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This year USA Boxing hangs on to the hope that one of their own will come back wearing that majestic Gold Medal on their necks. Fighters like Ron Siler, Jason Estrada, Devin Vargas, Vicente Escobedo, Vanes Martirosyan, and Andre Direll will be looking to make a name for themselves in Athens. Each has won their opening matches keeping the possibilty for each to medal alive.
In an era when people are saying boxing is dead, each of these fighters are giving life to boxing in the U.S. So fight fans pay attention, you may see the makings of some special fighters. That is the essence that makes Olympic prize fighting special.
Hopkins-De La Hoya: One Month Away!
This is the biggest fight I can remember since De La Hoya-Trinidad in 1999, and will be taking place on September 18th. Forget the hype, around other fights previous to this one, this is a legitimate SUPER FIGHT, worthy of capital letters. It is a fight for history, for legacy, and for immortality. Whoever wins between undisputed WBA/IBF/WBC middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins and newly crowned WBO champion Oscar De La Hoya, will put themselves in the history books.
For the almost 40-year old Hopkins, it will put another notch on his belt nearing 20-title defenses and add to his argument as one of the greatest middleweights of all-time, having beaten his second Hall of Famer and close a chapter on one of the most heavily promoted fighters in boxing history. For goodness sakes the man has been the middleweight champion since 1995. That is almost 10 years and 'Joe Louis' like.
For Oscar De La Hoya, the "Golden Boy", a win would put him in a class by himself. A win and I believe it would put him in with the top 30 fighters of all time, pound for pound. He will have done what many said he could not do, and he would ride off in the sunset knowing he bested the best middleweight of the last 17 years. This is what boxing is all about, so fork over your $59.95 and watch history.
