Weighing De La Hoya's Options

By Frank Lotierzo

10.10 - Now that Oscar De La Hoya has lost his rematch with Shane Mosley, I seriously doubt that we'll see him fight much longer. Regardless of what anyone thinks of the decision in the Mosley fight, it will always be a loss on his record. Before De La Hoya fought the rematch against Mosley, I went on record as saying that it could be over for the loser. I still feel that way.

The reason I thought it would be over for De La Hoya if he lost to Mosley is because, I really believe that he will have a hard time getting up to fight again. I haven't a doubt in my mind that De La Hoya is certain that he beat Mosley in their rematch, and this makes it even tougher for him. What can he prove, or what is out there for him to gain?

De La Hoya was in the best possible shape that he could have been in. No way could he fight any better in a third fight with Mosley than he did in their last fight. As long as De La Hoya and Mosley are active in the same division, Mosley will always overshadow him and be perceived as the better fighter. That's not saying Mosley is the bigger draw, because he's not, just viewed as the better fighter in a head-to-head match up. This has to be crippling to De La Hoya's ego and psyche.

What options does he realistically have? If he continues to fight, is he fighting for money, or to enhance his legacy? The only possible thing De La Hoya could do to enhance his legacy would be to challenge and defeat undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins. That would justify his claim of being jobbed out of the decision in the Mosley fight, and it would solidify him as an all-time great, at least in my book. Yes, if De La Hoya were to some how beat Hopkins if they ever fought, it would justify him as an all-time great. However, I don't see that happening.

At this time I don't consider De La Hoya an all-time great. Is he a great fighter? Possibly. Is he a Hall of Fame fighter? Absolutely! However, if he never fights again, I wouldn't rank him as an all-time great. As an all-time great, I mean one of the ten best fighters in history in a particular weight division. When ranking De La Hoya, I rank him as a welterweight. That's because welterweight is where he fought the majority of the top fighters he's faced in his career, (Whitaker, Quartey, Trinidad, and Mosley). I can't answer for anyone but myself, but I wouldn't have any trouble naming 10 welterweights from the past who I feel very confident would've beaten De La Hoya.

Regarding De La Hoya fighting Hopkins, there's one problem, he can't beat him. Let me just say it again if I didn't make it clear, De La Hoya has not a single chance in the world to defeat Hopkins. In a Hopkins-De La Hoya fight, De La Hoya has nothing in his arsenal to cope with Hopkins. He can't out-box him, he can't out-punch him, and he can't out-fight him or out-last him! There isn't one thing that De La Hoya does better than Hopkins. The only edge De La Hoya has over Hopkins is age and possibly hand speed, but they aren't nearly enough to get him a win. And before anyone gets carried away with Mosley, you can just forget it, he has no shot versus Hopkins either!

So if De La Hoya can't enhance his legacy, and we all know that he has more money than he can spend, why fight? It's not like he doesn't have other options. In the 11 years that he's been a pro, De La Hoya has carved out a Hall-Of-Fame career. Fighting and beating the likes of Winky Wright, Ricardo Mayorga, Vernon Forrest, or Fernando Vargas again do nothing to enhance his legacy. The problem is De La Hoya has overshadowed these fighters so long that they would kill themselves preparing for a fight with him. They have yet to taste the big money and star status that a win over De La Hoya would afford them.

How could De La Hoya get as up for them as they could for him? Would a convincing win over either of them erase the two defeats to Mosley? Is anybody ever going to say or think that a solid win over Mayorga puts De La Hoya in a class with Sugar Ray Leonard? No! Is a one sided thrashing of Winky Wright ever going to qualify De La Hoya as the equal to Thomas Hearns? No Way! With De La Hoya having only money to gain in defeating any of the top welterweights and junior middleweights, I don't see him fighting much longer, if again. He is also smart enough to know that if he is not completely committed to fighting, he could lose to any one of them in a devastating fashion.

The way I see it, De La Hoya will follow one of three paths. One, he'll fight Mosley again and hope that he can beat him more convincingly this time. Two, he will fight Hopkins in hopes that he has eroded and try and capture the undisputed middleweight title. Three, he'll retire and get more involved with his promotion company. Realistically, I believe that one and three are the only likely scenarios!