Oscar DelaHoya wins bout, loses respect

[Uke]

I don't know if any of you had the opportunity to watch the DelaHoya/Sturm bout on HBO, but let me tell you it was a robbery. This German kid Sturm has a future in boxing, as he in the eyes of most fans beat DLH without once getting tired, panicked or anxious. DLH's skills have improved considerably since hiring Mayweather Sr. as his trainer, especially in the defense department. However, he looked soft, winded and often times frustrated in this bout.

The popular opinion is that they gave the fight to DLH because of the upcoming superbout between himself and Bernard Hopkins, which was contingent upon the outcome of this fight. I agree with this sentiment.

On another note, many people think that DLH has little chance against Hopkins because of his performance against Sturm. I disagree. DLH always has a crappy prefight before his mega fights. He did at 154 and he did at 160. I think Mayweather may have advised DLH to seem inept in this fight just to lure Hopkins into believing that he can easily run over DLH.
I think it will either be a shocker, or DLH retires.

[T-3]

Originally Posted by Uke

I don't know if any of you had the opportunity to watch the DelaHoya/Sturm bout on HBO, but let me tell you it was a robbery. This German kid Sturm has a future in boxing, as he in the eyes of most fans beat DLH without once getting tired, panicked or anxious. DLH's skills have improved considerably since hiring Mayweather Sr. as his trainer, especially in the defense department. However, he looked soft, winded and often times frustrated in this bout.

The popular opinion is that they gave the fight to DLH because of the upcoming superbout between himself and Bernard Hopkins, which was contingent upon the outcome of this fight. I agree with this sentiment.

On another note, many people think that DLH has little chance against Hopkins because of his performance against Sturm. I disagree. DLH always has a crappy prefight before his mega fights. He did at 154 and he did at 160. I think Mayweather may have advised DLH to seem inept in this fight just to lure Hopkins into believing that he can easily run over DLH.
I think it will either be a shocker, or DLH retires.

I watched this fight and could not believe the decision. I scored the bout the same as Letterman 115-113 Sturm. I agree with you on most points of the fight. DLH looked very soft and winded. At the end of the bout, DLH looked like he had been in a serious fight, whereas Sturm barely had any marks on him. It seemed as though even DLH was shocked with the decision by his commentary in the post-fight interview. Hopkins fought a relatively easy fight with his opponent. I think Hopkins could have taken him out earlier, but didn't - possibly for the same reason as DLH in wanting to seem "inept." Sturm made an awesome showing of himself and has a serious future in boxing. I think the "gimmick" here was that not many knew of Sturm so it was set up to be the "easy" fight for DLH; unfortunately for him that was not the case. But like you stated, it was also set up for DLH vs. Hopkins, which many will pay for PPV. In boxing, it's all about $$$!

[fozzy40]

I think it's a mistake for DLH to fight Hopkins. Sturm is a pretty good fighter but Hopkins is an OUTSTANDING boxer. I am not a Hopkins fan by any means but I think Hopkins will not only beat DLH but he'll probably hurt him in the process.

I feel that the fight will go one of two ways:

1) DLH will move around so much that the fight is not interesting
2) Hopkins in 8 rounds by KO

[Uke]

I can see Trinidad lasting and DLH not being able to. Agree that Hopkins is an outstanding boxer, but truth be told he hasn't really beaten anyone with the exception of Trinidad worth mentioning. In my opinion, and the following is just that, you have to beat someone noteworthy in order to be hailed as great. Hopkins hasn't done that.

Yes, he defeated Trinidad in only Trinidad's second fight at middleweight. But he never fought anyone who I ever thought could beat him. I bet on Hopkins in the Hopkins/Trinidad match, so I'm not just hating over here. Hopkins is good, but there are several factors working against him and in DLH's favor.

1) Hopkins is old. Great shape or not, he's in his 40's.

2) DLH has the benefit of who I consider the most underrated trainer in boxing today...Floyd Mayweather Sr.

3)DLH has fought better competition than Hopkins throughout the years, giving him the confidence that he's dealt with better men than Hopkins has.

4)DLH has visibly improved because of Mayweather's influence, while Hopkins hasn't shown any improvement due to him fighting subpar competition. Being stagnant all these years may have dulled Hopkins' killer instinct.

The only thing Hopkins has going for him is that he's been at middleweight a lot longer than DLH, and is much more comfortable there. He's definitely more tenacious, but I've watched him box a guy that avoided a hit for an entire round.

Personally, I'd like to see a great fight. I want DLH to win though for my own selfish reasons though. I'm not a DLH fan by any means, but like I said I have my reasons.

I see Jermain Taylor as the future of the middleweight division. The kids got a hell of a lot of talent and the physical attributes to go along with it. Time will tell.

[T-3]

Jermaine Taylor will undoubtedly rule the middleweight division. He's got serious talent, skill, and integrity. And he's being brought through the ranks well. Hopkins not only beat Trinidad but made him look bad. It was Trinidad's second fight in the middleweight division and coincidentally,this upcoming fight will be DLH's second fight in the middleweight division as well. Possible premonition - who know's. I look forward to a good fight, as I always hope that it will be. Hopkins is normally seen as the "underdog" and you're right about him not having a lot of "big" name fights; however, when he does take a big fight, he seems to step up to the challenge and puts forth the effort to dominate. Anything can happen in boxing and they both have it in them to win. Hopefully, it will be an awesome fight.

[fozzy40]

1) I definitely agree on what has been said about Jermain Taylor
2) I just wanted to clarify my stance on DLH. I definitely think that DLH has been a "true" champion over the years compared to Hopkins. DLH has proven himself against REAL competition versus Hopkins' marginalized fight schedule (when he does fight.)

I guess the fight will be determined on what fighting style DLH will bring. I've never seen Hopkins as the agressor in rounds 1-4. He seems to be more of a counterpuncher in the early rounds since Hopkins' has that predator/defensive type of style. Rounds 5-12 will be interesting.

I guess what I really want to know is whether DLH can take a punch from Hopkins and most importantly if he can hurt him.

Can't wait to see it!!!

fozzy40

[T-3]

I agree as well. DLH is a "true" champion in all sense of the term - he is the "golden boy" for a reason. He has taken big fights with big risk. However, the "underdog" should never be underestimated. Remember Sturm in this last bout?! He was the "underdog" by all accounts and although he lost the bout, he gained a tremendous amount of respect and won as the "people's champion" that night. Whereas, DLH, in some ploy (or not) to look mediocre, may have lost some credibility in the middleweight division. It will be very interesting to see what "fight" DLH brings to the ring with him. Again, I look forward to a good fight.

[Wing Tsun]

Oh man was I pissed when they gave that decision to De la Hoya, my god. My friend Heath and I jumped up and started yelling at the TV screen lol. That Sturm guy had a flawless fight, and I saw champion written all over him during that fight. I had never even heard of him before, but I want to see more of this guy now.

[_Peter_]

It wasn't that much of a robbery. While I do agree that Sturm could have been given I feel that the decision did not fall Sturm's way because he fought the fight like it was an amatuer fight, hiding behind his excellent jab the whole night while the judges in Las Vegas, imho, judge on aggression and really pushing for a good looking and highly-entertaining fight from the general publics point of view, which dlh did better with his combinations of body shots etc.

[Uke]

I have to disagree. It was a robbery. And a conspicuos one at that. I ahve to give DLH respect because he has taken more chances against better competition than any other fighter today. However, he's lost on more than one occassion to fighters who deserved the decision he ultimately was handed.

In my opinion he lost to Pernell Whitaker. No question about that.
He also lost to Ike Quartey. No question about that either.
He lost to Sturm, which is what this debate is about.
And unless age is affecting Hopkins by the minute, DLH may probably lose there as well.....unless it goes to the cards.

Jermain Taylor is the future of his division. He needs more fights like Marquez. He needs to understand that everyone one lay down after he's tattooed them with his jab. He's got to learn to finish, and sense when a man is hurt. He an excellent fighter at this stage, but he needs to be seasoned. A fight with Echols should really gauged where he's at. Maybe even Robert Allen, although he seemed to be lacking "the stuff" against Hopkins recently.

I hate to say it because it goes along with the philosophy of big business, but in a year Taylor should fire his trainer and look for a new one. He can keep his people with him, but he needs to learn variety and how to fight a different fight. A good trainer like Mayweather Sr. or Buddy McGirt could do those things for him. Its the move Shane Mosley should have done years ago.