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On September 19, 2009, unanimous number 2 pound-for-pounder, Juan Manuel Marquez, will meet former number 1 boxing retiree, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Mayweather has never been defeated in the ring; however, he hasn't faced an opponent since knocking out Ricky Hatton in December 2007.
On May 5, 2007, Mayweather met Oscar De La Hoya and was able to escape with a split decision win. Here is how I would have scored it:
Round 1. De La Hoya fights in straight lines, which served him well against less mobile opponents. Mayweather is text book mobile and was able to pot shot a first round win. (10 to 9, Mayweather).
Round 2. Different Mayweather means different result. Unlike the first round, Mayweather thought he could toy with De La Hoya. He blocked almost everything Oscar threw, but Oscar still landed more scoring shots. (19 to 19, even).
Round 3. Not a fantastic round for either fighter. Oscar wasn't able to maintain the momentum that he started the round with and Floyd took it in sniper fashion. Mayweather continued to block or slip almost everything that De La Hoya threw. (29 to 28, Mayweather).
Round 4. A much better round for Oscar even if the barrage of body shots didn't score the way that the crowd thought they did. Regardless, Oscar inflicted the most damage. (38 to 38, even).
Round 5. If you want to know what the phrase "clean, effective punching" means, then watch this round and see the difference between the two men. Mayweather landed nothing but clean, effective punches and won the round. (48 to 47, Mayweather).
Round 6. There was a role reversal in this round with Oscar's defense being better than Floyd's. Better defense equates to hit and don't get hit, which is the entire point to the sport. (57 to 57, even).
Round 7. Oscar's best round of the fight. Mayweather is a defensive master, but defense alone is not good enough to win a round without scoring offense. (67 to 66, De La Hoya).
Round 8. Oscar pressed the action, scored, and used solid defensive skills to keep Mayweather's speed in check. A relatively close round, however, for the simple reason that De La Hoya stopped jabbing after about the first minute and Floyd, Jr. was able to get some work done. Not enough work though in my view. (77 to 75, De La Hoya).
Round 9. The ninth was a much better round for Mayweather. Oscar had a few flurries, which were not effective from a scoring perspective. (86 to 85, De La Hoya).
Round 10. The best round of the fight for Mayweather for no other reason than Oscar didn't do much. HBO's Jim Lampley made a comment during this round that boxing judges are punch counters, which is absolutely incorrect. We "count" punches that score; however, we do not keep mental tallies. The type of punches landed and the infliction of damage is weighed heavily. Amateur boxing judges count punches, professional fight judges do not. (95 to 95, even).
Round 11. With except to the big right hand at the end of the round, Oscar looked tired and allowed Floyd, Jr. to have his way. (105 to 104, Mayweather).
Round 12. Oscar tried to close the show and had some good moments, but Mayweather picked at him for most of the round and took the fight on my card (115 to 113, Mayweather).
The judges scored the fight as follows: 115 to 113 (De La Hoya); 116 to 112 (Mayweather); and 115 to 113 (Mayweather).
De La Hoya went on to fight twice more before officially retiring from boxing earlier this year. Mayweather fought one more time after this fight and retired undefeated in December 2007. As stated above, Floyd, Jr. unretired this year and will meet Juan Manuel Marquez next month.
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