Oscar and Sturm were almost the same height, but the size difference was apparent. Sturm looked like a lean  bodybuilder compared to Oscar who, well, looked like an over-blown and stretched junior welterweight in comparison.Oscar barely won a round in most observers’ cards. And quite honestly, a loss would’ve been good because it would’ve spared the boxing world from watching him fight an even larger and much stronger fighter: Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins.Hopkins was the P4P supremo during this time and needed desperately the kind of mainstream media exposure that only Oscar could deliver.On the September 18, 2004, they fought. The early rounds were close, and the Golden Boy fought remarkably well before fading late and losing by KO in the ninth round.Oscar hasn’t fought much since (about once a year) and his last fights suggest he is close to being done as a fighter. Still, his natural gifts and underrated hand speed were still able to beat the new P4P king Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

in one of the judge’s scorecards.  De la Hoya was mostly the aggressor in that fight. His punches were not as sharp as Mayweather’s, but he was still able to shake him with his constant pressure and body attacks.Floyd was mostly on the defensive end, without an answer to Oscar’s piston jab. But in the end, Mayweather’s youth, gifts, and reflexes were able to overcome the aging de la Hoya in a close fight.In sum, Oscar came somewhat short of being the next Sugar Ray Leonard in terms of accomplishments. However, it cannot be denied that Oscar proved over and over again that he was one of the best fighters in his era, and in the top five P4P in his prime. HELSINKI, April 23 (Reuters) – Nokia Oyj (NOK1V.HE) ChiefExecutive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said on Thursday: * Company will remain conservative in customer financing * There are needs for customer financing in handset retailand telecom network equipment(Reporting by Tarmo Virki).  Fans all over Los Angeles are in love with their Lakers.

Ever since Pau Gasol rolled into Tinsel Town to take over for the injured Andrew Bynum, the Lakers have been the hottest ticket in town.The bandwagon, which had temporarily broken down when Bynum’s knee popped out of place, has been back on the road for several months now, and rolling toward an NBA Championship.Or so those aboard it seem to expect.But what happens if the Lakers, who are now halfway there, are suddenly eliminated? What happens to that bandwagon and its passengers should the Spurs win the Western Conference?And even worse, what happens if they sweep the Lakers or win in five games?Impossible? In the NBA, where, David Stern tell us, amazing happens, anything is possible. Back in 1999, the Spurs, on their way to an NBA Championship, swept the Lakers.Then in 2001, the Shaq and Kobe Lakers returned the favor.But this is 2008 The Spurs are older now, and a step or two slower. Tim Duncan, their All-Star center and last year’s MVP in the Playoffs, is not the player he used to be.Lamar Odom’s not buying it. “If you go back to 1988, 1992, the best players in the league were always 31, 32, 34 year olds,” the Laker forward said.  “They get it.  They execute.  They make up for speed with their IQ as a basketball team.  They’re all smart, heady players out there.”But when it comes to fans and pundits, most of them are expecting the Lakers to dethrone the champion Spurs and go all the way.In a recent ESPN poll, six out of ten experts picked the Lakers over the Spurs. However, five of them did expect the series to go the full seven games.The Lakers are so loved by their fans that every A-list performer in town is trying to get courtside tickets, just so their mugs can be seen on national television.Nothing like riding the coattails of Kobe Bryant’s popularity.But what will happen should the Lakers lose? What if they get humiliated? Where will all those celebrities be then? Probably trying to get sideline passes for the USC-Ohio State game this fall.No, I’m not talking about the Jack Nicholsons, the Dyan Cannons, or the Penny Marshalls.

They’re the true fans who have been there through thick and thin, through all the pain and disappointment, as well as the glory.I’m not talking about the die-hards and the homers Sure, they will criticize and lay blame But they are entitled to do so. Those privileges come along with their fan club membership.But the one thing they won’t do is desert like the ones who will be jumping off the bandwagon in droves and running for the hills of Chavez Ravine to cheer on the Dodgers.If the Lakers lose, you won’t even be able to find a B-list celebrity scrounging around for a 2008-2009 season ticket.In Tinsel Town, you are only as good as your last movie or gig. And if that happens to be a loss, well, bye-bye.Then there are the tweeners The tweeners are in between the homers and the deserters They’re half on the bandwagon and half off. Should the Lakers lose the series to the Spurs, they will say something like, “Well, the Lakers would’ve won if they had Bynum.”But the truth of the matter is that they expect the Lakers to win without Bynum.Next year, if Bynum is not able to make a full recovery and the Lakers fail to win the championship, the tweeners will quietly slide the rest of the way from the bandwagon, from the message boards, and from the blogs. Never to be heard from again until, of course, the Lakers make another bonafide run at the title.Then there is the media, the experts and pundits, who will scream, “Upset!” and “Overrated!” should the Spurs take this series from the Lakers.Upset? Give me a break.