Faced with the scenario that his promotional firm is out of marketable stars and the fighters they are grooming to be the next generation are moving slower than expected, it is expected that Oscar De La Hoya will be making a financially advisable return to the ring in the near future. Amidst rumblings of his return, Ricky Hatton has been mentioned as a possible comeback opponent for a clash in the UK. Now, I don't mean to gloat, but doesn't this sound a little familiar to anybody? It should because I more or less predicted this back in April. While a Hatton fight is both easy and profitable for him, I have to emphasize the importance and significance of a fight with Antonio Margarito.
There is no better time for Margarito-De La Hoya to happen. You have to figure that Margarito is just as shot as De La Hoya following the brutal beatings that he's taken through the course of his career. And without his concrete hand wraps, Margarito is a feather-fisted pug that will serve as a punching bag to any live fighter. Plus, what other fight besides Pacquiao-Mayweather would be more captivating to the general audience than the return of De La Hoya against boxing's most controversial character since Mike Tyson?
Even though Margarito is weathered and has been beaten up lately, a win for Margarito would be a great way to finally close the book on De La Hoya's career. A dominating win won't drown out the embarassment from the Pacquiao loss, but being three years out of the ring, and even further past his best days, to come back and beat a fighter who just went 12 rounds with boxing's best fighter will do much better for his legacy.
Margarito and De La Hoya do not like each other. I wouldn't put it past them to get into a scuffle with one another if they were in each other's immediate vicinities and it's that sense of animosity that sells the fight. If we do get De La Hoya-Hatton, it'll just be about how much the two respect each other, and quite frankly, that's boring. Plus, the fact that Hatton's drug use will have eroded his skills to nothingness makes that fight that much more unattractive to most people. Hatton-De La Hoya could end up as a Hopkins-Jones II disaster for Golden Boy; a fight nobody will care about hence a fight nobody will buy.
Golden Boy Promotions needs a big fight to keep the promotion above water for now. Oscar De La Hoya needs one great performance to salvage whatever he can out of his legacy INSIDE the ring, and the boxing fans should be rewarded with a fight that everybody will watch that may produce a moment that history will remember.