Month: August 2020

(Editor’s note: This column originally published at Boxing Junkie, part of the USA TODAY Network.)

Oscar De La Hoya was rarely a sincere person during his fighting days. I always thought he said what he believed others wanted to hear or simply followed his whims. The truth wasn’t always important.

For example, at the height of his popularity in the 1990s, dozens of cameramen would line up during media events and wait their turns to interview the superstar. He would go from one to the next to the next until, to his credit, all were satisfied.

One time I followed him, listening to each interview. And I was surprised to discover that he often gave completely different answers to the exact same questions. Again, the truth didn’t matter.

That’s why I roll my eyes when I hear him say that he plans to return to the ring at 47 years old. I’ll believe it when I see it.

And he said his intention is to fight what he called “a top guy” at 154 or 160 pounds, not a fellow geezer in an exhibition, a la Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. A top guy? Can you imagine De La Hoya, out of the ring since Manny Pacquiao retired him in 2008, tangling with Jermell Charlo? Gennady Golovkin? Or (holding back laughter) Canelo Alvarez?

I never thought of De La Hoya as a genius, but he isn’t stupid. Trust me: He isn’t going to fight anyone near the ability of the champions mentioned above.

De La Hoya suffered a vicious beating to both his body and dignity against the smaller but prime Pacquiao, who stopped him in eight rounds. He wouldn’t risk

By Chris Williams: Jose Ramirez (26-0, 17 KOs) held onto his WBC/WBO light-welterweight titles on Saturday night with a controversial 12 round majority decision over his WBC mandatory challenger Viktor Postol (31-3, 12 KOs) at The Bubble in the MGM Grand conference room in Las Vegas, Nevada.

(Photo Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)

The judges scored it 115-113, 116-112 for Ramirez and 114-114 even. Boxing News 24 had Postol winning 116-112 [eight rounds to four].

Ramirez couldn’t get to Postol

The former WBC 140-lb champion Postol kept Ramirez at the end of his jab all night and peppered him with beautiful left-fight combinations down the stretch in the second of the fight. Ramirez emptied his gas tank after the 7th, and he looked exhausted as he plodded around the ring, trying to get to Postol.

It’s unclear whether Ramirez had problems making weight for the fight, given that he never looked this exhausted in his past fight. From the 8th, Ramirez resembled a much older fighter than his 28 years. He looked worn, old, and tired as he slowly tried to cut off the ring.

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By Mark Eisner: WBA ‘regular’ junior middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (27-3, 15 KOs) cruised to a 12 round unanimous decision victory over the motivated but limited #11 WBA Greg Vendetti (22-4-1, 12 KOs) on Saturday night at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

Lara, 37, treated the fight like a sparring session, taking his time, doing enough to win the majority of the rounds with his jabs, straight lefts, and hooks. The judges scored it for the talented Cuban Lara by the scores 116-112, 117-111, and 117-111. Boxing News 24 had it 118-110.

Greg Vendetti, 30, was trying hard in putting pressure on Lara, but he was only able to do well in the rounds where Erislandy let him. In the first six rounds, Lara looked like he was in first gear, and taking his time in not expending energy. But once the fight went into the championship rounds, Lara stepped it up and was a completely different fighter.

Lara coasted early on

You can’t blame Lara for fighting at a slower pace earlier in the fight because it would have meant that he would have gotten hit a lot more than he did. But with the way Lara fought,

By Jeff Aronow: In a big upset, journeyman Vladimir Hernandez (12-4, 6 KOs) defeated #11 IBF, #12 WBA super middleweight contender Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo (26-8, 21 KOs) by a 10 round unanimous decision last Saturday night on Fox at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California.

Hernandez, 31, was brought in as sub to replace Caleb Truax, but he was surprised the boxing fans by outworking the 38-year-old Angulo to win a comprehensive 10 round decision by the scores 98-92, 98-92, and 98-92.

Boxing News 24 had Hernandez winning eight rounds to two. Angulo couldn’t match the high work rate from Hernandez, who came into the fight having lost two out of his last three contests.

Hernandez overwhelmed Angulo with punches

Angulo struggled early with the nonstop arm punches that Hernandez was throwing, but he came on in the middle rounds when Vladimir started fading. However, in the three rounds, Hernandez collected himself after a pause in rounds four and five and started pummeling Angulo again in the second half of the bout.

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