The Left-Handed Problem Of Oscar De La Hoya
Cointry -- Manny Pacquiao being a southpaw (left-handed) is more of a concern by the Oscar de la Hoya camp than Manny's vaunted speed.
Manny Pacquiao and Oscar de la Hoya will fight in the biggest boxing event of the year at the MGM Grand Arena. Las Vegas on December 6, 2008.
When asked about Freddie Roach’s comments about “speed” which is the main asset of Pacquiao, de la Hoya responded:- “Speed is fine but more than that, accuracy is more important”.
"In the past the southpaw fighters that I have fought I really haven’t done very well with, so this is not going to be an easy fight," Oscar said in a recent interview. Oscar's last encounter with a southpaw (left-handed) was a decade ago. He fought Hector Camacho and Pernell Whitaker in 1997. And both lasted the twelve rounds. Whitaker succeeded in making de la Hoya look bad through his crafty defense, but he was unable to mount a sufficient offense to convince the judges, and despite receiving an official knockdown, de la Hoya won by a disputed unanimous decision.
Pernell "SweetPea" Whitaker stands as tall as Manny Pacquiao at 5' 6".
It was said that Oscar deliberately avoided fighting left-handed (southpaw) boxers though Oscar is naturally left-handed but fight in orthodox(right-handed) stance. He was a converted southpaw so that his lead hand, the left, has that stiff jab and powerful hook.
Photo Manny Pacquiao, a southpaw(lefty) has his right hand and right foot in front of him, while the one on the right is Erik Morales in an orthodox(right-handed) stance; lead with the left foot and fist.
Left-handed or southpaw fighters use a mirror image of the orthodox stance, which can create problems for orthodox fighters unaccustomed to receiving jabs, hooks, or crosses from the opposite side. Head butts are also common when a southpaw fights an orthodox boxer.
While Erik Morales has adapted well in fighting a southpaw, it is a different story with Oscar de la Hoya. He moves his left foot forward even when throwing a jab. Though he wouldn't have to move his left foot forward when throwing a jab because he has a longer reach than Manny, he has to get closer to Pacquiao when he throws his left hook. But because Manny is a southpaw, he cannot step forward because his left foot is in front of Manny's right foot as shown in the photo. So in order for Manny to control Oscar's left hook, he must deny the front and left space of Oscar's left foot. By doing this, Manny has to move to his right. Or sidestep to his left when he wants to go inside of Oscar.
