One of the lads.
That’s how my pal, the highly respected British sports pundit Lord Jeff Powell (Daily Mail), refers to boxing legend Oscar de la Hoya.
Now, more than ever, I think Oscar, who I long referred to respectfully as ?the President of boxing? when he was a world champion and the box office and PPV TV magnet uber alles, fits into that category.
Come on, guys, admit it. Oscar, who just finally fessed up to the Russian Stripper sexcapades and shocking fighter in drag photos which were part and parcel of those adulterous romps, is one of us.
He’s one of the boys, one of the guys you drink beer and swap tales with down at your local.
He is a human being with human failings and it is not surprising that he unburdened himself of the stripper stonewalling in an interview on Univision. Part of his sobriety recovery is admitting to past wrongs and righting them if he can.
Oscar told Univision ?I’m tired of lying? and then freely admitted that those salacious photos, fishnet stockings and sex position poses and all, were not Photoshopped or otherwise artificial.
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The only person Oscar wronged in his sexcapades, fueled by booze and cocaine, is his lovely wife.
I had written several times, based on what I thought was accurate information, that Ms. Dravnel was paid $5 million to quietly settle the lawsuit and to take her newfound riches back to Russia with her.
Now they are saying the price of the stripper’s silence may have been $20 million.
Does it really matter at this point? I don’t think so.
A former Oscar associate reminded me Thursday of how women, young and sexy women, used to pursue the fighter.
?We flew into El Paso for a fight and loads of hot women were lined up behind a fence to see Oscar,? the man said.
?They were throwing panties at him and some were flashing their breasts. Trust me, Oscar did not have to look far for willing sexploit partners. It was unbelievable, like he was some rock star but I guess back then he was a rock star.?
Now Rockstar, the energy drink, is or was a sponsor for Oscar’s Golden Boy company. And Oscar is no longer the promiscuous bachelor of years gone by.
Finally, Oscar has ‘fessed up completely.
This is the first time and last time I will use any of these photos.
I guess, if it was anywhere from $5 million to four times that much, that Dravnel got the biggest tip, no jokes please, of any stripper anywhere, anytime.
The lads are accustomed to paying $20 for a lap dance, or so I hear. But Oscar remains one of the lads.
What Oscar did was foolish, irresponsible and he was almost begging to get caught.
But Dravnel was a consenting adult.
Forget lap dances. At $20 million, Milana got paid the kind of guarantee that Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. get and the kind that Oscar used to reap.
Milana, she knew how to work it. She turned shedding her clothes into pay per view riches.
Stupid, yes. Criminal, no.
Now this story can die a natural death.
Oscar’s an addictive type personality. He had a gambling problem and then a problem with liquor, nose candy and strippers.
Come to think of it, Oscar was acting presidential.
At least he didn’t try to insult our intelligence.
Oscar never said, ?I did not have sex with that woman.?
The scandal is finished and Oscar, he remains one of the lads.
