This year looks like it is shaping up to be a good one for boxing. Some of the fights already slated included the super fight between Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito, Vic Darchinyan taking on Jorge Arce and if Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton can figure out a fair split on the money, we can end up having a very interesting mega fight as well.
Looking a little further down the road we also have Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz and Miguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito rematch to look forward to, possibly.
One thing that is not on the schedule however is a very familiar face. There is not an Oscar De La Hoya fight scheduled yet.
Every year there is has been talk about who Oscar was going to fight next and how big of an event it will be. Well since his lopsided defeat at the hands of Manny Pacquiao Oscar has been pretty low key.
Many people have said that he should retire. They have said he has too many miles on him, that his best days are behind him. With all the praise Pacquiao has gotten, most people still believe that part of that was because Oscar wasn’t the same guy in the ring.
Those thoughts have to be going through the Golden Boy?s head as well. This was not just a split decision loss like the one that he suffered against the old pound for pound King Floyd Mayweather, JR. No this was a good old fashion beating.
I am sure immediately after the fight Oscar was seriously thinking of hanging them up for good.
Of course he doesn’t need the money. He has made truckloads, probably more than most of us could spend in a lifetime. At this point, that is certainly not the driving force for Oscar anymore.
He doesn’t need to solidify his place in history or do anything to make sure he is remembered. The man was a good fighter for a long time. He has given us some amazing fights and fought the best at multiple weight classes. He is a hall of famer when his time comes.
I was never much of an Oscar fan but there is no denying he has done a lot for the sport and for the last handful of years has carried the sport in many ways. If there was an ?event? in the sport in the past decade, chances are he was in one of the corners.
But what must Oscar be thinking now? As time passes, and his bruises have healed, I am sure thoughts are starting to swirl in his mind about continuing to fight. Walking away from the sport isn’t something easily done. When you have been to the top, an elite athlete, it is hard to say goodbye to the sport you love.
Deep down I’m sure each fighter thinks they still have that one last great fight in them?that if they just had one more shot they could grasp at least a little of what they once had. Not just the glory of winning, but putting in all the hard work to get it.
I doubt that we have seen the last of Oscar De La Hoya the fighter. If he fights again it probably won’t have the appeal it did before. It may not be the mega pay per view event that it was before. He may not be able to break those records anymore but he is still a great draw.
De La Hoya could probably sell out the Staples Center if he was going 12 rounds with a heavy bag with a face drawn on it. But he isn’t going to do the type of numbers he did before. I mean what could get the public to really get excited about Oscar again?
How bout taking on the son of perhaps Mexico’s greatest fighter?
It would be about 12 years since he first took on the Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez. Back in 1996, Oscar was a great young fighter on his way to the top and Chavez, while still good, was nowhere near his best.
In a reversal of roles it would this time be Chavez’s son, Julio Cesar Chavez, JR., who is the young fighter looking to prove himself and Oscar now in the role of old lion trying to show he still belongs.
The story line is so good?it?s almost too perfect: Oscar coming full circle from probably the biggest fight of his early career to fight Chavez, JR., to bookend a great career.
There had been people talking about this possibility for the past year or so and most people around the sport thought it would probably never happen. Most believed Oscar, even with diminished skills, was still just too good for the young kid. After all it was not that long ago that he lost a split decision to the best fighter in the world at the time, Mayweather, JR.
Because of that supposed skill difference, I thought that there was no way that promoter Bob Arum was going to put his golden egg laying goose in the ring with Oscar.
Arum is a smart man. He knows the sport as he has been a major figure in it for decades. He knows that one of the biggest supporters of the sport is the Mexican fight fan. He knew the love they had for Chavez and he has been cashing in on Chavez, JR., for a few years now.
Chavez, JR., is a regular headliner for Top Ranks own pay per view shows because Arum knows the Mexican fight fan will buy it every time. So why would Arum risk a steady income for a one time payday against Oscar?
Now fast forward to the present time and the landscape has changed. Oscar now looks as vulnerable as he ever has and Arum might be licking his chops at the thought of being able to now get that big payday and at the same time get Chavez, JR., instant recognition by fighting him.
I have to say that before the Pacquiao fight I was definitely one who thought Chavez, JR., wouldn’t be much of a fight for Oscar but now I am starting to think otherwise. Perhaps Oscar has in fact faded so much that he is now ripe for the picking. Perhaps Chavez, JR., could not only be competitive against Oscar but even pull out a win against the older fighter.
At this point in their careers I think it would be tough to pick a clear favorite as Chavez, JR., clearly hasn’t fought much competition and at the age of 22 is still learning on the job. On the other hand perhaps his advantages of being the younger fighter with more energy and maybe even the faster fighter would be enough to take down De La Hoya.
As the weeks pass and Oscar starts to get that itch to fight again, I think this is logically the biggest fight out there for him. Sure there are plenty of guys who Oscar could fight. Mosley again, or a rematch with Felix Trinidad which has been talked about repeatedly over the years, and probably too many others too name. But a fight with Chavez, JR., would bring another level of drama that the other fights wouldn’t have: A son fighting to avenge the losses of his dad, a young fighter trying to prove himself in the sport, the older fighter trying to prove to himself and the world that he still has some gas in the tank.
Even though it would not be two elite fighters going toe to toe, I still think it could be entertaining. The fight I’m sure would do great numbers as the story and build up to the fight would probably get many people talking.
This is a fight that makes sense for both fighters and I think there is a very good chance we will see this fight later in the year.
Oscar should walk away and focus on promoting and spending time with his family. Every boxer reaches a point in their career where they have to face the reality that they aren’t who they used to be and move on. But if he were to stick around for another year and fight again, well if it was a fight with Julio Chavez, JR., I would be interested, and lets face it, so would you.
