So this is a thing now.
As if you needed another reminder of the ludicrous nature of the fight game, Oscar De La Hoya is toying with the idea of coming out of retirement at the age of 44 in the hope of fighting Conor McGregor.
And before we write the bout off as an impossibility, let’s all remember that everybody dismissed the initial talk of Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor as absolutely ridiculous but then August came around and they actually met in the ring.
It’s been almost nine years since De La Hoya last fought but, having seen the money that was made when Mayweather dusted off his gloves to school ‘The Notorious’ in his boxing debut, De La Hoya is eager to earn a similar payday.
“You know I’m competitive,” De La Hoya said on Golden Boy Radio with Tattoo and the Crew. “I still have it in me. I’ve been secretly training, secretly training. I’m faster than ever and stronger than ever.
“I know I can take out Conor McGregor in two rounds. I’ll come back for that fight.
“Two rounds. Just one more [fight]. I’m calling him out. Two rounds, that’s all I need. That’s all I’m going to say. You heard it on Golden Boy Radio. Two rounds, that’s all I need.”
McGregor was stopped in the 10th round when he stepped into the boxing ring for the first time as a professional, with Mayweather’s vastly superior technique and staying power ultimately proving too much for the Irishman.
The UFC lightweight champion is expected to return to the Octagon for his next outing and he’s recently challenged his rivals in the boxing community to show their courage by testing their mettle under mixed martial arts rules but that’s not something that would interest ‘The Golden Boy’.
“Let’s get it straight: In the cage, he would freaking destroy me. He would freaking destroy me. Only in the ring,” De La Hoya added.
“I’ve been working out for the last five months. [My confidence] is how I feel now from my training. I don’t know what it is, but I’ll tell you now that I’ve never felt so good before in my life.”
In his time as a fighter, De La Hoya claimed ten world titles in six different weight classes before going on to establish himself as a successful promoter of the likes of Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, Miguel Cotto and Jorge Linares.
De La Hoya was one of the most vocal critics of Mayweather vs. McGregor and he was rightly called out by UFC President Dana White for hypocrisy as De La Hoya didn’t have much of an issue with ‘The Notorious’ switching codes when one a Golden Boy fighter was being touted as a potential opponent.
WTF @OscarDeLaHoya ????? @TheNotoriousMMA @FloydMayweather pic.twitter.com/oBeAotPGOo
— danawhite (@danawhite) May 31, 2017
