Sadly, De La Hoya vs. Mayweather Jr. Will Be Disappointing

I will say this with confidence: most people who watch tonight's pay-per-view bout between Oscar De La Hoya, and Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather Jr., will come away disappointed. Let me begin the diatribe of sorrow.

To start, the victory has already occurred; the real battle was getting two of the sport's most influential figures to agree to a fight. Mayweather Jr. was known as a boxer who cherry-picked his opponents and was never gravely challenged. Meanwhile, it seemed as if Oscar had no interest in returning to the ring given his age, career earnings, and success as a promoter. But the announcement that the two would meet in the ring married the needs of the boxing aficionados to see Mayweather face a larger, stronger, and more accomplished opponent, as well as the needs of the casual fan to see Oscar fight one more time. Hence, the war has already been won.

Secondly, the hype and media coverage surrounding the fight has been tremendous -- if not detrimental. HBO has been running a 24/7 series for weeks in order to promote the bout. The men were featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Nearly every sports talk show, both radio and TV, spent segments discussing the fight. All the major sports networks religiously covered the background stories leading up to the fight. Heck, even a big deal has been made about the pre-fight weigh-in. When was the last time that happened? And unfortunately, many people in the media are billing this as a fight to save boxing. Simply put, nothing short of an ear-biting incident could live up to the hype and anticipation that has been created.
Lastly, as long as Mayweather fights the smart fight, there will not be much action. Pretty Boy will be wise to stay away from the middle of the ring in order to avoid slugging with the more powerful and lethal De La Hoya. As long as pride and pressure to provide action does not overcome Mayweather, it will be 12 rounds and 36 minutes of cat-and-mouse. There's nothing exciting about watching that.

In all likelihood, this fight will go 12 rounds, yielding little blood and guts that fans so desperately crave. To the serious fan, the fight will be a technical clinic, and won based on the judgment of points. To the casual fan, it will be nothing more than a boring disappointment. Mark my words: most people will walk away from this fight feeling unsatisfied.