MAKING THE HATERS HIS MOTIVATORS - GOLDEN BOY SHINES AGAIN!
By Ron Brashear
Inside Boxing Writer/Columnist
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA (INSIDE BOXING, 
09/15/02) - Well fight fans, if you
happened to be one of the De La Hoya haters, now consider yourself as actually
one of his motivators! Oscar silenced many critics who thought that "The
Golden Boy" could no longer shine. If you recall my pre-fight article
titled, "GOLDEN BOY IS LIKE 14K" it said it all. Just because over
time he seemed to have lost some of his luster, all it took was some polishing
up and he is back to looking brand new.
Let's face it; he didn't just beat a weak opponent in Vargas. He overcame adversity by a strong, courageous young lion that had harmful intentions with the blows he was connecting on De La Hoya. However, in the end, it was Vargas who got taken to school by a Superstar that had been on stage in World Championship fights 22 times before. Oscar took this fight out of the judges' hands with a TKO!
In the way of earning respect, I guess you could call De La Hoya's sensational knock out of Vargas in the 11th round - An "Oscar-Winning" performance!
It's my pick right now as the front-runner for 2002 fight of the year. To imagine that with a 15 month lay off, Oscar was able to turn in this kind of performance. I don't know about you but I'm certainly intrigued to see him back in the ring much sooner than fifteen months the next time. With an even shorter absence, it sure makes you wonder if Mosley, Trinidad, or Hopkins can remove that type of shine from the "Golden Boy".
Personally, I would love to see Vernon Forrest get an opportunity prior to seeing a rematch with Mosley. Understandable, it's a bigger draw with Mosley however, Forrest defeating Mosley twice makes him a worthy opponent and I truly believe the fans will support a De La Hoya vs. Forrest bout and it would be BIG as well.
The Vargas fight is a tough act to follow. So regardless who gets to cash in on the "Golden Boy" sweepstakes, I caution them to keep in mind that REAL gold can be very shiny with fresh polishing. Oscar has Floyd Mayweather Sr. who appears to be doing just that, polishing up the "Golden Boy".
You have just gone insideboxing.com
Ron Brashear can be contacted at brashear@insideboxing.com, ron@brasheargear.com