When Oscar De La Hoya was pummeled by Manny Pacquiao almost two years ago, it gave the Golden Boy's career a sad and humiliating end. De La Hoya was a heavy favorite to end his career on a high note, but as history now shows us, his career ended on anything but. De La Hoya was beaten and battered by an opponent who had to gain 10 pounds just to fight him.
When De La Hoya looks back on his career, does he want to be remembered as a 10-time, 6-division champion and one of the best fighters of recent memory or does he want to be remembered as a prime-time choker who lost more big fights than he won, including the Pacquiao beatdown? I personally don't think De La Hoya, who has such love for the game, wanted to go out retiring in his corner.
Now, what I'm about to say is ludicrous and probably won't happen, but I think the hour may be drawing near where we may see the unthinkable: The Return of Oscar De La Hoya.
When he fought Pacquiao, his main mistake was going too far down in weight. This was foreshadowed when he looked very flatfooted and dull in outpointing Steve Forbes at a catch-weight of 150 pounds. A return would have to be at 154, where he campaigned throughout the last decade. He can't just choose any opponent, but the ones he can choose from may make it another very financially successful endeavor for him.
Anybody remember De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton saying that they'd love to fight each other throughout the past couple of years? Back then, it would have been a mismatch since Hatton was a Junior Welterweight and De La Hoya fought as high as Middleweight, but now, this fight is extremely plausible. When Hatton finally does return to the ring, he doesn't look like he'll be getting anywhere near 140 pounds, considering some of the recent pictures we've seen of him. Not to mention, De La Hoya had said he would have loved to fight in the UK where a De La Hoya-Hatton fight would be massive. The fight would be easy to make because Hatton is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and I'm sure he'd love the payday that would come as well. It would also provide De La Hoya the best chance to go out on a good note, since he'd probably batter Hatton within six rounds thanks to Hatton's lack of head movement and inability to defend a left hook.
The other option at play is Antonio Margarito. De La Hoya will attempt to persuade the California State Athletic Commission to deny Margarito the right to fight, which will easily cause tension between the two men. Margarito, if licensed, will come out and say that De La Hoya is trying to get in his way of making a living. De La Hoya would counter and say he's trying to protect the sport he loves. Not even the writers for the WWE could script it better. We would have our buildup for a big showdown.
Margarito is probably going to come back at around 154, since he complained about weight issues against Shane Mosley. That would play right into De La Hoya's hands. I believe that Margarito's chin has been worn out thanks to the amount of punishment he's taken over the years and while this would still be a risky fight for the Golden Boy, it could pay off in spades. If that fight were to happen, De La Hoya could finally end his career with the Mexican crowd behind him, something that he didn't have when he fought Julio Cesar Chavez and Fernando Vargas, and give his career an almost fairy tale ending.
It's also more realistic to believe that De La Hoya just doesn't have the legs under him anymore to fight. His boxing skills and incredible hand speed have degraded to the point where he's reduced to winging one left hook at a time. The fire to compete was quelled by the amount of money he has made. While I think De La Hoya is more prideful than he may seem, he also hasn't been a fighter since the Bernard Hopkins fight six years ago.
Just call me a sucker for wishful thinking.