Mayweather vs. De La Hoya

On May 5th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the boxing world will witness a bout for the ages. On that night, undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. (37-0 with 24 KOs) will take on Oscar De La Hoya (38-4 with 30 KOs) for De La Hoya's WBC Junior Middleweight title.

Mayweather is considered by most to be the current best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He has won titles in 4 different weight divisions, including Super Featherweight, Lightweight, Super Lightweight, and Welterweight. And while he has rare combination of speed and power, some critics have accused him on not fighting the best in the business.

On the other hand, De La Hoya has fought the biggest names available and constantly seeks to showcase his talents against elite competition. He has held titles in 6 weight divisions and has only been stopped once in his professional career (a 9th round KO versus Bernard Hopkins). His most recent fight was a TKO victory in the 6th round over champion Ricardo Mayorga.

This figures to be one of the biggest money-making fights in history. In fact, many believe that it may wind up being the biggest pay-per-view in history. In case you're wondering, the current record is held by the 2002 Mike Tyson/Lennox Lewis fight, which brought in 2.03 million PPV buys.

De La Hoya will earn at least $25 million for the fight, while Mayweather will get at least $10 million. Both fighters will also receive a percentage of the PPV sales, so this will prove to be a highly profitable bout for both men.

One look at an online sportsbook like Bodog and you'll see that Mayweather is the favorite to win the bout. In late January, Mayweather was being bet at -220, while De La Hoya was a +155 underdog. In the early part of February, Mayweather dropped to -185, while De La Hoya stayed the same. On March 4th, Mayweather had risen back to -220, while De La Hoya once again held steady as the underdog. As of this writing, Mayweather is favored at -230, while De La Hoya is at +160.

The max bet you can make on this fight at Bodog is $2000, and both men must answer the opening bell for bets to be considered valid.

Mayweather has hinted that this might be his last fight. De La Hoya, on the other hand, has stated that he will fight again. Regardless of the outcome, this is a battle which will improve both men's status in the boxing world and pad their wallets beyond comprehension.

This is one that you don't want to miss.

Mayweather vs. De La Hoya