Hard choice. I honestly don't think we've seen full potential Canelo so for me I can't decide this until the Austin Trout fight.
I mean think about it, the only elite class fighter, (well, was elite class) that he fought was an aging Shane Mosley
De La Hoya faced guys that could rip Canelo to shreds so De La Hoya in my opinion.
I'd go with Oscar. For all his talent and strength, Canelo, at this time, is still largely untested against tough or elite opposition. De la Hoya, on the other hand did not only have exceptional skills and physical prowess, he was also tough as he was smart. He'd outpunch and outwit Canelo easily. But Canelo is still young and he has all the time in the world to metamorphose into a great fighter.
I think this would have been similar to the De la Hoya-Vargas fight. Canelo is bigger and stronger just like Fernando Vargas was against Oscar but Oscar would weather the early storm against Canelo and box him using the jab and left hooks until Canelo loses some steam. I then see Oscar coming on late and either winning by a UD or a late stoppage in a whale of a fight.
At welterweight, I will favor De La Hoya who lost just to prime time Tito Trinidad and Shane Mosley and in extremely close, if controversial points decisions. ODLH also held the advantage in experience and he was comfortable fighting at that weight level.
At junior middleweight where ODLH had mixed results with big wins over Fernando Vargas, Yori Boy Campas, Javier Castillejo and Ricardo Mayorga but losses to Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather and where he was already showing his age and decline in skills, I think it's a toss up. I think ODLH still had some left in his tank to give Canelo a very competitive fight. Am leaning towards Canelo to win by close D with his stronger finish.
Once again, its gonna come to pedigrees.
Usually Id pick Canelo EASY. Truth is anyone that wants to take a fight TO DLH usually can win. People that respect his strength and doesnt make him respect theirs lose outright and one sided....
...but....
...pedegree and experience are EVERYTHING in boxing. With nothing but respect to Canelo and his opponents, he hasnt faced anything or anyone that could PREPARE him for what DLH knew. DLH wasnt just a body, he had wars. More importantly he reduced people who could fight wars to mush on the canvas.
Right now cause Canelo is a draw but not a mandatory, he can still pick his fights. But the way his corner is grooming him (making sure he fights the same one dimensional fighter over and over), he is going to get hurt the minute he fights someone that a ruling body makes a MANDATORY for him. Im guessing he is two or three fights away from getting hurt, really bad.
DLH, easy win.
Very evenly matched, with a very slight edge to DeLa Hoya, this one would have shaped up like DeLa Hoya's fight with Trinadad, and Canelo would be even money to pull off the very slight upset.
who wouldve won
