De La Hoya Thinks Marquez Could Win by KO

Posted by Salvador Rodriguez on 09.04.2009

Our Mexico correspondent Salvador Rodríguez talks to the Golden Boy in Mexico City who feels Marquez will pull off the upset.


Photo by Israel Garnica

Oscar De La Hoya arrived to the Romanza Gym in Iztacalco; gave one look to the work that Juan Manuel Marquez was doing and nodded his head. The Golden Boy doesn't think, he assures us that "Dinamita" will not only surprise Floyd Mayweather on September 19 in Las Vegas, but that he has a good shot of knocking out Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Salvador Rodríguez: What was the first impression you got from Juan?

Oscar De La Hoya: I see him looking strong and I've been telling him that Mayweather doesn't hit that hard – he doesn't have heavy hands but he does have a lot of speed.

Salvador: Will he knock him out?

Oscar: He can do it if he lands one of those punches he's been throwing me, he can knock him out.

Salvador: What is the most dangerous thing about Mayweather?

Oscar: He should worry about those feints to the body because he'll then want to come back upstairs. But Marquez is very intelligent which is why he's the best in the world, because he does his job well, studies his opponent and so there shouldn't be much worry.

Salvador: What percentage would you give a Marquez victory?

Oscar: 100%! Styles make fights and Marquez' is perfect for beating Mayweather because he's smart, can counterpunch but is also aggressive, jabs well, doesn't get tired and so for Mayweather, things will get complicated.

Salvador: Do you think the layoff and other distractions will affect Floyd?

Oscar: The layoff, the injury he had, and the distractions he's endured such as his dad being in the gym with his uncle; there's friction there because there's jealousy as to who runs the show. Then they found his car near a shooting and basically I think this is the perfect time to beat Mayweather.

Salvador: Your promotion has invested a lot in this fight…

Oscar: It's something big for us but most importantly for Marquez and the more we can promote this fight, the more money he can make and that's what we want. His job is to train and win; we'll take care of promoting [the fight] and we want it to break records. It's an important fight and during Mexican Independence weekend; we'll have the two best fighters in the world without question and fans understand that this is the biggest fight of the year.

Salvador: And ticket sales?

Oscar: We're at about 90% sold with about three weeks left so we're expecting a full house on fight night.

Salvador: To which fights would you compare this one to?

Oscar: This is like revisiting Taylor vs. Chavez or De La Hoya vs. Whitaker – it's a big fight and a huge event; you'll have plenty of people supporting Mayweather but you'll also have the entire country of Mexico and all Mexican-Americans behind Marquez.

Salvador: What's next for Marquez if he wins?

Oscar: Well, we'd be able to mention his name next to Chavez as one of Mexico's best if he wins which would make him the biggest Mexican fighter over the past 20 years after Chavez. After that we'll see if we can get the rubber match with Manny Pacquiao as it would be very important for Marquez' legacy.

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Salvador Rodriguez is a boxing writer for Record in Mexico City and a regular contributor to 411mania.com.