De La Hoya Pulling For Hatton

Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya mentioned at the recent London press conference with Ricky Hatton and Floyd Mayweather Jr, that “That will be a real advantage for Ricky, he’ll have no respect for Mayweather’s punches. I’m crossing my fingers that Ricky wins, a fight between us would be a great possibility for Wembley next year.” Clearly, Oscar realizes the huge money potential a bout between him and Hatton would bring, especially if somehow Hatton is able to come out victorious over Maweather in their Dec 8th bout. However, it’s unclear whether De la Hoya would still have interest in fighting Hatton should he lose to Mayweather, especially if he loses badly and is embarrassed in the process.

De La Hoya, 34, was lost a split decision to Mayweather in May 2007, a bout that was exciting during the earlier going when Oscar pressed the action. However, De La Hoya faded - as usual - in the second half of the fight and lost the crucial rounds which he badly needed.

In recent years, De La Hoya has had trouble getting any kind of wins, as he’s lost three out of his last five fights in the past three years. Hatton, it would seem, would be the perfect opponent (read: small and beatable) for De La Hoya to get a change of luck, while at the same time making another huge million dollar payday, likely to even be bigger than his fight fight with Mayweather.

Hatton, however, will have to defeat Mayweather first for a potential bout with De la Hoya to take place, and at this point, it appears a long shot, as most boxing fans are predicting that Mayweather will have a relatively easy time beating the smaller, slower and less skilled Hatton.