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| Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao square up against the Manhattan skyline [GALLO/GETTY] |
Oscar De La Hoya wants to fight at least a couple of more times after taking on Filipino hero Manny Pacquiao on December 6 in Las Vegas, in what is sure to be the biggest fight of the year.
De La Hoya broke box office and pay-per-view records with his narrow loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year, and US boxing's most bankable star said that fight proved he could still compete at an elite level.
Early retirement
Perhaps stung by the disappointment, De La Hoya announced he would retire after this year and focus on his many business interests.
But almost immediately he had reservations, especially when it seemed that every new champion from welterweight on up wanted a crack at him.
Back in action
"There's no doubt about it," De La Hoya said, at a press conference in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty.
"My mind can still do it, my body can still do it,"
"I'm going to ride the wave for a little while," he continued.
"Let's say I retired after the Mayweather fight.
"I would have come back.
"I'm definitely going to fight after this," De La Hoya said.
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| Pacquiao in action against David Diaz in June [GALLO/GETTY] |
Pacquiao challenge
That doesn't mean De La Hoya is overlooking Pacquiao.
The 10-time champion will be coming down to 67 kilograms for the first time since beating Arturo Gatti more than eight years ago.
Accustomed to being the smaller fighter, for once it was De La Hoya (39-5, 30
KOs) who towered over his opponent when they stood face-to-face on a platform with the skyline of lower Manhattan in the background.
Pacquiao (47-3-2, 35 KOs), considered the current pound-for-pound king, is only six months removed from fighting Juan Manuel Marquez at 59 kilograms.
But the 1.68-meter southpaw didn't have a problem carrying his speed to lightweight when he knocked out David Diaz in June, and thinks he'll be even stronger at welterweight.
Money-spinner
"Some people are criticising Oscar for picking on a small guy like me.
"Some people say I'm picking this fight for the money," Pacquiao said.
"I'm going to prove everyone wrong."
They'll both make plenty of money, though.
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| Oscar De La Hoya has a renewed enthusiasm for fighting [GALLO/GETTY] |
Ticket bonanza
Tickets for the bout sold out in a matter of hours, guaranteeing the
second-largest gate in boxing history.
Golden Boy chief executive Richard Schaefer said ticket revenue will be nearly $17 million, second only to De La Hoya-Mayweather, and about 33,000 tickets are going to be offered for fans to see the fight on closed-circuit TV around Las Vegas.
Then there's the pay-per-view take. De La Hoya-Mayweather smashed records
with 2.4 million buys and $134.4 million in revenue, helped along by the TV reality show that chronicled both fighters in their lead-up to the bout.
HBO is filming another four-episode series to boost the De La Hoya-Pacquiao showdown.
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| Trainer Freddie Roach will be dishing the dirt on De La Hoya [GALLO/GETTY] |
Soap opera
And there should be plenty of intriguing story lines.
Pacquiao's longtime trainer is Freddie Roach, who also prepared De La Hoya
for his bout against Mayweather.
The Golden Boy said that intimate knowledge concerns him, and Roach confided that he saw something in the later rounds against Mayweather that Pacquiao can use to his advantage.
"I learned a lot during that nine-week period and now I'm going to use it against him," Roach said.
"Can he still pull the trigger? We'll see."
Insider knowledge
Insider knowledge won't be limited to Pacquiao's corner.
De La Hoya had hoped to lure Floyd Mayweather Sr. back to his camp, but he had already committed to training Ricky Hatton for his fight against Paulie Malignaggi.
So De La Hoya turned to Nacho Beristain, who helped prepare Marquez for both of his bouts against Pacquiao.
Home ground
Along with his return to welterweight, De La Hoya plans to return to his old training grounds in Big Bear, California, where he prepared for many of the biggest fights of his career.
When asked about the circular nature of going back to where it all began, in the twilight of his career, De La Hoya smiled.
"I have to prove to myself that I can still do this," he said.
"Yes, I'm 35.
"Everyone says that's over the hill for boxing.
"But I'm still young, I didn't get beat up. So I still want to do this."
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