By Dan Ambrose: Okay, Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs) clearly had an off night in his last fight against Manny Pacquiao on December 6th, maybe because of his diet leading up to the fight as well as some age issues as well. But just because De La Hoya suffered a major spanking at the hands of Pacquiao doesn’t mean that he needs to retire from the sport.
Believe me, boxing will be considerably duller when De La Hoya finally retires, no matter how shot he may or may not be. It doesn’t matter that he’s slipped somewhat, he still brings it every time, gives it his all each time and shows flashes of brilliance at times.
For myself, I’m hoping that De La Hoya takes it extra careful in 2009 and fights some beatable fighters with a reasonably popular name. Obviously, he can’t go rushing into a fight with Antonio Margarito or Paul Williams, because he’d likely be decapitated if that happened. However, there are some good fights out there if De La Hoya is interested in boxing still. Part of growing old is realizing that one has to slow down somewhat from what they used to do.
This is what De La Hoya needs to do. Instead of fighting young fighters, he needs to think old. I have no problems with him fighting a young guy if he has little ability, but not a young lion like Miguel Cotto, who would probably beat De La Hoya extra badly at this point in Oscar’s career.
Fighters like Felix Trinidad, Shane Mosley, Ricardo Mayorga, Yory Boy Campas, Javier Castillejo, Arturo Gatti and Hector “Macho” Camacho are a select group of aging fighters that De La Hoya might stand a good chance of beating. Mosley, though, would probably beat De La Hoya right about now, but that may change after Mosley meets up with Antonio Margarito.
If De La Hoya’s angle is to make as much cash as possible, then he needs to focus on Trinidad first all, then start moving on to other fighters like Gatti. A fight with Trinidad would be tough on Oscar, because Trinidad looked to still have a lot of power in his comeback fight (a 12-round decision loss) with Roy Jones Jr. in January 2008. De La Hoya would have to stay really careful that he doesn’t get caught on the ropes by Trinidad, because he would probably finish De La Hoya faster than Pacquiao did if he can get him into that vulnerable position.
If De La Hoya wants to go after a younger fighter with a name, then going after Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. might be an option. The young, 22-year-old Chavez is ranked #4 in the WBC, and well thought of by some, and a victory over him would be a big feather in De La Hoya’s cap at this point in his career. It would also give him a valuable win which is what he badly needs to stay relevant in boxing.
De La Hoya has lost two out of his last three fights and it would be bad if he lost another fight. A loss right now might affect his earning potential for future fights, which is why De La Hoya has to fight someone that is very beatable and not a threat to knock him out.
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