OSCAR DE LA HOYA announced his retirement from boxing this week ? and no one can argue with the amount of money he generated for himself, and the sport.
But, despite winning world titles at six different weights and his massive box-office appeal, for me De La Hoya will go down as a good fighter ? but not an all-time great.
He started with Bob Arum after winning Olympic gold at Barcelona in 1992, and owes much of his success to the fantastic job the Hall of Fame promoter did for him early on.
Arum tapped into De La Hoya?s popularity with the Hispanic market in the States but also helped generate a crossover appeal. When the pair split, Oscar was in prime position to really cash in.
His 19 PPV fights on HBO generated an astonishing ?470million. But, while the Golden Boy was Mr Box Office, he doesn?t compare in terms of quality to Hagler, Hearns, Duran and Leonard.
Had he boxed when they were around, he would have struggled.
De La Hoya, 36, lost too many big fights to be a legend. In his last 14 contests, he was 8-6, and in his last seven he won only three.
Although he only lost to the best ? Floyd Mayweather, Felix Trinidad, Manny Pacquiao, Bernard Hopkins and Shane Mosley ? great fighters find a way of turning potential ?Ls? into ?Ws?.
Perhaps De La Hoya?s greatest achievement is retaining his squeaky-clean image right until the end of his career, despite a reputation for being a party animal and fathering five children by four different women.
Fortunately, he?s got out with plenty of money. And, while he probably went on a fight or two longer than he should have, his health as well.
Big night for Cott ‘n Clott
MIGUEL COTTO and Joshua Clottey are poised to unify their WBO and IBF welterweight titles in New York in June.
Both boxers are previous victims of the disgraced Antonio Margarito, who is serving a ban at the moment after a foreign substance was found in his handwraps ahead of his clash with Shane Mosley.
Cotto and Clottey say they believe Margarito?s team did something similar before he fought them.
