Ricardo Mayorga smokes cigarettes in the ring after particularly satisfying victories. "El Matador" wears a bullfighting outfit before his fights, and he revels in insulting his opponents' families, challenging their ethnicities and questioning their sexual orientations.
In short, the former Nicaraguan gang member is one of the nuttiest men in a profoundly irrational profession. And he has little in common with Oscar De La Hoya, the cultured epitome of businesslike fisticuffs — except a desire for a career-revitalizing win when they meet in Las Vegas tonight.
De La Hoya seems eager to be back in the ring after a 20-month absence — he was knocked out in the ninth round by Bernard Hopkins in September 2004.
The Golden Boy has nothing left to accomplish in a long, frequently spectacular career, but he seems determined to fight at least two more times before devoting himself fully to his myriad interests outside the ring.
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So why would De La Hoya risk his health and reputation against Mayorga, of all people?
Perhaps it's exactly because Mayorga is just the type of fighter who would insult De La Hoya's wife and Latino heritage, filling any motivational gaps for a fighter who's already done everything.
"He's done his job already," De La Hoya said. "He's made me train already as hard as I can. He's motivated me already to be the best fighter I can be, so there's no way I can fall in whatever kind of trap he's trying to set for me.
"I already have my plan of attack. I already have my game plan set, so whatever little games he's trying to play, he can't play them with me."
De La Hoya (37-4, 29 KOs) has maintained his sterling career, and a largely unblemished face, by avoiding any of the flat-out brawls that take their toll on any fighter — the type of brawls that Mayorga revels in starting.
De La Hoya insists he'll stand toe-to-toe with Mayorga (28-5-1, 23 KOs) at the MGM Grand, trading power punches for the WBC light middleweight title.
While De La Hoya is expected to make $8 million for his business empire, Mayorga threatened not to fight this week unless his purse was increased to $8 million as well. Promoter Don King and manager Tony Gonzalez announced Mayorga's decision to fight after all on Thursday, although neither knew why Mayorga changed his mind.
That's all part of the game with El Matador, who's clearly motivated to pound De La Hoya: He's down to three or four daily cigarettes from his three-pack-a-day habit when he's not training, and he even stopped drinking before the fight.
"I believe honestly that despite everything I told him and despite all the insults that we traded, I still don't think he's man enough to stand in front of me," Mayorga said.
"It's not that I'm deteriorating in skills," De La Hoya said. "It's the motivation that gets me going now, and Ricardo Mayorga has sparked that in me. He lit that fire in my belly. ... I want to teach this guy a lesson really bad."
Today
● What: Oscar De La Hoya vs. Ricardo Mayorga
● Where: MGM Grand, Las Vegas
● When: 6 p.m.
● TV: Pay per view
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