Twice in the 1990s, they met in big fights when at the opposite end of their careers: Oscar De La Hoya and Julio Cesar Chavez. And both times, the much younger, faster, and naturally bigger De La Hoya won via stoppage – in 1996 and in 1998. Now, many years later, Chavez wants to fight De La Hoya again.
As fans know, 47-year-old De La Hoya is currently training for a 2021 ring return, the former multi-weight champ stating how he wants to fight “top names” at either 147 or 154, or both.
But Chavez, who is 58 years of age but has boxed a couple of exhibitions quite recently (looking pretty good in fact, especially considering his age), has thrown his name into the ring, adding it to the ever-growing list of former champions who have caught 2020’s comeback fever.
Chavez, who hasn’t had a legit fight since 2005, told ESPN Deportes that he would like to fight De La Hoya, in an exhibition bout, but that fans would have to be allowed in, “so they could see the [beating] I’m going to give him.”
“It would be the last exhibition I would do,” Chavez said. “But I want to do it in front of fans, not without. I want everyone to see the [beating] I’m going to give him.”
So though Chavez, 107-6-2(85) is talking about an exhibition, there is nothing too friendly about his intentions. Perhaps, after all these years, Chavez still smarts at the way “The Golden Boy,” a glamorous fighter with amazing skills yet, in the opinion of the critics at the time, not a “real Mexican warrior,” twice beat him up. It’s unclear what a “revenge” win over De La Hoya would prove now, as it is unknown what kind of fan interest there would be in a De La Hoya-Chavez III. But this year, one that will (probably) give us a Mike Tyson Vs. Roy Jones fight, anything seems possible.
And as crazy as it may sound, Chavez, though so much older than De La Hoya, might have a decent shot at getting the better of things in about today. De La Hoya, 39-6(30) has been out of action for so long, 12 long years, while Chavez has kept himself in shape, and he has been in the ring in those exhibitions (his next one set for September 25, once again against Jorge Arce).
Let’s see if De La Hoya has any interest in getting his comeback off the ground with a three-match against the greatest Mexican fighter ever.