Eight years ago Oscar De La Hoya gave Floyd Mayweather Jr. the boost he needed to become the most financially successful boxer in the world. On Saturday, the Golden Boy wasn’t quite as nice.
All throughout Mayweather’s “retirement fight” Saturday against Andre Berto, De La Hoya retweeted criticism of the “Money” man. Once the fight ended — a victory that made Mayweather 49-0 record — De La Hoya let loose with this shot:
Now that the worst boxing era is over let's look forward to the next 10 years. #Canelo #Cotto #Golovkin #Lemieux
— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) September 13, 2015
Putting aside that De La Hoya was a huge part of that era because his 2007 fight with Mayweather gave the undefeated fighter the public attention he needed to become a bonafide superstar, he’s not far off from a fan’s perspective.
From doing jail time for domestic violence to fighting weak opponents and his refusal to stand in there and trade shots, fans have long complained about Mayweather. Saturday’s match with an undeserving Berto featured more dancing than a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers flick, and it led to collective yawns from the fans. Mayweather even failed to sell out the MGM Grand for the fight.
But let’s also not forget the self-serving nature of De La Hoya’s comments. He is a promoter himself and wants some of his boxers like Miguel Cotto, Gennady Golovkin, Canelo Alvarez and David Lemieux to get the spotlight. I’m also thinking that Oscar sent the tweet because he has long wanted revenge on Mayweather over this.
