The latest addition to the Oscar De La Hoya comeback saga is over, and like the Terminator’s fate in the first four movies, it ends with De La Hoya’s bid crushed, burned alive, etc.
And yes, I was totally doing an Arnold Schwarzenegger accent.
The legendary boxer turned boxing promoter, a former world champion in six weight classes, has been debating for weeks whether to come back, going as far to say that he would like to fight WBA Super World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.
Seven years after suffering the worst beating of his professional career against Manny Pacquiao, it just didn’t seem feasible to fight Golovkin.
However, there were some that were interested in a rematch with undisputed pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Let’s give everyone a breakdown of how this most recent De La Hoya movie went. On June 5th, the 42-year-old De La Hoya was leaving the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles when he was asked about being called out by Shane Mosley and Roy Jones Jr.
“If I ever come back, and I think about it every day, I’ll fight Triple G [Gennady Golovkin].
Floyd Mayweather Jr., in a video shot by Kel Dansby of Black Sports Online, openly expresses his interest in offering De La Hoya a rematch in what is supposed to be his final fight in September.
De La Hoya gets the word and responds on Boxing Hype’s Instagram.
“So I hear Floyd wants to give me a rematch now. Our first fight had a rematch clause; it had to take place within the year; he retired at a year and one day.
“Look, I’m retired, I’m happy, I’m content, I’m never coming back,” De La Hoya said.
That was on June 18th.
Not even a week later, on June 24th, De La Hoya changed his mind again, speaking with ESPN’s Dan Rafael.
“It’s got to be worth my while but this is very serious. I have to make sure I am fighting the very best. I don’t have to come back for financial reasons or the lights or the glamour. The only reason I would come back is because I miss the competition of fighting the very best.
“I want to fight one of them because they are the best, and I always fought the best. That’s what boxing is all about — fighting the best… I think my two front-runners are Floyd and Triple G.”
Today is June 29th and the news is out, Oscar De La Hoya is staying retired, in a statement obtained by World Boxing News
“Over the last six months I’ve had a front row seat as Golden Boy fighters including Canelo Alvarez, Bernard Hopkins, Lucas Matthysse, Jorge Linares and David Lemieux have stepped into the ring and shown what boxing should be all about — a commitment to fight the best, to respect the sport and to put the fans first.
“As a professional athlete and someone who has spent almost his entire life in boxing, not a day goes by when I don’t think about coming back — and the performances of these Golden Boy fighter has only added to my desire to return to the ring.
“But I am retired, and after speaking to my family and following a great deal of introspection, I have decided to stay retired.
“However, I do so with knowledge that many fighters today still pride themselves on the same principles that I adhered to throughout my career,” De La Hoya went on.
“It is now through boxers like those I mentioned and dozens of other Golden Boy Promotions fighters that those values live on.
“To the many thousands of fans who over the last couple of weeks encouraged me to come out of retirement and fight again, I thank you. You can rest assured that I will spend the rest of my days around this wonderful sport, even though those days won’t be spent inside the ropes.” – Oscar.
I mean no disrespect to Oscar De La Hoya. Because of him, young guys like me from the 1990’s, became attracted to the sport. Thank you, Oscar. I’ll see you ringside.
