Fans Excited for De La Hoya vs. Mayweather

I can remember clearly, the last time I truly got excited – I mean eyes as big as Reche Caldwell, heart jumping through the chest, full on arousal – for boxing news was when Sheffield, England native Prince Naseem Hamed announced that he would come out to fight in the U.S. for the first time a full decade ago.  That’s right, a full decade ago, back in 1997, was the last time I was truly excited to hear boxing news – until November of ’06 – when it was announced that Floyd Mayweather Jr. would be fighting Oscar De La Hoya on May 5th, 2007.

Finally, it would seem as if the uber-talented Floyd Mayweather Jr. would be fighting someone challenging.  Not only is De La Hoya bigger, stronger, and more powerful, but Oscar also has the big-fight experience that Mayweather will finally gain.  Additionally, the fight pits a Latin-American against an African-American naturally polarizing the boxing fan community.  And of course none other than Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s father, Mayweather Sr., happened to be Oscar De La Hoya’s trainer (De La Hoya has since chosen Freddie Roach to train him).   

That is why it comes as no surprise that the boxing community has shared in my alacrity – as noted in the press release I received below:

“Tickets for the highly anticipated super fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather sold out in three hours Saturday afternoon at MGM Grand’s box office and thru TicketMaster’s website.  More than 5,400 tickets for  the fight, Saturday, May 5 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, were devoured by fans eager to help establish the record-breaking live gate of $19 million.  The previous record was $16,860,300 for the November 13, 1999 Lennox Lewis vs. Evander Holyfield II championship event at the Thomas and Mack Center.”

You better start making your plans now because on May 5th boxing fans and sports fans at-large will finally have something to be excited about. 

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