By Dave Lahr: Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs) officially retired today at a press conference at the Staples Center, in Los Angeles. The retirement effectively ends De La Hoya’s 17-year pro career which includes title victories in six different weight classes. De La Hoya said, “I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s over inside the ring for me.” De La Hoya was pounded almost senseless by Manny Pacquiao in an 8th round stoppage loss in December.
De La Hoya ended up quitting on his stool following the 8th round rather than going out on his shield like most boxers do, something that opened Oscar up for a lot of criticism. De La Hoya was also criticized for fighting Pacquiao, lightweight, rather than challenging Antonio Margarito or Miguel Cotto, the two fighters that were perceived at the time to be among the best in the welterweight division.
De La Hoya, 36, was clearly not the same fighter he once was in the last six years of his pro career, losing four out of his last seven fights with one of the victories being a controversial win over Felix Sturm. De La Hoya’s record perhaps should have been 2-5, 1 KOs in the last six years of his career.
Even though De La Hoya was clearly over the hill and not the same fighter he once was during those years, boxing fans would still flock to see him fight and purchase his PPV bouts in droves despite the fact that De La Hoya was losing most of them and not looking good even in the ones he won.
Oscar took a savage beating at the hands of Pacquiao in their fight, leaving De La Hoya’s face looking bruised and swollen. He had never taken so much punishment before in a fight. Perhaps the worst part for De La Hoya, besides the fact that he lost to a much smaller fighter, was that De La Hoya was expected to beat Manny by many people.
But not only did he fail at winning the bout, De La Hoya was essentially thrashed by Pacquiao and made to look like an old man in the process. That outcome perhaps had a lot to do with De La Hoya’s decision to hand up his gloves, because he probably feared taking another beating if he had continued fighting.
Although De La Hoya announced his retirement today, I fully expect for him to be back within a year or so for an old timers fight against someone like Felix Trinidad or Shane Mosley. The money would be too good for De La Hoya not to do this, and by coming back for an old timers fight, he’d be helping out Mosley and Trinidad by giving them a chance at another huge payday against him.
Among all of his titles that he won in his pro career, De La Hoya also won a Gold medal for the United States in 1992.
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