Retired boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya has claimed that he’s willing to come out of retirement at the age of 44 to fight UFC superstar Conor McGregor in the ring.
The head of the Golden Boy promotion called out McGregor yesterday during an interview on the newly launched show, ‘Golden Boy Radio With Tattoo and the Crew’.
“You know I’m competitive,” De La Hoya said. “I still have it in me. I’ve been secretly training, secretly training. I’m faster than ever and stronger than ever. I know I can take out Conor McGregor in two rounds. I’ll come back for that fight. Two rounds. Just one more [fight]. I’m calling him out. Two rounds, that’s all I need. That’s all I’m going to say. You heard it on Golden Boy Radio. Two rounds, that’s all I need.”
De La Hoya hasn’t fought since losing to Manny Pacquiao in December of 2008, calling time on his career with a 39-8 record, having won 10 titles in six different weight classes.
Like McGregor’s last opponent in the ring, Floyd Mayweather Jr, De La Hoya was a major box office draw in his day and so combined with McGregor’s star power that could be a huge money-spinner for all concerned.
However, it should be noted that De La Hoya was actually one of the loudest critics when the Mayweather Vs McGregor fight was first announced, declaring it to be a dark day for the sport of boxing.
“If you thought Mayweather/Pacquiao was a black eye for our sport – a matchup between two of the best pound-for-pound fighters that simply didn’t deliver — just wait until the best boxer of a generation dismantles someone who has never boxed competitively at any level – amateur or professional,” De La Hoya wrote on Facebook.
“Our sport might not ever recover.”
Now it seems he wants to be a part of what he’d previously described as “a circus,” but it remains to be seen if he’s truly interested or if this was just a publicity stunt for the new radio show.
