Jerseymike
06-20-2007, 10:47 PM
The world waited for the May 5 Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight, and when it was over, Mayweather had cemented his place as the pound-for-pound king with a tight, but well-deserved, split decision victory. But De La Hoya performed much better than many expected, making it highly competitive despite coming off a one-year layoff and fighting for only the second time since losing to Bernard Hopkins in September 2004.
In the immediate aftermath there was much discussion of a rematch, and why not? The fight was competitive and set all kinds of records, including best-selling pay-per-view (2.15 million), biggest live gate ($19 million-plus) and highest grossing fight (more than $150 million).
Since the fight, it has been the winner, Mayweather, waffling between retirement and his desire for a rematch. De La Hoya, however, has been mum about his plans.
But, now, he has spoken, telling his close friend, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, that although he plans to fight on at age 34, he has no plans to offer Mayweather a rematch.
"Oscar told me he's not hanging them up, but we have not talked about who, when or where. But it won't be a rematch with Floyd Mayweather," Schaefer told ESPN.com. "Oscar's thoughts about a Mayweather rematch are 'Been there, done that.' Most people felt like it was a close fight and that Oscar came to fight. [Many] fans believe Oscar won the fight."
Schaefer said after things settled down after the fight and the pay-per-view figures and the other revenue had been counted up, he asked De La Hoya about his interest in a rematch.
"I said, 'What do you think' because I had been reading everywhere that Floyd Mayweather was calling Oscar out for a rematch," Schaefer said. "Oscar told me he respects Mayweather, but he is not going to do a rematch."
Who, then, will he fight?
"He hasn't discussed who. He doesn't want to discuss any opponents right now," Schaefer said. "But when I said, 'What about the Mayweather rematch,' he said, 'No.' Oscar is not going to fight Mayweather again.
"Oscar thinks Mayweather is a great fighter and it was a great promotion. It's not like he doesn't deserve a rematch or anything like that. It's more like been there done that, move on. What the 'move on' part means I don't know. It's not the time to discuss it. When he wants to he will come and talk to me. There is not an urgency. We all know that Oscar is not going to fight again in 2007."
More likely, De La Hoya will return in May 2008. He has fought on Cinco de Mayo weekend a number of times in his career and he likes fighting on the Mexican national holiday.
It is possible De La Hoya's public refusal of a rematch with Mayweather is a way to nudge Mayweather toward a fight with Shane Mosley, De La Hoya's pal and business partner in Golden Boy Promotions. Mayweather-Mosley looms as the biggest fight in boxing besides a Mayweather-De La Hoya rematch.
Mayweather has been reluctant to focus on a fight with Mosley, probably because he has designs on facing De La Hoya again. The Mayweather camp was unmoved by De La Hoya's dismissal of a rematch. "We don't have a reaction. If Oscar wants to come back and do a rematch then cool," Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather's best friend and adviser, told ESPN.com. "Whatever it is he wants to do with his career, we respect it. He can do what he wants to do and Floyd will do what he wants to do, but the reason he doesn't want a rematch is because he can't beat Floyd. Fact is, he got his a-- whipped by a smaller guy. He'll never be able to whip Floyd, so, of course, he doesn't want to do it again. We respect it. We ain't mad at him. It's OK."
PUSSY:medium3:
In the immediate aftermath there was much discussion of a rematch, and why not? The fight was competitive and set all kinds of records, including best-selling pay-per-view (2.15 million), biggest live gate ($19 million-plus) and highest grossing fight (more than $150 million).
Since the fight, it has been the winner, Mayweather, waffling between retirement and his desire for a rematch. De La Hoya, however, has been mum about his plans.
But, now, he has spoken, telling his close friend, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, that although he plans to fight on at age 34, he has no plans to offer Mayweather a rematch.
"Oscar told me he's not hanging them up, but we have not talked about who, when or where. But it won't be a rematch with Floyd Mayweather," Schaefer told ESPN.com. "Oscar's thoughts about a Mayweather rematch are 'Been there, done that.' Most people felt like it was a close fight and that Oscar came to fight. [Many] fans believe Oscar won the fight."
Schaefer said after things settled down after the fight and the pay-per-view figures and the other revenue had been counted up, he asked De La Hoya about his interest in a rematch.
"I said, 'What do you think' because I had been reading everywhere that Floyd Mayweather was calling Oscar out for a rematch," Schaefer said. "Oscar told me he respects Mayweather, but he is not going to do a rematch."
Who, then, will he fight?
"He hasn't discussed who. He doesn't want to discuss any opponents right now," Schaefer said. "But when I said, 'What about the Mayweather rematch,' he said, 'No.' Oscar is not going to fight Mayweather again.
"Oscar thinks Mayweather is a great fighter and it was a great promotion. It's not like he doesn't deserve a rematch or anything like that. It's more like been there done that, move on. What the 'move on' part means I don't know. It's not the time to discuss it. When he wants to he will come and talk to me. There is not an urgency. We all know that Oscar is not going to fight again in 2007."
More likely, De La Hoya will return in May 2008. He has fought on Cinco de Mayo weekend a number of times in his career and he likes fighting on the Mexican national holiday.
It is possible De La Hoya's public refusal of a rematch with Mayweather is a way to nudge Mayweather toward a fight with Shane Mosley, De La Hoya's pal and business partner in Golden Boy Promotions. Mayweather-Mosley looms as the biggest fight in boxing besides a Mayweather-De La Hoya rematch.
Mayweather has been reluctant to focus on a fight with Mosley, probably because he has designs on facing De La Hoya again. The Mayweather camp was unmoved by De La Hoya's dismissal of a rematch. "We don't have a reaction. If Oscar wants to come back and do a rematch then cool," Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather's best friend and adviser, told ESPN.com. "Whatever it is he wants to do with his career, we respect it. He can do what he wants to do and Floyd will do what he wants to do, but the reason he doesn't want a rematch is because he can't beat Floyd. Fact is, he got his a-- whipped by a smaller guy. He'll never be able to whip Floyd, so, of course, he doesn't want to do it again. We respect it. We ain't mad at him. It's OK."
PUSSY:medium3: