BAD BLOOD OR JEALOUSY? www.insideboxing.com Inside Boxing Writer/Columnist INSIDE BOXING - For years we've all heard about the bad blood between Oscar De La Hoya and Fernando Vargas. We also fail to know or understand why. We have heard all the possible scenarios including: both are from Los Angeles and only one can be top dog; Vargas claims De La Hoya disrespected him. And the feud goes on without any of us really knowing why. It's a Mexican-American thing called player hating. Let me try to explain. You see, Mexican-American's will bend over backward to help a fellow Mexican-American. They will bond together and form an alliance so strong it's next to impossible to break. UNLESS they personally know each other. Then it becomes player hating and can get real ugly. Jealousy sets in and one will do everything he can to see the other fail. Forget the machismo, forget the bad blood. These two fighters are player hating to the max. De La Hoya makes it no secret his reason for not wanting to fight Vargas was he did not want Vargas to make the big money player hating Vargas claims De La Hoya disrespected him back in 1993 when the two were sparring each other. Supposedly, De La Hoya never thanked or acknowledged Vargas' work in the ring. Disrespect? Player hating. Another story I've heard is that while both fighters were training in Big Bear, Vargas took off for some road work. During his run he slipped and fell. Along comes De La Hoya and Vargas holds his hand out expecting De La Hoya to help him up. Instead, De La Hoya looks, swears at him and continues on his jog. Disrespect? Hmmm, maybe. Then there is the possibility of a girl getting in between the two fighters. You know those Los Angeles Latin beauties are hard to resist. What happens when two guys like the same girl? One will win the honors of dating that girl and the other will... Let's just say, not like the other guy very much. Player hating? Bad Blood! One thing is certain, this contest has the makings of a spectacular fight. Whatever fuels their anger, the two will have the opportunity to settle the score on Sept.14 when they step into the ring. De La Hoya, a skilled master in the ring, will face the task of taming the ferocious beast within Vargas. The key to this fight is fitness, which fighter will be in the best shape to execute their game plan. De La Hoya needs to be in excellent shape to box, stick and move, to choose when he will bang with Vargas, especially in the 11th and 12th rounds, the championship rounds. Vargas needs to be in excellent shape to pressure and continually throw his power punches, keeping De La Hoya off key and unable to set and land his own power shots. You cannot apply pressure without throwing punches against a fighter of De La Hoya's magnitude. Once you stop throwing punches you'll start eating them. This is one fight you will not want to miss. A simple mistake by either fighter could end it before it gets started. De La Hoya and Vargas are scheduled to fight 12 rounds for the world super-welterweight championship on a card promoted by Top Rank and Main Events in association with Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. The fight will be held in the 12,000 seat Mandalay Bay Events Center and will be telecast live on HBO pay-per-view. |
