De La Hoya Not Set on Retirement; Magarito Ecstatic
August 29, 2008 by Michael Sedor
Filed under MMA-UFC
Imagine you are Antonio Margarito. Your impressive July beat down of Miguel Cotto was a rousing success both in pulling pay-per-view buys and in garnering media attention. Casual sports fans have started recognizing your name and maybe even your face.
The sky is the limit. Right? Well, not so much. There are so few people out there for you to fight for your deserved huge payday. Shane Mosley? Yawn, that guy never caught the public’s eye. Paul Williams? Nobody knows him and maybe he’s a little too dangerous. Zab Judah? I’d have a good time at least. Ricky Hatton? Um, maybe? Manny Pacquiao? Not for a while, but maybe. Floyd Mayweather, Jr.? He ain’t coming out of retirement for me. He’s scared of the Tijuana Tornado.
No, the guy I really want is Oscar De La Hoya and he says he’s done on December 6th. You then continue your daily morning routine, open your computer and check your boxing RSS feeds. Lo and behold there’s a new article from Dan Rafael about the Golden Boy.
Its headline is intriguing enough, “De La Hoya shies away from retirement talk.” You start to get really excited. Does he want to fight me? Please Oscar, please. I could retire after the money made from that fight. You scan down the page. Still no mention. But wait. Here it is:
“My dream is to fight at Estadio Azteca,” De La Hoya said at the news conference. “I want a big farewell fight to leave a lasting impression all over the world with a huge event…fighting there would be a dream come true, and that’s why I don’t rule out the possibility of having another fight next year.”
“Oh my heavens,” your inner Antonio must be thinking, “he must be talking about me! Who else would he fight at the Azteca? It ain’t gonna be Sergio Mora or Ricky Hatton I guarantee you that! I need to start training right now. It doesn’t matter if he wins or loses to Manny; everyone in Mexico will want to see that fight. I’ll be avenging my hero Julio Cesar Chavez. I can’t wait.”
Neither can we Antonio, neither can we.
