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Who are you picking to win?
I'm picking Floyd Mayweather.
Floyd is younger, more talented and has more to prove in this fight. That isn't to say that DLH isn't a talented boxer. He's fought some of the best fighters of our time, and while many of his wins are questionable, he still stood up and fought those men.
Floyd Mayweather is a defensive genius. His style allows him to fight inside and out, despite him being the smaller man. He's fast. He's a smart fighter. He's in phenomenal shape.
DLH is a solid technician. He has much more experience than Mayweather. He's a bigger and stronger man than Mayweather. I believe that DLH has taken more beatings than Mayweather, which shows that he has a more proven level of ring durability. I'm not saying Mayweather isn't as durable, but it just isn't as established. Another factor that works in DLH's favor is that DLH does well in the late rounds, a quality that I can't say that many of Mayweather's former opponents had.
When the bell rings, expect DLH to try to establish himself early. He doesn't respect Mayweather's power. I believe that DLH will bully Mayweather early on until Floyd gives him a reason to stop. DLH isn't stupid and won't let Floyd rope-a-dope him. DLH won't punch himself out because he's too smart for that. However, his work rate will probably be much higher because he hasn't been this light in years. It would make no sense for DLH not to impose his size early on. He'll be hoping to do lots of damage early on, I'm guessing to the body although Floyd seems to protect his body much more than he does his head.
This fight should represent the changing of the guard, but how can it if it is to be Mayweather's last fight?
I'm sure that if Floyd loses, he'll come back. How can he let his legacy end like that?
If DelaHoya loses, it won't be that big of a deal because he's lost before. In fact, DelaHoya has lost more times than his record reflects. He's lost against Pernell Whitaker, Ike Quartey, and Felix Sturm. Floyd isn't without his gift decisions either as he truly lost against Castillio the first time. Still, I think a loss here would definitely be more damaging to Mayweather.
I think we're going to see Mayweather making DLH miss a lot and counter-punching. I think DLH will try to establish the jab early on to neutralize Floyd's speed, and eventually try to corner him or get him on the ropes to use his left hook. I think Floyd will start out with business as usual, establishing his own jab, creating the tempo and looking to make DLH anxious so he can counter-punch. Once he frustrates DLH enough with his speed and timing, he figures he just has to maintain that rate and rack up points until DLH makes a big mistake and let's him score with something big.
The one thing I love about Floyd is that he's patient. In boxing, that can be a bad thing sometimes if the fighter isn't busy enough. What I like about DLH is his willingness to trade and his ability to dig down deep when he has to.
DLH's best strategy would be to come with the onslaught early. I say this for a couple of reasons. First, he's the bigger man and his conditioning will be questionable having to make the weight at 147lbs again after having let his body grow a bit. Second, he can't let Floyd establish the tempo. If this happens he'll be playing catch-up all night. Third and perhaps most important, Floyd Mayweather is notorious for having brittle hands, which also means that Floyd like to pick and choose his shots as opposed to getting in exchanges. If DLH can force Mayweather into having to punch to keep him off of him, there's a higher probability that Floyd will injure his hands early on, significantly diminishing the amount of punches he'll be willing to throw.
I've seen what Floyd's victories look like when he hurts his hands. They're less than impressive and he coasts by on speed and elusiveness. If DLH could force Floyd to throw when he doesn't want to, the chips would be stacked in his favor.
IMO, this is another case of the bull vs the matador. We'll see how it plays out in May.
Speed: Advantage - Mayweather
Power: Advantage - DLH
Defense: Advantage - Mayweather
Experience: Advantage - DLH
Endurance: Advantage - Mayweather
Durability: Advantage - DLH
Ring Generalship: Advantage - Mayweather
I'm picking Floyd Mayweather.
Floyd is younger, more talented and has more to prove in this fight. That isn't to say that DLH isn't a talented boxer. He's fought some of the best fighters of our time, and while many of his wins are questionable, he still stood up and fought those men.
Floyd Mayweather is a defensive genius. His style allows him to fight inside and out, despite him being the smaller man. He's fast. He's a smart fighter. He's in phenomenal shape.
DLH is a solid technician. He has much more experience than Mayweather. He's a bigger and stronger man than Mayweather. I believe that DLH has taken more beatings than Mayweather, which shows that he has a more proven level of ring durability. I'm not saying Mayweather isn't as durable, but it just isn't as established. Another factor that works in DLH's favor is that DLH does well in the late rounds, a quality that I can't say that many of Mayweather's former opponents had.
When the bell rings, expect DLH to try to establish himself early. He doesn't respect Mayweather's power. I believe that DLH will bully Mayweather early on until Floyd gives him a reason to stop. DLH isn't stupid and won't let Floyd rope-a-dope him. DLH won't punch himself out because he's too smart for that. However, his work rate will probably be much higher because he hasn't been this light in years. It would make no sense for DLH not to impose his size early on. He'll be hoping to do lots of damage early on, I'm guessing to the body although Floyd seems to protect his body much more than he does his head.
This fight should represent the changing of the guard, but how can it if it is to be Mayweather's last fight?
I'm sure that if Floyd loses, he'll come back. How can he let his legacy end like that?
If DelaHoya loses, it won't be that big of a deal because he's lost before. In fact, DelaHoya has lost more times than his record reflects. He's lost against Pernell Whitaker, Ike Quartey, and Felix Sturm. Floyd isn't without his gift decisions either as he truly lost against Castillio the first time. Still, I think a loss here would definitely be more damaging to Mayweather.
I think we're going to see Mayweather making DLH miss a lot and counter-punching. I think DLH will try to establish the jab early on to neutralize Floyd's speed, and eventually try to corner him or get him on the ropes to use his left hook. I think Floyd will start out with business as usual, establishing his own jab, creating the tempo and looking to make DLH anxious so he can counter-punch. Once he frustrates DLH enough with his speed and timing, he figures he just has to maintain that rate and rack up points until DLH makes a big mistake and let's him score with something big.
The one thing I love about Floyd is that he's patient. In boxing, that can be a bad thing sometimes if the fighter isn't busy enough. What I like about DLH is his willingness to trade and his ability to dig down deep when he has to.
DLH's best strategy would be to come with the onslaught early. I say this for a couple of reasons. First, he's the bigger man and his conditioning will be questionable having to make the weight at 147lbs again after having let his body grow a bit. Second, he can't let Floyd establish the tempo. If this happens he'll be playing catch-up all night. Third and perhaps most important, Floyd Mayweather is notorious for having brittle hands, which also means that Floyd like to pick and choose his shots as opposed to getting in exchanges. If DLH can force Mayweather into having to punch to keep him off of him, there's a higher probability that Floyd will injure his hands early on, significantly diminishing the amount of punches he'll be willing to throw.
I've seen what Floyd's victories look like when he hurts his hands. They're less than impressive and he coasts by on speed and elusiveness. If DLH could force Floyd to throw when he doesn't want to, the chips would be stacked in his favor.
IMO, this is another case of the bull vs the matador. We'll see how it plays out in May.
Speed: Advantage - Mayweather
Power: Advantage - DLH
Defense: Advantage - Mayweather
Experience: Advantage - DLH
Endurance: Advantage - Mayweather
Durability: Advantage - DLH
Ring Generalship: Advantage - Mayweather
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