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.”

Floyd Mayweather Jrm bg. once splurged on a seriously exclusive Koenigsegg

He spent more than $4 million on a Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita

Only two of the stunning hypercars were ever made

Floyd Mayweather Jr. once splashed the cash on a Koenigsegg hypercar that was one of just two ever made.

The boxing legend – who has the nickname ‘Money’ for fairly obvious reasons – parted with a whopping $4,800,000 to get his hands on a Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita.

With an estimated net worth of around $400 million, money is basically no object to ‘Money’.

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Floyd Mayweather Jr. is happy to splash his cash

From a $50 million private jet that’s like a flying palace to a $1.4 million diamond-encrusted watch, he’s happy to spend big to get what he wants.

It seems one of the things he wants is an epic car collection, which he’s been adding to over the years.

But even among such a high-end collection – stuffed with Lamborghinis, Rolls-Royce, and Ferraris – the Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita is a real gem.

For starters, it is one of the fastest cars ever made with a top speed of 400km/h (248mph).

The CCXR Trevita’s 4.7 liter V8  can produce 1,018 horsepower and 781lb-ft of torque and can hit 100km/h (62mph) in 3.1 seconds.

Only two Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita were ever made

What makes it all the more special is the fact that just two of the stunning hypercars were ever made.

The car gets its name from an abbreviation of Swedish words that translate into ‘three whites’.

It features totally unique, specially designed carbon weave bodywork.

“Prior to the Trevita, car manufacturers only had access to traditional black carbon fiber,” Koenigsegg explained.

“Koenigsegg developed a unique coated fiber solution for the Trevita program that transformed the fibers from black to a sparkling, silvery-white.

“When sunlight hits the Trevita, it sparkles as if millions of tiny white diamonds are infused inside the visible carbon fiber bodywork.” Sounds fancy.

Mayweather showed off the car in an Instagram post when he bought it back in 2015.

“My new 4.8 million dollar car,” he wrote.

“$4,800,000 Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita supercar.

“Koenigsegg is an ultra boutique automobile manufacturer for the super-rich.

“Koenigsegg made only two Trevita for the world and this is the number two of two.”

How the other half live, eh?

An “enemy for life” Floyd Mayweather has now been forgiven by John Gotti III, grandson of former New York mobster John Gotti. After the melee that erupted following John Gotti III’s disqualification during an exhibition match against Floyd Mayweather in June last year, there was bad blood between them for quite a long time. But things have cooled down, and they are now looking to settle the dispute once and for all inside the ring on November 14 in Mexico City, rather than engaging in crude mudslinging on social media.

In an interview with TMZ, Gotti III took a trip down memory lane and narrated the chain of events that happened inside the ring which eventually led to the entourages of both camps rushing into the ring and engaging in a brawl. Furthermore, he revealed his game plan for the rematch against the legendary 50-0 fighter.

Gotti III ties up the loose ends!

In an interview with TMZ, the 2-0 professional fighter shared his perspective on his ill-famed bout with Floyd Mayweather. For the uninitiated, referee Kenny Bayless disqualified him, midway through round 6, for clinching Mayweather, and not adhering to the rules of the bout. This made an angry Gotti III shove the referee and charge at Mayweather while throwing haymakers.

But, the anger was building up in Gotti III from round one. “He made it personal, I didn’t make it personal. You know he came out from the get-go of that first fight. He was on the verbal attack right away you know and Kenny Bayless had no problem with that whatsoever,” he said. The fight was a one-sided domination as an aggressive Mayweather kept peppering him with big shots, all the while shooting insults at him.

Thereafter, he accused the referee of being partial towards Mayweather. “When I started giving it back it became a problem,” Gotti remarked, pointing out that he received warnings for verbally insulting Mayweather, while ‘Pretty Boy’ got away scot-free.

Choice words, sleds, and punches—all were flying in the ring when Floyd Mayweather Jr. and John Gotti III clashed in June last year. The fight had chaos written all over it from the first bell, and it ended in one when an in-ring brawl broke out and spilled outside it. Fast forward to a year later and the fans are ready to witness the two roll it back and finally conclude what they started. The Michigan native has left an enigmatic message amid the soaring tension and mind games.

Mayweather Jr., 47, and Gotti III, 31, will fight it out on August 14 at the iconic Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City. Both fighters have promised fireworks and opened verbal attacks. Amid blunt exchanges, it seems ‘Money’ has also dropped a subtle hint. It might refer to his long list of potential suitors, who are eager to put pen to paper for a fight, and the vanity of such exchanges.

Mayweather Jr., at 50-0, turned to his Instagram handle and wrote in a post, “I got too many options to be going back and forth about anything with anybody.”

The former world champion could be hinting at his star power and his indulgence in various ventures besides boxing, now that he has hung up the gloves. Alternatively, it could be a dig at Gotti III and suggest the gulf between them. It seems a wise choice, as Mayweather Jr. has been reluctant to go full-throttle as he wants to avoid friction with the Gotti family. Fans might already be aware that Gotti carries the same name as his grandfather and mob boss, John Gotti, the former boss of New York’s Gambino Crime Family. However, if Gotti III were to be believed, his grandfather would have liked the scenario of his grandson going up against one of the modern boxing greats.

John Gotti III’s grandfather would have enjoyed the brawl with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Gotti III, who has transitioned from MMA to boxing, revealed his desire to make a positive impact on his family by taking up the combat sports route. He told TMZ, “He [John Gotti] would’ve wanted to rip Floyd’s head off when all that stuff’s going down. But I’m sure he would admire my fighting spirit… You know, I’m fighting to get respect for my name and make a positive impact on my family. So I’m sure he could appreciate that.”