By Johnny Ortiz

On May 6, 2006, Oscar De La Hoya will enter the “Danger Zone” to challenge Ricardo Mayorga for his WBC Jr. Middleweight title at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.  This is a fight that has ignited the fire within the fight fan, a fight that pits the normally good-natured Oscar De La Hoya against an offensive, beer drinking, cigarette smoking, professional amateur. 

Mayorga is a very hard puncher, I will give him that, but his cover was blown when he nailed Vernon Forrest with one of his haymakers from left field in their first fight.  In the rematch, Vernon was ready for the Mayorga ambush, although after twelve rounds, Ricardo was on the receiving end of a majority decision (112-114, 115-114, 114-114).  I had Vernon winning the fight; Vernon would have won the fight going away if he hadn’t fought so cautiously through the first four rounds. 

In his last fight on August 13, 2005, Mayorga had to go the twelve round distance in winning the vacant WBC Jr.Middleweight crown against household name Michele Piccirillo.  In three of his last five bouts, El Matador was stopped by Tito Trinidad in eight, won a ten round decision over Eric Mitchell and was beaten over twelve rounds by Cory Spinks. 

Now I ask you, if Mayorga in his last five fights was beaten twice and forced to go the distance with the aforementioned other three, in reality, what are his chances of beating a disciplined, high-quality fighter such as Oscar De La Hoya?  Something else to add to the mix is the fact that Oscar is, and has always been, an excellent defensive fighter, he is a converted southpaw making his left hook even more of a lethal weapon. 

In my humble opinion, Oscar is much too smart for the likes of Ricardo Mayorga, a young man who will never be mistaken for a Rhodes scholar.  The only chance Ricardo has of winning is to land the greatest hard, wild shot he has ever thrown, the only chance Oscar has of losing is to become completely brain dead. 

The fight will truly be a fight between a matador and a bull, only this time the matador in question is a young man from East LA.  I am completely aware that anything can happen in a fight of this magnitude, Ricardo will be trying in every round to get lucky, he will be in hot pursuit, taking the fight to Oscar who has no intention of just standing there and giving Mayorga the only chance he has of winning, Oscar will stand his ground when he sees fit, he will be looking for the slightest opening where he will throw very fast combinations, followed by one of his patented left hooks. 

Ricardo has never been in with anyone with the hand speed of Oscar, when he throws wild punches and misses; he leaves himself wide open, making himself vulnerable for Oscar’s educated counterpunches.  The war of words have been ugly, it is not Oscar’s style to trade barbs with another fighter, I know that Oscar has said that Mayorga has gotten under his skin, but that he hasn’t got into his head.  Oscar must always keep in mind that in the ring, a mad fighter is a beaten fighter.  He must keep everything in perspective, he can go on disliking his foe after the fight, during the fight I am sure Ricardo will be doing a lot of trash-talking, Oscar must not buy into it, he must fight intelligently, just the way he was taught, a technique he has parlayed in every fight he has ever fought. 

Mayorga believes that if he can get to Oscar with mind games during the fight, he might be able to draw the Golden Boy into fighting his pier 8 kind of brawl, therein giving him a better chance of getting ‘lucky.’  When Oscar said that Mayorga has gotten under his skin, it was in reference to Ricardo telling reporters that Oscar had said that he was going to take his belt, causing Mayorga’s rebuttal to be: “The only way you’re going to take this belt away from me is if you let me have your wife for a night.”  Oscar was quick to respond:  “No, that’s not going to happen, I’m going to take your mom for a night.”  Ricardo later claimed that Oscar’s reply is what set him off; Oscar was only giving Mayorga a dose of his own medicine. 

If you’re going to play the ‘dozens,’ you have to be able to take it as well.  Oscar has gone on record as saying that Ricardo Mayorga had crossed the line when he insulted his family and heritage and he wasn’t exactly thrilled when he heard that Mayorga had said that not only did he want to stop Oscar, he also wants to stop his heart or detach his retina, one of the two, he capped it off by saying that he really wants to do damage to him.  Upon hearing those beautiful words, Oscar chimed in with: “I want to teach him a lesson really bad, it’s going to be a long night for him.  Whatever little games he is trying to play, he can’t play them with me.”  If Oscar did indeed say anything derogatory to Mayorga, it would only be that Oscar in defending his family, had to stoop to his level. 

I, along with all of America, rooted for The Golden Boy in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Games; he came through with his promise to his beloved mother Cecelia by winning the Gold Medal.  When Oscar turned pro in 1992, I was very aware of his greatness potential and backed him all the way.  With the advent of his turning pro, a slew of Oscar haters were born, the jealous, marginal lot wanted him to fail, well guess what, six titles in six different weight classes later, and known as the biggest boxing attraction outside of the heavyweight division ever, Oscar De La Hoya still reigns supreme, and although the Oscar haters have diminished over time, there will always be a few diehard jerks that cannot cut loose their ridiculous hatred and jealousy.  They are not boxing critics…they are idiots. 

Where Mayorga’s insults may have worked against some fighters, it will not hold water with a fighter that started boxing at the age of five, Oscar’s been there, done that, Ricardo Mayorga is in for a rude awakening.  Oscar is much too smart to fight mad.  You do not win fights with your mouth.  Oscar has not fought in over a year and nearly eight months, being the consummate pro that he is, he has trained very hard, sparring 130 rounds for this particular fight, the reports I have received are that Oscar is in great physical condition and is good to go, he said recently that he feels strong and really fast. 

Losing in his last fight against Bernard Hopkins was no disgrace, he lost to one of the greatest middleweight champions of all time, but only after getting hit with a perfect left hook to the liver.  Unable to catch his breath, Oscar tried in vain to rise but could not.  He gave it a game try, going into the ninth round he was still in the fight; it took a picture perfect liver shot to end it.  It has always been my contention that Oscar was never a pure middleweight, he was a small one at most; it took greatness to end his dream of becoming a seven-division champion. 

If it sounds as if I am a De La Hoya guy…you bet I am.  Ever since my childhood idol Enrique Bolanos told me of an incredible little thirteen year old kid fighting out of ELA in tournaments with boys his age, and telling me to remember the name of Oscar De La Hoya, I did just that, storing it in my fistic memory bank.  When the Barcelona Olympics rolled around in 1992, it all came back to me when I saw his name fighting for team USA.  I vividly remember running into Enrique a few years later and reminding him that the kid he once told me about so many years ago had won the Gold Medal, he simply replied, “I told you so.” 

Make no mistake about it, Ricardo Mayorga style of fighting is still, without a doubt, the most exciting in boxing, he takes no prisoners and is not afraid to be carried out on his shield.  I have no problem with his bravado, I have nothing but respect for Ricardo Mayorga as a fighter, being a ring purist, it’s his - out of the ring antics - that I have a hard time dealing with.  I know it’s his way of playing psyche games with his opponents before fights, I just wish he would do his talking with his fists and give his mouth a rest.  When Muhammad Ali had things to say about different fighters he was about to face, he did it with humor and class, no one took him seriously, he would never think of uttering a disparaging word about an opponent’s family. Ali was secure in his talent, Ricardo seems to have a need to say ugly, unkind things about his foe’s family, even at times making remarks with gross, sexual overtones. Nothing seems to be sacred to him, perhaps it’s just his sick way of psyching himself up. 

Regardless, this is going to be a terrific fight while it lasts, Ricardo’s key to victory is to put constant pressure on Oscar and never give up on trying to make him fight his fight, on the flip side of the coin, Oscar has to control the fight with his jab, he is old school, he knows that everything comes off the jab, he has to outthink the Nicaraguan while keeping a hard jab in his face in order to get off his combinations and power shots.  This past Sunday, my good friend David Martinez, a fellow Hall of Fame board of director, called and gave me a heads up that Oscar was going to be interviewed on Channel 34, a Spanish TV station, I tuned in and found it very interesting. 

When asked how the training has gone and how he planned to fight  Mayorga, Oscar had this to say:  “Physically, I’m in the best shape ever, I’m already at 152 pounds and I feel strong and fast, he’s going to put pressure on me for the whole twelve rounds, I’m prepared to take everything he has until the end, a lot of people think that I’m going to box him, use my jab and move, no, I’m going to stand in front of him and fight, fight him strong.  I want to show him that I’m not only a better fighter, but also the disrespect he has shown me…he has to pay.  We’re going to fight with courage but with intelligence.” 

Oscar was then asked, “Have you ever fought anyone with Mayorga’s style?”  Oscar replied: “I’ve spent a lot of time in boxing, I’ve traveled to Russia, Japan and Korea, I’ve faced fighters with his kind of style, they were very, very strong, they threw crazy punches, I have to be alert, use my jab, stand in front of him at a distance, using my head is important, and show him that I’m stronger and can take more than he can.”  Oscar looked fit and ready during the interview. 

It has also come to my attention that Golden Boy Promotions is going to ask the Nevada State Commission to deny Ricardo Mayorga’s co-trainer, Stacy McKinley from working the Nicaraguan’s corner.  It seems that McKinley was suspended by the State of California for using ammonia smelling salts to help revive his fighter, Tito Mendoza, during his fight with Librado Andrade on June 24, 2004.  Mendoza, suffering three knockdowns during the bout, miraculously came back into the ensuing rounds without any visible signs of the pasting he was receiving at the hands of Andrade.  The CA. State Athletic Commission discovered his antics when he blatantly used the foreign substance on Mendoza; they immediately confiscated the substance after the contest.  The CSAC later found it to be the illegal ammonia smelling salts that ultimately led to the suspension of McKinley. 

The Golden Boy Promotions and the other parties concerned will attend a meeting during the week to ensure there will be no possibility of said infraction happening again.  Having been suspended for illegal use, McKinley should not be allowed to ever work a corner with the emphasis on illegal.  

Oscar De La Hoya has tremendous pride both as a fighter and as a person, he does not want to go out on a losing note, if successful against Mayorga, which he will be, he plans a farewell fight on September 16th of this year.  He is in no way looking past Ricardo Mayorga; he knows full well what can happen to a fighter who looks ahead especially with a fighter with Ricardo’s power.  Were he to do the unthinkable and lose to Mayorga, Oscar has said that he would retire on the spot. 

His confidence in tact, Oscar has thrown out a few names he is considering fighting in September, among the few mentioned are: Winky Wright, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and an old adversary, Felix Trinidad.  Speaking of Floyd, he recently took advantage of a provision in his contract that allowed him to buy out of his contract with his promoter, Bob Arum, for $750, 000, thus making him a promotional free agent.  Floyd wants to fight Oscar but he knows that Oscar will have nothing to do with a fighter connected with Arum, thus the buyout. 

The only thing that could hamper the fight is the promise Oscar once made to his trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr., Floyd Jr.’s father, that he would not disrespect Floyd Sr. by fighting his son with him in his corner.  Oscar wants to fight Jr. but will not agree to anything without working it out with Floyd Sr.  In buying out his contract from Arum, Floyd Jr. nullified his August 12th unification bout against WBO Welterweight Champion Antonio Margarito in which he was to be paid eight million dollars. 

Until the buyout, Bob Arum promoted both Mayweather and Margarito.  I personally think it was a smart thing to do on the part of Floyd Jr., I sincerely believe that Margarito would have been a very dangerous selection.  Margarito is the fighter no one wants to fight; I would have picked Antonio to beat the undefeated Mayweather.  Watching the recent welterweight title go between Zab Judah and Floyd Jr., I realized how small Floyd is at the welterweight limit, keep in mind that he went up from 140 pounds to engage IBF champion Judah.  I have followed Margarito’s career closely, he has been a guest on my radio boxing show on several occasions, believe me when I tell you, Antonio Margarito is a big welterweight. 

Even being a world champion, there is a good reason why other same division champions avoid him, Antonio, besides being big at 5’11, has a great chin and awesome punching power.  Floyd was smart in getting out of his purposed fight with Antonio.  In a recent national conference call between promoter Don King and the boxing media, King said that Tito Trinidad is back in training and will definitely be ringside for De La Hoya-Mayorga.  If not Mayweather Jr., look for De La Hoya-Trinidad in September.  The Mayorga fight is the kind of fight Oscar needs to be fine-tuned before meeting anyone on September 16th. 

If and when Oscar does fight Floyd Mayweather Jr., I would not hesitate to pick Oscar to beat him.  I sincerely believe, like Margarito, Oscar would be too big for Pretty Boy.  They would in all probability, if Oscar cannot make the 147 pound limit, fight at a catch weight of 152 pounds.  If that were indeed the case, Oscar could conceivably weigh at least 160 pounds at fight time, while Floyd Jr. would have to work hard to come in at around 150-52 pounds.  Do the math, Oscar would be a small middleweight fighting a small, blown up welterweight, a good middleweight will always beat a good welterweight, case in point: Carlos Monzon vs. Jose Napoles. 

All of this of course is contingent on Oscar beating Mayorga.  I think that Floyd Mayweather Jr. deserves to be the number one guy on the best pound for pound list, the only thing that will beat the talented young Floyd is moving up in weight, he is not Superman, many undefeated champions in the past have suffered first defeats by making the mistake of moving up in weight, having moved up to welterweight is fine, after that it gets a lot harder fighting the bigger, stronger guys.  Floyd can be a welterweight champion for a long, long time if he stays at the 147 pound limit and wisely stays away from Antonio Margarito. 

I would just like to say that when Oscar De La Hoya runs his last race, I am proud that so very long ago…I picked a winner.  And in closing, I would like to use my childhood idol, Enrique Bolanos’ immortal, prophetic words…I told you so!

Johnny Ortiz is a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame Board of Directors, a member of the Golden State Boxers Association Board of Directors, a Media Advisor for Thompson Boxing Promotions and a former co-owner of the world famous, legendary Main St. Gym.