by James Slater – Just over six weeks after his humbling and quite unexpected 8th round retirement loss to the naturally smaller Manny Pacquiao, and the great Oscar De La Hoya is still unsure as to his future as a professional athlete. Though the battering he took in Las Vegas just before Christmas appeared to have been more than enough of an argument for hanging up the gloves, the 35-year-old former six-weight world champion has admitted he has been torn over just what decision to make..
The Pacquiao loss marked the first time in a splendid pro career that “The Golden Boy” failed to go out fighting; being advised by his corner-men to remain on his stool after eight embarrassingly one-sided rounds. As such, it was assumed Oscar, an intelligent man if ever there was one, would formally announce his desire to attempt to box no more. Oscar has gone through the agony of deciding whether or not to quit being an active participant in the sport that has made him a household figure the world over, but still he has not yet made up his mind.
An article on BBC Sport has let fight fans know just what Oscar has been thinking just lately.
“My family and my wife tell me, ‘Enough! Accept it. That’s it. You don’t have it no more,’ ” De La Hoya said. “I’ve been on vacation and not thinking about it, but hopefully soon I will make that firm and last decision. I’ve been going back and forth and everybody and their mother is telling me to hang them up, but I have to be certain.
“There are a lot of questions out there, obviously. People will come up to me and say, ‘why were you so light?, or, ‘why were you over trained?’ ‘Why didn’t you have [Floyd] Mayweather Senior in your corner?’ There are a lot of questions out there that need to be answered and I’ll figure it out.”
So, will the all-time great figure out that his best bet is to fight no more, or will he decide to take another challenge? Rumours have been circulating for some time now that Oscar will face Julio Cesar Chavez Junior in a “farewell” fight later this year. And, after all the good things he has done for the sport, De La Hoya surely deserves the opportunity of exiting boxing with a win.
As poor as he looked last time out Vs. “Pac-Man,” Oscar would likely have a good shot of doing so against the son of the legend he twice beat in the 1990s.