By James Slater – Yesterday, rumours surfaced (in The Daily Mail’s on-line web site initially) that said Oscar De La Hoya is most interested in coming back to the ring to face British legend Ricky Hatton – in England, next year, in what would likely be a huge event.
Most fans, upon reading this, immediately refused to believe it and referred to the rumours as B.S. Well, it turns out, to no great surprise, that this line of thinking is correct. Though Hatton himself has not publicly made any comment about the “would-be fight,” Oscar Has..
Telling ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael he will not, in any circumstances, be returning to the ring “The Golden Boy” told the writer the whole notion is “ a bunch of baloney.”
“Me fighting Ricky Hatton is a bunch of baloney,” De La Hoya said. “Not true a million-percent. They can pay me all the money in the world. I’m not coming back. I was shocked by it [the rumour]. I am a happily retired man.”
It’s likely the majority of fans will be pleased the clash of faded stars will not be happening. Sure, the fight would have attracted a ton of attention (and generated a boatload of cash!), but what kind of fight would it have been?
Hatton has done well to get himself clean and sober after a stay in rehab, and it would be awful to see him convince himself he can now come back to the ring. Now that this “carrot” has been well and truly revealed as a no-go, Hatton will surely concentrate his efforts on the promoting side of the sport; as will De La Hoya.
Rafael, by the way, has also quashed another rumour that came out yesterday – this one saying Tomasz Adamek will face Roy Jones Junior in March. Kathy Duva of Main Events informed Rafael that there are no plans at all for such a match-up to take place.
Really, where do these crazy rumours start!
Adamek will, however, rumble with New York tough guy Vinny Maddalone in his next fight, in December. And judging by the recent photos and reports of Maddalone’s public workout and preparations for the fight in Newark, the Pole has a hard night ahead of him. It’s nothing new for Maddalone to be in great physical shape for a fight, but his new trainer is attempting to smooth over some of the fan-friendly warrior’s style and approach to his craft.
Can Nirmal Lorick really improve Vinny’s balance, footwork and overall speed? It sure will be interesting to find out next month.