Doghouse Predictions: De La Hoya vs. Mayorga
 Compiled by Benny Henderson Jr., May 6, 2006
Photo © HBO-PPV
The wait is over and the time has come, somebody’s going to feel pain! Tonight on HBO Pay Per View 9:00 PM ET/ 6:00 PM PT the ‘Golden Boy’ Oscar De La Hoya, 37-4 (29), faces off against the ‘El Matador’ Ricardo Mayorga, 28-5-1 (23), for the WBC 154-pound crown in what has been billed as ‘Danger Zone’.

The war of the words have flown and now the fists will fly, the verbal assault and antics of the always entertaining Mayorga has teed off De La Hoya and the 1992 US Olympic Golden Medalist wants to give the beer drinking chain smoking Nicaraguan a lesson in boxing. Who will it be in this heated match-up? Doghouse makes the call!

Alex Pierpaoli: This is an especially tough one because both guys are likely to be incredibly rusty. Tito Trinidad nearly beat Mayorga to death and although I don't think Oscar can do that--he lacks the power at jr. middle--I can see Oscar out-speeding him and tiring Mayorga out and possibly stopping him late in more of an exhaustion kayo.  But it's tough to pick because Mayorga is unlikely to quit and he hits harder than many of the people Oscar has fought and you never know how someone is going to react to getting hit harder than they've ever been hit.  When Mayorga is sharp his punches are quick and they come form all kinds of crazy angles, Oscar would be a fool to let the trash talk and insults draw him into a slugging match with this guy.  But if we know anything about Goldie we know he's not a fool.  An in shape Oscar DeLaHoya will outbox Mayorga over the distance and after some early fireworks I think Goldie will make it look easy.

Gary Pino: Well it's pick time and I am entering a new era myself with all the new blood in the sport. Oscar De La Hoya has been a great champion and ambassador of the sport of boxing for a long time now. Which brings me to this fight night this weekend. The great Cus D'Amato once said "On any given night an old great fighter can put it all together and be great once again!" In this case I think Oscar has used up his greatness on a few occasions. Mayorga will beat De La Hoya to the punch early and frustrate Oscar. I don't see a knockout here, but a boring tactical fight and Mayorga winning on points. De La Hoya will not take any chances, and if Mayorga can just get the win without losing to Oscar, he will do what it takes here. Mayorga by decision.

Rob Scott: This fight depends on what Oscar has left. He's been out for so long and in that time we've seen him blow up and look like a Mexican version of a fat Elvis. He is working hard for this fight, but mental and physical layoffs can be a detriment. Mayorga on the other hand took a beating from Tito the likes that can be a career killer - how much does he truly have left? When Mayorga first made his impression on us he was knocking out 'Six heads' Lewis and Vernon Forrest. We found out that he can punch, but realistically nothing else since. The secret of his punching power has been revealed, but a boxer can without question beat the Nicaraguan native - as Corey Spinks has shown. Oscar has never been a confrontational fighter and I don't see him changing for this fight. An on-point Oscar can box with the best. He should win because even if he isn't on point, I don't think Mayorga will be either. Oscar by late stoppage

Jess E. Trail: Here is how I see in the upcoming De La Hoya -- Mayorga scrap: Ricardo Mayorga has been in over his head since his stunning knockout of Vernon Forrest.  He is a wild man who is on a perpetual knockout mission and a limited tool kit.  His strategy for the fight is not in question. There will be those who believe that Oscar is so enraged that he will slug with Mayorga.  Don't bet on it.  This will be Matador vs. Bull.  A recently more active Oscar would take out Mayorga within eight rounds.  The current Oscar will have to work off some rust.  Add an extra round and a half of caution.  The matador gores the bull in round nine. 

Gabriel Montoya: This is yet another "head or heart " type decision. Oscar has been gone for nearly 20 months and didn’t look exactly great when he was last in the ring. He hasn't looked like the Oscar of old since he beat Vargas way back in 2002, to be honest. Mayorga, on the other hand, looked decent in his last fight and like he was hit by a Mack truck against Tito Trinidad. Make no mistake; Mayorga was picked for this fight because the thinking from Team De La Hoya was " if Tito can out box him, so can I “. The problem is, Tito did it with power, which is the last thing to leave a fighter. Oscar, as a Jr. Middleweight, has not been know to have the kind of power to keep a brawler like Mayorga honest. He will have to use his feet and hand speed, which are the first things to go, landing hard blows and getting out of the way. Whether or not his legs will allow him to do that for twelve rounds with a relentless fighter like Mayorga, who is no slouch in the hand speed department and gifted with a chin from Hell, is the big question here. Watching Oscar on Leonard following T.J. Simers anti-Oscar weeklong diary leading into the fight, I get the sense that Oscar isn't as confident as I would like my pick to be. But when it comes to fighters, who are in the best shape their bodies will allow, I always lean towards to more skillful fighter. Oscar's straight punches, like Trinidad's will land faster than Mayorga's looping ones. Look for Mayorga to get desperate late as he can't corner Oscar and possibly enter the realm of desperation fouls. Oscar by sometimes-rocky UD.

Benny Henderson Jr.: Well, you know, one thing for sure Ricardo Mayorga is a one man show, I remember standing there after the Corey Spinks vs. Miguel Gonzalez fight in Vegas at the post fight press conference and here comes the always entertaining foul mouthed Mayorga, well I guess he was cussing because I couldn’t understand a dang word coming out of his mouth, but he was getting after it and that was funny to watch. Just like the Trinidad fight, he puts on a show. But, putting on a show isn’t going to win against De La Hoya, and despite what most say DLH still has something left in his tank, and has more skill than Mayorga has ever had in his arsenal. So all though I like watching Mayorga I feel he is going to be taught a major lesson in Boxing 101 by De La Hoya. I am not counting him out because anything can happen, but if I was a betting man I would say Oscar boxes his ears off stopping Mayorga in the ninth round via TKO. Them cigarettes and left hooks are going to catch up to him.

Martin Wade: Oscar is mad, but he aint “mad” as in stand there and get hit crazy. He’ll box Ricardo’s ears off and then take him out by TKO in the 11th. Mayorga will leave the ring with a warped victory (ala Jake Lamatta) because he didn’t go down. He’ll even call Oscar a woman afterwards, to which most of us will think of Sheila E because Oscar will have beat on Mayorga like a set of congas.

Anthony Cocks: It’s hard to know what either guy has left at this stage of their career, but it’s hard to go past the fact that De La Hoya has the edge in almost every department. De La Hoya to survive some early heat before running away with the fight in the second half, 116-112.

Chee: Oscar 12 Round UD, or Late Round KO.

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