Oscar De La Hoya faced one man that he believes had better defensive skills than master of movement Floyd Mayweather.
‘The Golden Boy’ locked horns with ‘Money’ Mayweather in Las Vegas back in May of 2007, surrendering his WBC Super-Welterweight World Title in the process.
Whilst their showdown was competitive, Mayweather put on an impressive display to get the nod on two out of the three scoring judges to walk away as the winner via split decision.
Aside from Mayweather, De La Hoya would share the ring with a number of generational greats throughout the course of his tenure, including Shane Mosley, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and Manny Pacquiao.
Another legend of the sport that ‘The Golden Boy’ faced is Pernell Whitaker and, in a round of ‘Best I Faced’ with the Ring Magazine, he revealed that the late-great ‘Sweet Pea’ was the best defensive fighter that he ever crossed paths with.
“It would have to be a coin flip between Pernell Whitaker and Mayweather. Both had different styles. Whitaker used his waist more and stood in front of you and was very slippery. Mayweather was more of a boxer that moved just a little bit more. The most difficult to hit was probably Whitaker.”
In the eyes of many, four division world champion Whitaker is widely considered to be one of the greatest defensive fighters to have ever graced the sport, utilising a mix of natural talent, subtle movement and ring savvy.
He lose a unanimous decision to De La Hoya in 1997 and would retire after three more fights. Of his four losses, Whittaker was only stopped once – his retirement bout against Carlos Bojorquez in which he suffered a broken collarbone.
