CARL MORETTI, matchmaker, Main Events
"Trinidad is the better fighter . . . but de la Hoya will
win the fight!!"JOHNNY BOS, Superstar Boxing
"Trinidad is too strong and too quick. It could end early, but it wouldn't
surprise me to see it go the other way. That's the kind of fight this is. This is less
like Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns and more like one Thomas Hearns in against
another Thomas Hearns."
STEVE TRITLE, Boxing Collector
"Trinidad by 11th round KO"
J. MICHAEL KENYON, writer/historian (The
BAWLI Papers)
"I expect a wild flurry of action early on, with both fighters eager to get
it over quick. But then I look for it to go to a decision, which will go to
De La Hoya, the more experienced in pressure situations."
JIM STINSON, Jim Stinson Sports -
Boxing memorabilia
"Trinidad winner by TKO in the 9th."
EDDIE JAYE, collector
"Personally--I think the BEST fighter in the lighter weight classes is
without a doubt--Stevie Johnston--This week end I predict a DeLahoya win going to the
cards for a split decision."
MARK LICHTENFELD, Preisdent, Fanatic Games (Fantasy Boxing Leagues)
"I'm halfway expecting something no one is really focusing on. I'll go with
De La Hoya on a late TKO, maybe in the tenth round."
RICH RYAN, boxing manager - "The Boxing Angel"
"They will both be too likely to take any real chances early on.The mid
rounds I feel will be were Trinidad makes his move to dominate. Oscar.Oscar has shown a
stiffness when pressured.I say Trinidad KO round's 7 or 8 ,if not It will be
a draw."
SEAN CADDLE, boxing trainer
"Trinidad inside of 4 rounds. After de la Hoya drops him and gets
careless. LIGHTS OUT."
J.E. SMITH, talk show host, "Smitty's Sportstalk"
"Trinidad"
PETE PARRY, KO Sports
"It will be a great fight! It will be very physical, with DeLaHoya being cut
around the 8th round. Oscar will appear to tire as the fight wears on
and Trinidad will floor him late, en route to a unanimous decision win, handing DeLaHoya
his first pro loss."
CHEE, Doghouse Boxing
"Trinidad. But it's a tough fight to pick."
TOM HINES, regional Toughman champion
"Trinidad will win by knockout in the seventh round,after coming off the
floor a couple times."
LOU MANFRA, boxing collector
"I like De La Hoya if he uses his range, sticks and moves and steals the
fight. Maybe he can bust him up with the jab then come in for the kill in the late
rounds. He just can't brawl with Trinidad. De La Hoya needs to stay outside and use his
reach and size, that's key. De La Hoya can't win a slug fest."
JOE DeGUARDIA, promoter/attorney
"De La Hoya---one way or another. I think he's a 'money' fighter, he just
pulls them out when he needs to. De La Hoya's been in bigger fights, is used to
the pressure and boxing wise, he has that little bit more than Trinidad.
But it should be a good one!"
JOHN T. GRIFFIN, collector
"The crystal ball says....................Opening round: both are cautious
(but not overly cautious), mostly jabs, a few rights and lefts but nothing major. Round 2
- Trinidad goes down early from a De La Hoya left hook, but rises
quickly unhurt and boxes beautifully the remaining part of the round.
Rounds 3 through 6 - Trinidad hurts Oscar in the 4th and drops him with a big right hand.
Oscar loses his confidence and now retreats big time, fighting
defensively. Trinidad is outboxing the Golden Boy. Round 7 - Trinidad catches Oscar with a
huge combination and sends him down to the canvas. He is hurt BIG TIME!! Ref lets it go on
but TITO drops him again with an explosive left hook. Oscar rises but is in no shape to
continue and Mitch Halpern stops the contest.
TRINIDAD by KO ROUND 7. He then cools off and celebrates by drinking TITO PUNCH in the
ring!!"
RUSSELL LaCHAPPELLE, boxing film historian
"Unless Oscar gets him out quickly, Trinidad TKO 7"
TED PANAGIOTIS, matchmaker, CES Boxing
"De La Hoya Within 10 Rounds"
JIM BORZELL, matchmaker/timekeeper
"As much as I want to see a barn burner, expect another Delahoya tactical
affair where ODLH spends most of the fight avoiding Tito's advances forcing him to expend
most of his energy early. The later rounds will see Oscar pressing the action more and
winning each round by a questionable margin. Boy do I hope I'm wrong. De La Hoya -
unanimous decision."
KURT EMHOFF, boxing attorney
"Trinidad has too many weapons for Oscar. It will be a very competitive
fight but I see Felix by a close decision."
RON KATZ, matchmaker/promoter
"What fight?"
CHARLES JAY, Editor/Publisher, Total
Action SportsNet:
The one thing you must say about De La Hoya - he's certainly no stranger to THE
BIG MOMENT. As far as the kind of pure seasoning and experience that would prepare someone
for a huge fight like this, he would have to be given a bit of an edge. Literally from the
amateur ranks forward, De La Hoya has fought under the spotlight. He's a lot more used to
the scrutiny. Let's put it this way - if either of the fighters was going to fall victim
to the enormity of the event, it would be Trinidad.
Oscar also has to be given some consideration if the fight were to come down to a
decision. That's because we're all pretty well aware of the way decisions have had a way
of swinging in Las Vegas; more likely than not, the close decision is going to go to the
guy with more "star" appeal. That's not a cheap shot at the Nevada commission;
that's just the way things have gone down time and again. The "star" here is De
La Hoya. So if I were Trinidad I would focus on ending things inside the distance.
There has been much talk about the weaknesses of each guy in the "chin"
department. So from the perspective of some it could come down not to who the better
"pitcher" is, but rather, who the better "catcher" is. Both fighters
have been down on the canvas, and it didn't exactly take Sugar Ray Robinson to do it. This
obviously adds a little bit of excitement to the fight, since both men are not only fully
capable of hurting someone with a sharp punch, but of BEING hurt as well. I don't know
that I would give the edge to either man here, because while both have been knocked down,
both have always gotten up to win.
But I think Trinidad is going to be more difficult to hit than De La Hoya. Oscar leaves
himself a little more wide open, so he's going to, in my estimation, get hit on the chin
more. And he's not been hit on the chin by anyone with the two-fisted power of Trinidad.
And let's not forget; Trinidad has legitimate power for the WELTERWEIGHT division. He
really didn't have to grow into the weight class. And I don't think Trinidad is afraid to
throw both hands. What I mean by that is - Ike Quartey might've had a chance to win the
fight with Oscar, except for the fact that he seemed hesitant to pull the trigger. And he
lost rounds and opportunities because of it. I don't think Trinidad will have that
problem.
Both fighters are mechanical, to an extent. Trinidad is probably more mechanical than DLH.
Oscar probably will be able to improvise better than Trinidad, and he may have to,
especially if Felix is able to keep coming forward and pressure him.
A lot of people have talked about De La Hoya's "will to win"; that he's a
"money" fighter who can pull the rabbit out of the hat if he has to. And if I
thought DLH had that magic about him, like perhaps a Sugar Ray Leonard had, I would have
an easier time going with him. But I don't put De La Hoya in Leonard's class. He simply
doesn't HAVE as much class. Oscar will be vulnerable, and Trinidad has the strength,
discipline, quickness, and heavy-handedness to take advantage of those vulnerabilities.
This is one of the most difficult fights to predict, as far as I'm concerned, in a long
time. That's because neither man has a tremendous ability to take a punch, and neither has
had to deal with a tremendous amount of adversity during a fight. But I'll go with TRINIDAD
on an ELEVENTH-ROUND TKO. One thing's for sure - both men will know they have been in
a fight, and both will gain a lot of respect from people in the process.
|
