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By Wil Foster
28/07/2004
Will Oscar really be able to pull off the biggest upset in boxing since Holyfield beat Tyson? Is it possible that he has positioned himself to leap frog himself to the top of the mountain of Hispanic Boxers? It is very possible. Let's look at some of the facts because we all know this will beOscar's modus operandi. First, why would he pick a fight with the middleweight king? It's a fight on paper that he can't win. Most fight fans see him getting utterly destroyed. Hell, I do too, but there is just a part of me that questions this line of thought. And that's Oscar's history. Just like Sugar Ray Leonard and Ali, Oscar knows when to fight an opponent and when to duck them. Oscar has been the Frank Sinatra of boxing, "he does it his way." Unlike Roy Jones Jr. he also has provided boxing fans with a catalog of countless fights to talk about. Each of which were dramatic bouts against proven foes that had a chance to win.
His detractors say he only fights opponents when he feels he has the upperhand. This reporter agrees with that line of thought also, but at least they had a chance and not just a puncher's chance to win. Oscar's fans may disagree but it's the truth.
Timing is everything. So, why would he fight Hopkins now? The answer is simple. He knows he can beat him. He has seen something that others haven't. I watched his last couple fights and searched long and hard. I think I have found what he was looking for. Hopkins doesn't have a knockout punch. Sure he'll beat the crap out of you until someone stops the fight. But he's not going to pull a Tarver and catch you with one punch.
Argue with me on this later, but Oscar has fought more world class fighters. He goes into the fight knowing this. He easily has the upper hand when it comes to knowing how to win against a fighter who has more than a good chance of defeating him. Hopkins has not had that since knocking Felix "Tito" Trinidad out on September 29, 2001.
On Sept 18th each fighter goes in trying to prove something. Hopkins goes into the fight to prove he can defeat a world class fighter in his weight class for the second time. Oscar goes in the fight attempting do what he has done some many times in the past. Only this time it's not Tito, Vargas, Gatti or even Sweet Pea, but the far more dangerous Executioner.
Either way you slice it, picking your winner should not be as easy as most are thinking.
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