Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (48-0, 26 KO’s) says if Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KO’s) comes out of retirement, he’s willing to fight the founder of Golden Boy Promotions in his last ever contested bout on September 12.
. @FloydMayweather says if @OscarDeLaHoya wants to come back he’ll fight him in September
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) June 17, 2015
If this were to materialize, it would be a rematch to the May 5, 2007 megafight which Sports Illustrated dubbed, “The Fight to Save Boxing.” Floyd ultimately won the 12-round battle by split decision at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Here’s Floyd discussing the potential matchup with Oscar later this year, per Boxing Scene .
“I seen a little thing with Oscar, saying that he’s coming back. I mean, if he want to we can rock and roll in September. We can do it 154. He already know that. He said he wanted a rematch. So if he want it we can do it in September. He already knows how I operate.”
Mayweather making the concession to jump up a weight class leads you to believe that he’s serious about facing the former great, although Floyd has jumped between welterweight (147 lbs.) and junior middleweight (154 lbs.) for a handful of his last few major fights. Their first fight took place at 154 lbs.; however, De La Hoya hasn’t fought since enduring a TKO at the hands of Manny Pacquiao in December, 2008, according to BoxRec .
There’s little doubt that Floyd views the 42-year-old De La Hoya as an easy fight to end his Hall of Fame career while making sure his undefeated record stays intact. A second matchup between the two legends of the sport would more than likely do very well financially, which is the main goal for a fighter whose nickname is “Money.”
. @Forbes 2015 list of top-earning athletes: 1) Mayweather $300M 2) Pacquiao $160M 3) Ronaldo $80M. http://t.co/AIdv0RHERq
— Kurt Badenhausen (@kbadenhausen) June 10, 2015
At the time, De La Hoya-Mayweather set the pay-per-view record with 2.4 million buys, a number recently shattered by the Mayweather-Pacquiao matchup on May 2, 2015 (4.4 million). Like many fans of the Sweet Science, Oscar wasn’t thrilled with the way MayPac turned out after having been hyped for so many years.
Here’s De La Hoya calling out Floyd via Twitter on his fighting style.
Call me old school but I like the fans getting their money’s worth by watching an action packed fight.
— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) May 3, 2015
Im just not into the boxing, running style. I like jumping out of my seat because a fight was existing and the fans got their money’s worth.
— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) May 3, 2015
After beating Pacquiao by unanimous decision , Mayweather has a few options on the table for his ultimate fight. As the Inquisitr previously reported, Britain’s Amir Khan is high on that list.
Here’s Khan talking about a potential Mayweather matchup.
For all the fight freaks out there, here’s Gennady Golovkin talking to TMZ Sports , saying he would “crush” Mayweather.
Who do you want to see Mayweather fight on September 12?
UPDATE**************
According to Boxing Scene , De La Hoya will not entertain the notion of coming out of retirement to fight Mayweather.
“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 retied a year, and one day. Look, I’m retired. I’m happy. I’m content. I’m never going back. I’m gonna continue growing Golden Boy.”
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
