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De La Hoya win by KO, TKO, or DQ (+550)
De La Hoya win by decision (+275)
2 units each
Best I could get for De La Hoya to win the fight was (+160).
Doing it this way gives me (+175) with a shot at (+450). Good enough value for me to go ahead with 2 units on each.
Mayweather-De La Hoya may come down to judges
By Robert Morales
Special to CBS SportsLine.com
Peers and boxing fans always ask why I am picking Oscar De La Hoya to beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 5 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Most experts are picking Mayweather, the logical choice.
I tell people that De La Hoya is going to win because Mayweather went too far in his disrespect of De La Hoya during their press tour, as did Fernando Vargas and Ricardo Mayorga, both of whom were knocked out by De La Hoya.
I say to them that when De La Hoya is in this rare frame of mind, he does not lose. But there is another way that De La Hoya can win that has nothing to do with his mind-set.
The judging.
If you read this space last week, you'd know there have been some very poor decisions in Las Vegas, especially of late. De La Hoya is known as the Golden Boy, a nickname he has earned in and out of the ring. Mayweather is looked upon as the bad boy of boxing, warranted or not.
It would therefore seem that the Mayweather camp should be very concerned about getting a fair shake from the judges against De La Hoya. Mayweather's uncle and trainer, Roger, seems wary.
"Oscar was an Olympic gold-medal winner," he said. "So, of course, he has an opportunity. He has a good chance, but the only real chance he's got is the (bleeping) judges because it ain't going to be on skill level that he's got a chance."
In fairness, this response from Roger Mayweather did not come from the question: Can Floyd Jr. get a fair decision? It came from the question: Do you think Oscar has a chance?
But Roger Mayweather's answer did beg the question: If Floyd Jr. does not stop De La Hoya, how badly does he have to batter De La Hoya over 12 rounds to ensure victory?
Interestingly, but not surprisingly, neither Floyd Mayweather Jr. nor his longtime friend, adviser and assistant trainer, Leonard Ellerbe, believe they have anything to worry about in this regard. So they said Tuesday.
Initially, Floyd Jr. was asked if he had seen the terrible decision in the Demetrius Hopkins-Steve Forbes junior welterweight fight last month in Las Vegas. That awful display of scoring, which saw the judges give Hopkins a fight he obviously lost a victory by very wide margins has really burned the backside of yours truly -- and many others. Floyd Jr. is of the same mind.
"They took the fight from Steve Forbes," he said.
Floyd Jr. was then asked if he was concerned about the same thing happening to him against De La Hoya. And he sang a self-serving tune.
"The Nevada commission is the best commission in the world, and I'm not just saying that because I live in Nevada," he said. "They have always treated me fair. And I know May 5 will be the same thing. I'm not really worried about them treating me fair."
Well, Floyd Mayweather Jr. has not made himself a living legend at the age of 30 by being stupid. He is not about to bite the hand that feeds him on the eve of the biggest fight of his life.
Thus, it was even less surprising to hear Ellerbe almost mimic what Floyd Jr. said when it was his time to answer the question: Is he worried about Floyd Jr. being able to get a just decision?
"No, not at all," Ellerbe said. "Like Floyd touched on, the Nevada commission is the best commission out there. There are some outstanding officials that have been assigned to the fight. That is the least of our concerns. The fight is going to be decided in the ring."
Ellerbe was keeping his cool, but you could tell he was a bit bugged by the whole line of questioning. In closing, he let everyone know that the judges can't take this fight from his protégé. That's because judges won't be needed.
"There is no way Floyd is going to lose to a one-handed, part-time fighter," Ellerbe said. "It is not going to come down to the judges' decision. If Oscar decides to come and fight -- and since it is on Cinco de Mayo, I believe he will -- it's not even going to go the 12 rounds."
Floyd Mayweather Jr. seems to realize that there are a lot of people who would like to see him lose this fight. Say what you want about De La Hoya, but he never talks trash unless provoked. Mayweather, on the other hand, seems to love getting under the skin of his opponents -- especially that of De La Hoya.
But Mayweather is absolutely right when he says that no matter what he says outside of the ring, it should have no bearing on anything that takes place inside of it. Like journalists, judges need to separate their like or dislike for a fighter from the job they are assigned to do -- score a fight right.
"I just want to be treated fair," Mayweather said. "Don't judge me for my trash-talking, judge me how I do my job."
Mayweather then likened the scenario to a construction worker who might come to work singing his head off every day, annoying his co-workers.
"If he is the best at digging a hole," Mayweather said, "then let him do what he gotta do."
The judges for this fight are Chuck Giampa, Jerry Roth and Tom Kaczmarek. All veterans. They better do a good job. The world is watching.
yeah me too,, would love to see oscar take his head off........but............. i wouldnt count on it..i think a draw is the best oscar can do.........wont be long now............
De La Hoya win by KO, TKO, or DQ (+550)
De La Hoya win by decision (+275)
2 units each
Best I could get for De La Hoya to win the fight was (+160).
Doing it this way gives me (+175) with a shot at (+450). Good enough value for me to go ahead with 2 units on each.
Well....still turned out to be a four unit loss.....
thought it really might turn out to be a draw....still woulda lost four units though either way.
hey just think,i heard talk of a rematch:) who in gods name would want to see that joke again??? id rather watch flys ****,,if they paid me 54.95 i wouldnt watch it.........god i thought by this stage of oscars career he could at least cut the ring off..... merchant quote oscar your left jab was working so well, why did you stop throwing it??? oscar i dont know???........... my best guess would be he had mayweather and the over...........hope they both retire good ridens......... i liked mayweather but at -185 i felt the line was too low, scared me off...........
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