McGregor favored to beat De La Hoya

By Boxing News - 11/15/2017 - Comments

Image: McGregor favored to beat De La Hoya

By Eric Thomas: Conor “Notorious” McGregor is already the favorite to beat aging boxing star Oscar De La Hoya in their still hypothetical fight. Despite De La Hoya having impeccable boxing credentials, the odds-makers believe the 29-year-old McGregor will be too much for him if they meet inside the ring.

This would be under the rules of boxing, since De La Hoya doesn’t wish to mix it up with McGregor inside the octagon.

The comfortably retired 44-year-old De La Hoya called out McGregor on Monday, saying he’ll knock him out in 2 rounds at the most.

McGregor is the favorite by the line -160 to De La Hoya’s +130, according to ESPN Deportes.
If De La Hoya were to comeback and beat a relevant fighter in boxing, he could increase his chances of getting a fight with McGregor. De La Hoya might need to show that he can still draw boxing fans in high number. Right now, it just looks like De La Hoya is trying to ride the coattails of McGregor the way that Floyd Mayweather Jr. did in his fight with him on August 26 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mayweather wisely picked out McGregor for a fight. You can argue that Mayweather likely spotted the fact that McGregor has been bringing in over 1 million buys repeatedly in his UFC fight cards against guys like Nate Diaz and Eddie Alvarez.

The sport of Boxing doesn’t have anyone that brings in the kinds of PPV numbers that McGregor is routinely bringing in for his PPV cards in the UFC. Mayweather did a respectable job of hitching a ride on the McGregor express to make a bundle fighting him. Now we’re seeing De La Hoya try the same trick, but with less luck thus far. McGregor hasn’t shown any overt interest in fighting the 44-year-old De La Hoya.

“I’ve been coaching secretly, training secretly, and I’m faster than ever and stronger than ever,” said De La Hoya to Golden Boy Radio. ” I know I can beat Conor McGregor in two rounds. I’ll be back for that fight, two rounds, and just one more; two rounds. That’s all I need, that’s all I’m going to say,” said De La Hoya.

The odds-makers obviously have seen how old De La Hoya looks, and they understand that he would have massive problems against a guy as big and powerful as McGregor. De La Hoya might have the edge if he can take McGregor to the late rounds to try and drown him, but the chances are he won’t make it that far.

McGregor would be pushing hard to KO De La Hoya in the first 5 rounds of the fight. De La Hoya looked awful in his last fight against Manny Pacquiao in 2008. The much smaller 5’6” Pacquiao beat the stuffing out of De La Hoya. If a small guy like Pacquiao was able to De La Hoya back then, it’s likely that McGregor would do an even better job on the Golden Boy if he faces him inside the boxing ring.

McGregor might want to take De La Hoya up on his offer if Mayweather doesn’t give him a rematch. De La Hoya is a relatively safe fight for McGregor, and perhaps even easier than a fight with Paulie Malignaggi.