The ease at which Manny Pacquiao destroyed Oscar De La Hoya last December meant there was no surprise when De La Hoya announced his retirement in Los Angeles. De La Hoya always relied on his speed and his heart, but when Pacquiao showed the speed was gone, there was nothing much left. The big question now facing boxing in the United States, is will the sport there make concerted efforts to get behind new heroes, or will De La Hoya’s departure help speed the progression of the sport there to the fringes.
De La Hoya was the big star name on the 1990s and 2000s, just as Mike Tyson had been before him. The name of De La Hoya on a bill gave in star appeal, he gave it extra interest and meant the fight would get coverage beyond just the hardcore boxing media. But without De La Hoya, who is there? Just as Lennox Lewis and the heavyweights never really got out of the shadow of Tyson, can the present crop of top American boxers really fill De La Hoya’s shoes?
Ever since he won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, De La Hoya, who was quickly dubbed the Golden Boy, became a money-making machine. Loved for his good looks and charm, as well as his flashing fists, he was a recreation of Sugar Ray Leonard at the time when Leonard was struggling to come to terms with ageing.
He was also seen as a self-made man, someone who fought his way out of the ghetto but did not need to bring the ghetto with him, someone who was proud of his humble roots, yet comfortable in the company of billionaires. There is little doubt that he had a real fighting heart too. He regularly had to dig deep to win fights and boxed all the top names around his weight over a period of more than 15 years. You do not win world titles in six weight classes by chance, even if the top and bottom of those were rather soft looking WBO title wins.
Somewhere recently, though, he has lost much of his appeal to the ordinary man in the street. He was said not to have turned up at the Shane Mosley-Antonio Margarito fight in his home city in January for fear of being booed. He is now the sport’s biggest promoter as Golden Boy continues to expand, but he has seemingly become a more distant character in doing it.
But his retirement raises two big questions. What now for Golden Boy and what now for US boxing? The biggest fight planned so far this year in the US is next month’s Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton bout. A Filipino and a Brit. Some old American sportswriters would be spinning in their graves at the thought.
On the one hand it is a very positive thing and shows how much more boxing is now a worldwide sport than it used to be – having just compiled my top 50 light-heavyweights it is almost painful to see how US biased it is. But Americans are, in the main main, famous for being parochial. Can a country that obsesses over American Football and baseball really have an interest in foreign boxers?
At 36, De La Hoya has clearly seen better days, but the sad fact is that most of the best known active US boxers are older than him – Bernard Hopkins, Roy Jones Jr, Winky Wright and Mosley. The new generation is there, but while Kelly Pavlik’s fame is still growing, Paul Williams and Chad Dawson are largely unknown – a result of the old-stagers hogging the spotlight for too long.
It has also been said that Golden Boy enjoyed such a good relationship with HBO – the biggest payers in TV – because De La Hoya was still active. A look down the list of the biggest pay-per-view figures sees De La Hoya in almost every slot that does not involve a heavyweight. Will HBO, which needs to invest in younger talent, be as interested in Golden Boy now when a big De La Hoya payday is no longer awaiting them?
The expected summer return of Floyd Mayweather Jr should fill much of the gap in the US market, but it would not surprise me if De La Hoya had a swift change of heart – particularly if Hatton can beat Pacquiao next month. The problem if he makes a return is who else to fight. He clearly can’t make welterweight, but I can’t see him fancying a bout with Williams.
But De La Hoya leaves the ring with an excellent legacy and a wonderful highlights reel. Perhaps the most difficult task ahead will be how he can become a more traditional promoter rather than as a fighter in a suit.
