By Jeff Aronow: Bob Arum gives Conor McGregor no chance of beating 48-year-old Oscar De La Hoya even if he were on crutches. The former six-division world champion De La Hoya and McGregor have been going back and forth on social media this week after Oscar said that he would KO the UFC star in two rounds if they fought.
McGregor has decent boxing skills for his sport, but his ability doesn’t compare to a real boxer like Dela Hoya. It would be a total mismatch if this fight happened unless McGregor could use some of his MMA skills.
Dela Hoya denies calling McGregor out
It sounded like Dela Hoya was challenging McGregor to a fight, and he readily accepted. However, Dela Hoya quickly backed down, saying on social media, “I never challenged you. I was just asked a question, and I spoke the truth.”
In the interview on CBS, Dela Hoya did appear to challenge McGregor. “One more. I’m calling him [McGregor] out,” said Dela Hoya.
It’s too bad Dela Hoya isn’t willing to back up his words and face McGregor because that’s a fight that would get a lot of boxing fans excited after the lockdown ends.
You can argue that Dela Hoya vs. McGregor is a far better fight than Canelo Alvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders, which has failed to interest people. They see that fight as another cherry-pick for Canelo on the same level as his mismatch against Rocky Fielding.
Arum: De La Hoya defeats McGregor
“Conor McGregor is supposedly a terrific mixed martial artist guy,” said Arum to IFL TV. “Now, I have guys under contract with me that are four-round fighters, which would wipe the floor with Conor McGregor in a boxing match.
“He is NOT a boxer. He may be very proficient at MMA. So even if Oscar [De La Hoya] came in the ring on crutches, I would still favor him to beat McGregor in a boxing match.
“It’s good publicity for all of them. They got their name out there, and it’s no harm and no foul. It’s a good laugh that everybody has,” said Arum in talking about the recent verbal exchange between De La Hoya and McGregor on social media.
The Top Rank promoter Arum seems to have summed up McGregor’s talent well in predicting an easy win for Dela Hoya. What we saw of McGregor in his 10th round stoppage loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017 was that of a fighter who was only capable of fighting hard for two rounds.
Even at the slow pace that Mayweather was fighting at, McGregor gassed out after three rounds. From round three on, it looked like Mayweather carried McGregor to the 10th to give the paying fans something to watch.
Dela Hoya would probably jump on McGregor immediately and take him out in the first round. In the aftermath, there would be a lot of upset fans if they paid big money to see McGregor and Dela Hoya fight.
Arum gives Mike Tyson no chance against Fury
“You’re not going to let Tyson fight Tyson Fury or Wilder and get himself hurt,” said Arum. “There’s no way he’s going to win, no matter how great he was. ”
The 53-year-old former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson might be dangerous for Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder for one or two rounds, but after that, he would likely run out of gas and lose badly. In Tyson’s last two fights against Kevin Mcbride and Danny Williams, he faded after three rounds and was stopped. Those fights took place 15 to 16 years ago. Tyson’s stamina is now likely to be much worse.
It would be a good idea for Tyson to pace himself in his charity fights because he could look bad if gasses out after one round and get knocked out.
