement strategy that gives him a chance to go out on top and leave a legacy that is something more than just being good looking, popular and rich.
"I think I have left something on the table these last few years," De La Hoya said. "But it's been a good career. I've had some good fights."
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Re: WCB: May 3, 2008: De La Hoya vs. Forbes
May 2, 2008 1:19 PM
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Watch for DLH to ulitlize his jab, and be using the shoulder roll quite a bit, as thats Floyd Sr.'s favorite defensive move. Watch for Forbes to prove to be much more elusive than a Ricardo Mayorga. The massive crowd of Oscarsexuals at the Home Depot Center are going to be expecting a first round KO, but Forbes will prove to be a spoiler. I sincerely hope it goes the distance, even though theres no chance in HELL that Forbes could get a decision over the Golden Fishnets in LA.
We ARE Team Mayweather, baby, and tell Floyd Sr. that he couldnt carry Roger's jockstrap, as a trainer, or a fighter.
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Re: WCB: May 3, 2008: De La Hoya vs. Forbes
May 2, 2008 11:24 AM
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No I will not be buying the Mayweather-Oscar fight, but my cousin will and thats where I will be watching it. I think Cotto beats Margaritto if it goes the distance. I would not be suprised to see Margaritto win, but I think Cotto is by far the better fighter. How do you duck a fighter who is not trying to fight you? Mayweather didn't duck Margaritto either, he just didn't fight him. He had bigger plans in mind than 8 million, which he more than trippled in the De La Hoya and Hatton fights. Remember this is the same Mayweather that refused HBO's 12 million dollar contract when he was like 22 which would have been an extreme amount of money for him at the time. And what is taking Cotto so long to sign that contract with Margaritto, they have the same promoter and the fight was anounced 3 weeks ago. Question how many times did Arum try to match Mayweather and Cotto or Mayweather and Margaritto before Mayweathers contract buy out.
"Arum said while Mayweather would have taken the $8 million to fight Margarito, but he wanted $10 million guarantee to fight opponents such as Miguel Cotto and Ricky Hatton, when Arum was only willing to guarantee $7 million.
Arum said Mayweather also asked for $20 million to fight De La Hoya, a fight Arum said he wasn't interested in participating in. "
These are the reason the fights did not happen. 8 Million for Margaritto, 7 million for Cotto, and 7 million for Hatton, and No Oscar De La Hoya match. Mayweather made more money for one fight with De La Hoya than he would have made in three fights against the opponents Arum wanted him to face. All Arum had to do was Gurantee 10 mil for Cotto and Hatton each, then all three fights would have happened.
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Extreme HATING may cause constipation.
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Edited by gabossboy at 05/02/2008 8:25 AM PDT
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Re: WCB: May 3, 2008: De La Hoya vs. Forbes
May 2, 2008 11:05 AM
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COTTO IS THE REAL DEAL!!!
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Re: WCB: May 3, 2008: De La Hoya vs. Forbes
May 2, 2008 11:03 AM
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its amazing to me that that everyone is ignoring the fact that Margarito has five defeats at the hands of much lesser tier opponents than Cotto...Doesn't that count for anything or are we at the point where we just disregard the facts at hand. Cotto destroys Quintana, Williams squeaks by Margerito, Quintana bloodies Williams' face and beats him...Do the math my people... its not that hard...wishful thinking won't do us any good
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Edited by radimmortal18 at 05/02/2008 8:04 AM PDT
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