By Amy Green

"What a difference a jab makes"

 

Just a year after losing to Floyd Mayweather, the Golden Boy makes a triumphant return to the ring, scoring a unanimous decision over Steve Forbes (33-6-9 KO).

 

Oscar De la Hoya (39 -5-30 KO) remembered to do something against Forbes he all but abandoned against Mayweather- utilize a little thing called the JAB.

De la Hoya racked up thirty four jabs per round and by employing that unique tool, effected showy combinations against Forbes, who is a technically sound fighter and skilled enough to block a good deal of de la Hoya’s action, but the drawback was his sporadic offense, which featured some good right hands that marked de la Hoya up some, but lacked the volume or power to stagger or completely halt him.

 

The unanimous decision victory kicked off the de la Hoya Retirement Tour- which is scheduled to include a proposed September rematch with Mayweather and an even more tentative Miguel Cotto date in December. This first outing in a year’s time, de la Hoya looked sharp in what was hardly a match of Mayweather caliber but made for decent practice.

There was no fading to bad decisions or losses, and he fought with a relaxation that kept his energy alive for the twelve round distance. Maybe amassing multi million dollar deals and growing an empire is good R & R and makes for really good sparring.