De La Hoya reignites their historic boxing feud

Oscar De La Hoya has dramatically claimed the legendary Floyd Mayweather attempted to steal Ryan Garcia away from him, before boldly exclaiming the American is loyal to him and Golden Boy Promotions.

The links to the 50-0-0 multi-weight champion came after the 25-year-old Garcia was spotted going for early runs with him because be began to publicly call out De La Hoya and his promotion firm in the build up to his bout with Oscar Duarte.

“Maybe he’s slipping in some business. ‘Hey, come sign with me,’ or this and that,” De La Hoya said of Mayweather’s suspected antics to Club Shay Shay. “Ryan’s a loyal guy.

“He’ll tell me if he wants to leave me or he wants to stay with me, plus we have a contract.”

Garcia is currently serving a 12-month ban from all forms of professional boxing after testing positive for ostarine on multiple occasions ahead of his bout with Devin Haney, which he also failed to meet the maximum weight for.

He has also been expelled from the WBC after making racist comments on a livestream against the Islamic community and black people, in what has been a turbulent year since he suffered his first career loss at the hands of Gervonta Davis in 2023.

Why do De La Hoya and Mayweather dislike each other?

The De La Hoya vs. Mayweather rivalry is one of the most notable in modern boxing history, highlighted by their 2007 fight between the 10-time world champion in six different weight classes and undefeated Mayweather that captivated the sports world.

Dubbed The World Awaits, the fight was held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It was one of the most highly anticipated bouts in history as the pair clashed in front of thousands in the venue and millions on PPV.

Two judges scored the fight for Mayweather, while one scored it for De La Hoya and symbolized the passing of the torch from one era of boxing to another as De La Hoya retired around one year later in 2008.

Boasting an impeccable 50-0 record, Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather might be the “The Best Ever” to lace a par of gloves. And a fight with 3-division world champion, Julio Cesar Chavez (107-6-2) is still a fantasy match up that many would have wanted to see. Well, as it turns out, the 62-year-old legend recently teased the idea of an exhibition bout with Mayweather.

Hyping up the fandom for a potential exhibition match with th 47-year-old Mayweather, the veteran called for a scrap in Vegas in September despite being over 60!

Do note that while there have been several discussions between the two, the parties have never been able to come to an agreement.

So, although this post might be too good to be true, Cesar Chavez’s caption on IG had “Haytiro” in Spanish, meaning that there’s a fight!

But, will the promoters risk it and match the two at this point when both are well over their prime, especially given Chavez’s history of health complications?

Well, we will have to wait for more updates at this point. In the meantime, a closer look at both fighters’ resumes can help fans decide who would come out of top in their respective primes.

Chavez Sr vs Floyd Mayweather – A fantasy bout relieved through stats

With 50 wins and zero in the L column, Mayweather belongs to the elite club of boxing champions who retired undefeated. As a matter of fact,  he secured 23 lineal title wins with wins over not one not two but 23 world champions to establish his legacy. And while many a great fighter choose to be humble in comparison to the great Muhammad Ali, Mayweather claims supremacy over the OG as well.

On top of that, ‘Money’ also has participated in five of the highest-grossing fights in the sport’s history including ‘The Fight of the Century’ against Manny ‘PacMan’ Pacquiao, grossing almost half a billion!

On the other hand, there’s Chavez Sr. who is arguably one of the best pound-for-pound boxers of all time. According to Boxrec, he is ranked #17 in the P4P list which includes killers like Roberto Duran, Manny Pacquiao, and many more.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Oscar De La Hoya faced off for the WBC super welterweight world championship on Saturday, May 5, 2007 in Las Vegas

Boxing legends Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. remain two of the most iconic figures in the sport, with their 2007 showdown marking one of the most memorable events in boxing history.

Recently, De La Hoya opened up about that fight, suggesting that a few different choices on his part could have led to a vastly different outcome-potentially even a knockout victory over Mayweather.

De la Hoya: I could have knocked out Mayweather

During a recent appearance on the Club Shay Shay podcast with Shannon Sharpe, De La Hoya made some bold claims about the fight, which ended in a split decision victory for Mayweather.

When asked if having Mayweather Sr. in his corner might have changed the result, De La Hoya responded confidently, “Knock him out. I would’ve knocked him out. Really.”

He elaborated further, stating, “If I was one year younger and had Sr. in my corner, I would’ve knocked him out. Absolutely.”

De La Hoya, who was known for his powerful jab, admitted that his failure to maintain that key aspect of his strategy was crucial to his defeat.

“The key to that style, the Philly Shell, is a jab. It opens up all the doors,” he explained.

Reflecting on his performance, he acknowledged, “When my jab failed me, it was over. I knew it in my heart, in my head.”

De la Hoya could have fought a rematch with Mayweather

Beyond the tactical aspects of the fight, De La Hoya also revealed that he had considered hiring Mayweather Sr. as his trainer for a potential rematch but ultimately decided against it.

“He wanted too much money,”De La Hoya disclosed, adding that he also felt it would have been morally wrong, considering the strained relationship between Mayweather Sr. and his son at the time.

“I said, ‘No, I can’t do this. I cannot do this to a family who has been in the business for a very long time.'”

The relationship between Mayweather Sr. and his son was fraught with tension, including a notable public fallout in 2000.

Despite this, De La Hoya chose not to pursue Mayweather Sr. as a trainer, in part to avoid deepening the rift between father and son.

“Aside from [money], morally, I think it was wrong,” De La Hoya remarked.

However, De La Hoya remains proud of his performance, noting, “I fought against the best Floyd Mayweather, in his prime, you know, undefeated… So I was pretty proud [of] what I accomplished that night.”