15.09.07 – By Jimmy Bryght: This is going to be short and to the point, so pay attention. Oscar De La Hoya has been pissing me off for years. I lost a bunch of money in the early 90s when he was beating everyone except his mother. I lost even more cash when I picked him to beat Felix Trinidad and then Shane Mosley…twice. I picked against Oscar when he fought Felix Sturm in 2004 and he got a gift decision when even Stevie Wonder could see that he lost that fight. Then I was stupid enough to pick him again when he took on Floyd “Dancing With the Stars” Mayweather. Oops..
As you can imagine, I’m not happy with the guy. I’ve always thought that he’s overrated and now he’s gone and done something astronomically retarded; purchased the last hope of legitimate boxing, Ring Magazine. Is it just me or does this absolutely stink of illegitimacy? A boxer/promoter purchases a media venue whose championship happens to hold more respect than all the Alphabet Bandits combined? It’s a complete conflict of interest!
How can anyone, besides De La Hoya, see this action in a positive light? The last hope of boxing, the magazine we love and the ratings which most of us hold to be more accurate than the rest, has been dipped lengthwise into a stinking cesspool and thus become tainted. I am depressed.
De La Hoya can say whatever he wants about his plans for the magazine, but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s going to catch hell about this whole thing for years to come. Says Oscar, “These magazines will be held in an editorial trust where they will be operating totally independent of any influence from me or others from the Golden Boy companies as it relates to editorial direction or content.” Bullsh*t.
It’ll probably be only a matter of time before we see an influx of Golden Boy-promoted fighters splashed all over the Ring ratings. To make matters worse, De La Hoya’s purchase of the Kappa Publishing Group also includes other magazines such as KO and World Boxing. I also heard that some useless rag called Pro Wrestling Illustrated was tossed into the deal in exchange for an apple fritter.
So, I’m boycotting Ring Magazine’s rankings, titles and champions as of right now.