By Aragon Garcia: Oscar De La Hoya wants Conor McGregor to know that he WASN’T calling him out when he said in a recent interview that he would knock him out in two rounds if the two fought. According to Oscar, he was asked a question, and he answered it by telling the truth.
In the interview by CBS Podcast, it appeared to some boxing fans that the 47-year-old De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs) was calling out the former two-division UFC champion McGregor. According to Dela Hoya, that’s not what he was doing. He was just asked a question, and he answered it.
There would be a massive amount of money to be made by McGregor and Dela Hoya if the two were to fight. Oscar is walking away from a great opportunity by not taking this fight against Conor.
Dela Hoya clears the record on McGregor
“You know I’m still competitive and I still have it in me,” said Dela Hoya to CBS Podcast. “I’ve been secretly training, and I’m faster than ever. I KNOW I could take out Conor McGregor in two rounds. I’ll come back for that fight—one more. I’m calling him out. Two rounds.”
For the record: McGregor, I never challenged you. I was just asked a question and I simply spoke the truth… 🥊
— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) May 8, 2020
With De La Hoya’s talent, it’s reasonable to assume that he would knock out McGregor in two rounds if he came back for that fight. The hardest part about Dela Hoya returning for the McGregor fight would be having to go through a grueling training camp.
Dela Hoya would need to train hard, and then promote the fight as well. It would be hard work for De La Hoya and McGregor, as it would for any fighter marketing a mega-fight.
McGregor has fought only once as a pro inside of a boxing ring. He lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. by a 10th round stoppage in August 2017. Despite losing the fight, McGregor gave a good account of himself., showing talent and power. Where things fell apart for McGregor was his stamina. He gassed out early in the fight, and that allowed Mayweather to pick him apart from the fourth round on.
For a non-boxer, McGregor showed surprisingly good boxing skills and power. Dela Hoya would need to fight smart for him to beat McGregor, especially in the early rounds, when the Irish fighter is dangerous. He can punch, and he would give any fighter problems if he lands his best shots while he’s still fresh.
Oscar with nothing to gain fighting McGregor
It’s understandable why Dela Hoya isn’t taking the fight with McGregor, as he criticized Floyd Mayweather for fighting him in 2017. If Dela Hoya fought McGregor as well, that would make him look like a hypocrite in the eyes of a lot of boxing fans.
It would be a bad look on Dela Hoya’s part to face McGregor after the way he criticized Mayweather. If this was a situation where Dela Hoya felt like he had something to prove, then he might take it under those conditions, but it’s not like that.
McGregor hasn’t done anything since his loss to Mayweather, and it just looks like he’s trying to set up a big payday fight without proving himself first against less famous boxers.
If Dela Hoya were going to come back, he would be better off facing one of the popular boxers or ex-boxers. Look at Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, and James Toney. Those guys are talking about coming back to do exhibition matches for the fans. That would be something that De La Hoya could try if he wanted to impress fans.
