Floyd Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya
In the August 31edition of All Access: Mayweather vs. Canelo, De La Hoya stated that “When I fought Floyd Mayweather, I figured out the blueprint. Yes, they gave him the decision, they gave him the fight; he beat me, but the blueprint is there.”
Mayweather, upon hearing this, quickly retorted: “How are you going to have blueprint on how to beat me [when] you didn’t beat me?”
Mayweather may be correct, but it is clear that had De La Hoya stuck to his own plan, he may have won. De La Hoya himself has said that the jab was integral to defeating Mayweather, but he often forgot to jab.
Furthermore, when De La Hoya threw the punch first, he did better in the exchange. When he let Mayweather throw first, he could not successfully land punches. Alvarez will have to continuously be the one to push the action with the jab and make sure Mayweather does not get off first.
Lastly, De La Hoya made a habit of chasing a smaller fighter, getting in range to get hit by Mayweather. Alvarez’s reach is one inch smaller than Mayweather’s, but Mayweather is comfortable counter punching at close range when on the ropes.
When coming in, Alvarez will have to watch out and not smother his own offense. It will make him an open target to close-range counter punches. Inasmuch as De La Hoya showed what not to do with a size and weight advantage, he left a blueprint. Alvarez must do what De La Hoya did without smothering his own punches, staying busy, and jabbing as if his life depends on it.
