Oscar De La Hoya's farewell tour begins next week as boxing's biggest star counts down to retirement. De La Hoya insists it's three fights and out by the end of the year -- beginning with a 150-pound fight against Steve Forbes, a former junior lightweight titleholder and the second-season runner up on "The Contender," on May 3 (HBO, 10 p.m. ET) at the Home Depot Center's outdoor soccer stadium in Carson, Calif. "The goal is to fight these three fights this year and leave on top," De La Hoya said this week on a conference call with reporters. "There's not going to be no 2009, no fights after December. I want these three fights and go out like a champion. I know it's the last time I will step inside the ring in December but there is no looking past Stevie Forbes. I have been training so hard for this fight, like it is the most important fight of my life." Ethan Miller/Getty Images De La Hoya claims 2008 will be his last season stepping in the ring and at least one remaining fight will be a rematch with Floyd Mayweather. The fight is billed as "Homecoming" because it is De La Hoya's first bout in his native Southern California since his first bout with Los Angeles rival Shane Mosley in 2000. De La Hoya's fans seem to have responded, too, gobbling up more than 26,000 tickets so far, according to Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer. De La Hoya, in his first non-pay-per-view fight since 2001, is a huge favorite to defeat Forbes, who has been fighting at 140 pounds and packs little power. If De La Hoya takes care of business, the second stop on the retirement tour will be a Sept. 20 rematch with pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr., who won a split decision against De La Hoya 11 months ago in the richest fight in boxing history. If De La Hoya (38-5, 30 KOs) beats Forbes (33-5, 9 KOs) and then Mayweather, logic dictates that his finale could be a rubber match with Mayweather. But what if De La Hoya loses again? Who then does he fight in his farewell fight? Some have speculated about a fight with junior lightweight star Manny Pacquiao, who is moving up to lightweight for a June 28 title bout against David Diaz. If Pacquiao wins, it is not out of the question that he could step up to welterweight to meet De La Hoya. Another name mentioned is Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., the undefeated, but untested, son of the great former Mexican champion whom De La Hoya, 35, stopped twice. But when De La Hoya was asked about who he'd like his finale to be against, he pulled a shocker: welterweight titleholder Miguel Cotto, the Puerto Rican star who has emerged as one of the sport's best fighters. Previously, De La Hoya had dismissed Cotto as a potential opponent, claiming that his wife, Millie, who is Puerto Rican, didn't want to see her husband fight a Puerto Rican. That promise seems to have disappeared after hearing the way De La Hoya spoke. "You can never count anyone out. You can't scratch anyone off the list," said De La Hoya, the 1992 Olympic gold medalist who was elected to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Class earlier this month. "If I beat the best in the world in Floyd Jr., you have to continue that streak. Obviously, my following fight has to be with one of the best, and it's no secret that Miguel Cotto is considered one of the best in the world. He has a difficult fight with [Antonio] Margarito [scheduled for July 26] and anything can happen there, but we all know that Miguel Cotto is going to win. "I don't need to fight Cotto, but obviously my last fight cannot be against an easy opponent. It's going to be against one of the best, and after Mayweather, the next one is Cotto, who is a boxer that always wants to fight the best in the world."
DeLa is JUST Talking... 1st of All, he WON'T Beat Floyd, 2nd of All, Cotto is Toooooooo YOUNG & PHYSICAL for DeLa... He's just Putting TIDBITS Out there, to Generate Interest... REED
I wish he'd fuck off and stick to his "promoting", even if this is genuinely his farewell, which is unlikely for as long as he can use his presence in the ring as leverage. This charade has gone on long enough.
Oscar will be beaten down and he knows it. I bet that he takes the easy way out and fights Chavez Jr.
agREED Floyd will sodomize him then he'll fight some other old guy or bum and call it a day maybe DLH-Tito again.. or DLH-JCC? Cotto at this point would prolly SLAUGHTER and SODOMIZE De la
Mayweather is going to beat DLH.......but if DLH somehow beat Maywether....then sure why NOT...:dunno:
"I don't need to fight Cotto, but obviously my last fight cannot be against an easy opponent. It's going to be against one of the best, and after Mayweather, the next one is Cotto, who is a boxer that always wants to fight the best in the world." :bears:
I think it's as inevitable as Chavez Jr. vs. Camacho Jr. They could put DLH-JCC Jr. in Mexico City or a US football stadium. But it'll take a few years to marinate.
bf beat odhn7-5 by most accounts and u break out the term, sodomize? earth? its' the third 1 from the sun.
He'll fight Chavez Sr. again or maybe even Edgar Santana. The worse the better. I heard Willy Wise got a call recently. Cupey
