QUO VADIS, OSCAR?
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 02 Apr 2009
Los Angeles, CA:- Recent reports indicates that the Golden Boy, Oscar de la Hoya has scheduled a news conference on Tuesday, April 14th at a downtown Los Angeles joint called Star Plaza to announce his plans for the future.
No hints however were said about his plans and his business partner Richard Schaefer is not saying anything either.
As everyone knows, Oscar suffered a very disappointing loss to the Filipino spitfire, Manny Pacquiao late last year. De la Hoya was supposed to give Pacquiao a tough run for the money but weight problems highlighted by a diet that included game meat, ice cold dunks and electric stimulation of muscles, derailed those expectations.
De la Hoya was so drained in his efforts to go down to the contract fight limit of 147 pounds that on fight night, he had nothing to give in return to the incessant assault of Pacquiao. A fight that should have been stopped in round four went a little further to the end of the 8th, adding more damage to the wasted body of De la Hoya.
At the end of the 8th De la Hoya was a picture of a beaten old man who have taken one too many shots. The best he could do was sat on the stool to accept defeat. His face was puffed and he plainly didn?t look good at all. And, he himself affirmed what Freddie Roach kept on saying all through the days before that fateful night at the MGM in Las Vegas- ?he can?t pull the trigger anymore?.
Fortunately, he healed so well, on the outside at least. But no one knows how he is on the inside.
Oscar de la Hoya should heed the call of many and get off the ring once and for all. Such action will be good for everyone, himself particularly. And, a healthy Oscar de la Hoya can do more good to boxing as a promoter to keep the other big players out there like Bob Arum and Don King up on their toes. As the saying goes:- the more, the merrier.
De la Hoya should also be smart enough to ignore the call of the few who wants to see him fight Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., not only for the mega bucks it will generate from the Mexicans fans who want nothing but see Junior avenge the terrible loss of the once great Cesar Chavez Sr, but also to prove that his loss to Pacquiao was a fluke and that he still has what it takes particularly at a higher weight class of around 154 pounds, give or take a few.
No one except himself and perhaps those intimately closed to him know what to expect on April 14th. And Oscar, an ultimate showman has chosen to dramatize his announcement (via a press conference) about his future to make whatever plans he has in mind create a more lasting impact to boxing and the business world around it.
Thus, we can only ask: - Quo Vadis Oscar?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.
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