I've had enough of Oscar De La Hoya

Every once in a while there is a fight that comes along that grabs the headlines. No, I'm not talking about Roy Jones v. Joe Calzaghe or Bernard Hopkins v. Kelly Pavlik. Those are nice fights. I'm talking about superfights.

We had plenty of those in the 70's and 80's. Who could ever forget the Ali-Frazier trilogy? What about the Leonard-Duran rivalry? What about Leonard-Hearns? Do you remember the eight minutes of hell Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Thomas 'The Hit Man' Hearns put themselves through in 1985? What about Sugar Ray's impossible win after years of inactivity over Hagler? That was the era of the Superfight.

Boxing has lost a lot of its luster over the last few years. Sure, there are big Pay Per View fights, but the lack of compelling fights, corruption, and other issues have given rise to UFC/MMA and have boxing on the ropes.

Every once in a while a fight comes along that captivates the masses, but over the last few years, none of those fights, or fighters, have lived up to the hype. Mike Tyson v. Lennox Lewis comes to mind. So does Floyd Mayweather v. Ricky Hatton.

The fight that was supposed to put boxing back on the map took place last year, with Mayweather winning a split decision over Oscar De La Hoya (DLH for short). It was a good fight, but not the fight it was hyped up to be. It did not 'save boxing.'

Now we are a little over 24 hours away from the next 'fight that's supposed to save boxing.' DLH, seven years removed from his last fight at the 147 pound welterweight limit, comes back to that class to face Manny Pacquiao, who has never fought at welterweight, but has won world titles in the Flyweight, Super Bantamweight, Featherweight, Super Featherweight, and most recently, Lightweight divisions.

It's being hyped as a dream match, boxing's current pound-for-pound champion against a former pound-for-pound champion.

I will admit I am tempted to buy the fight on PPV, even if it does cost me $54.95. I know it's expensive, but at this point I would love to see Pac Man put DLH out. For good.

Pacquiao has 35 KO's in his 47 wins. His punching power, up to this point, has not diminished from all of his moves up in weight. If you saw his fight against then lightweight titleholder David Diaz, it was a laugher. Diaz was beaten from one side of the ring to the other.

Now, whether or not Pacquiao can knock out someone at 147 pounds, 12 pounds heavier than his last fight, or any fight he has ever been in before, remains to be seen. But I hope he does.

I have had enough of the DLH hype machine. I have been a DLH fan, but he is more style than substance.

Do you want proof? Look at some of the guys he has beaten, even when he was in his prime (before 1999 when he started losing fights). DLH turned pro in 1992, and didn't really face anyone who could do damage until he fought Julio Cesar Chavez in 1996. Of course, that Chavez was washed up, and ripe for the beating that DLH gave him. Chavez in his prime would have beaten DLH.

DLH fought Pernell Whitaker in 1997, and although he got the decision, many in the crowd thought Whitaker won the fight. The limited Ike Quartey gave DLH everything he could handle two years later, and along the way DLH fought has beens like Hector Camacho and never were fighters like Oba Carr.

Then came the fight against Felix Trinidad in 1999, where DLH decided to cruise as opposed to fight, showing he didn't have a whole lot of heart. He complained long and hard about the decision, but the bottom line is you cannot win a fight by running away from your opponent.

Ever since then DLH has lost every single time he has been in what has been called a big fight. There were two losses to Shane Mosley. A brutal knockout loss at the hands of Bernard Hopkins. And that decision loss to Mayweather a year ago.

Sure there have been wins, but look at who DLH beat. Arturo Gatti was nothing more than a punching bag. A gutty fighter, but a guy who was more known for getting hit and cut than anything else. Fernando Vargas had the hype, but the skill didn't match the hype, and he turned out to be a steroids cheat to boot. Ricardo Mayorga's partying caught up with him by the time he faced DLH a couple of years ago.

Then of course you had the European fighter no one had ever heard of in Felix Sturm, journeyman in Luis Ramon Campas, Javier Castillejo and Steve Forbes.

All the while, DLH kept caliming he was better than ever, sounding like a commercial. The same two or three lines. There was the constant turnover in trainers. But, the bottom line was DLH was a good fighter. Great? I don't think so. He never beat a great fighter. In fact, he lost to every one he ever faced. At least, every one he ever faced that was still in his prime.

There have always been questions about DLH's heart. There are no such questions about Pacquiao's. The three fights against Erik Morales were brutal, and he won two of the three. The two fights against Juan Manuel Marques were as close as close could be. You cannot question Pacquiao's heart.

Pac Man is younger, and has the benefit of having Freddie Roach in his corner. If you don't know about this guy, you should. He was a club fighter in the 80's and early 90's. But he is a great trainer. And, he does it all while battling Parkinson's. I've never seen Roach without a smile on his face, even when he was training Mike Tyson.

Roach also trained DLH. Granted it was only for one fight, but it probably gave Roach enough information to form the right gameplan for Pacquiao.

In the end, look for Pacquiao to wear DLH down with a constant barrage of punches. Pacquiao is one of these guys who never stops throwing, no matter what the situation is. He might have a couple of early rocky moments. His punching power may not be what it was at the lighter weights. But, keep in mind DLH is moving back down in weight and could be weaker than we have seen him in the past against a guy who will put major pressure on him.

Look for Pac Man to score a late round TKO (I'll go 11th round for giggles) against a tired, bloody DLH.

And then, maybe the hype machine known as Oscar De La Hoya (because he was always more hype than substabce) will finally stop running.