chop
09-13-2006, 12:04 PM
By Tim Smith: Oscar De La Hoya has made it official. He is definitely coming back to fight at least one more time. Now, he has to make a decision about whom to fight. And he has narrowed it down to two choices: Felix Trinidad or Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
De La Hoya, who met with a group of reporters for dinner in Manhattan on Tuesday night, said he met with Trinidad recently over breakfast at his house and they talked about possibility of fighting the rematch. Their first fight was seven years ago and De La Hoya lost a split decision when he piled up a huge lead on points and then ran away from Trinidad over the last four rounds.
"When I saw Tito I knew it was possible (the rematch),'' De La Hoya said. "The rumblings I'm getting on the island (Puerto Rico) is he's running everyday.''
When people meet him on the street they always ask De La Hoya if and when he is going to fight Trinidad again.
"That's the one fight that everybody ask me about,'' he said. "That's the fight that everybody that I meet want to see.''
De La Hoya and Trinidad are neighbors in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. He said they ran into each other at a local restaurant one morning while they were both having breakfast. De La Hoya said they later drove back to his house and continued to talk about the possibility of a rematch.
De La Hoya said Trinidad looks to be in shape. He'd better be because he would have to get down to 154 pounds, which is where De La Hoya wants to fight. He said he would take a different tactic against Trinidad in the rematch.
"The style I'll use this time will be more aggressive,'' he said. "The same style I used against (Ricardo) Mayorga.''
De La Hoya said he will most likely open negotiations soon with both Trinidad and Mayweather and whomever he can make a deal with first that's the fight he'll take.
"Negotiations are the only hurdle,'' he said. "I think Trinidad will be easier to make than Mayweather...I'd like to have something signed by December, definitely by January.
"My choice now is Floyd. But if it gets complicated then I have Felix because really wants that fight. I saw it in his eyes. The tension was in the air.''
In news regarding his Golden Boy Promotions company, De La Hoya said they are working on a fight for his newly signed heavyweight Sultan Ibragimov against WBO champ Sergei Liahkovich in Jaunary. He also announced that they have signed Juan Manuel Marquez to a promotional agreement.
De La Hoya, who met with a group of reporters for dinner in Manhattan on Tuesday night, said he met with Trinidad recently over breakfast at his house and they talked about possibility of fighting the rematch. Their first fight was seven years ago and De La Hoya lost a split decision when he piled up a huge lead on points and then ran away from Trinidad over the last four rounds.
"When I saw Tito I knew it was possible (the rematch),'' De La Hoya said. "The rumblings I'm getting on the island (Puerto Rico) is he's running everyday.''
When people meet him on the street they always ask De La Hoya if and when he is going to fight Trinidad again.
"That's the one fight that everybody ask me about,'' he said. "That's the fight that everybody that I meet want to see.''
De La Hoya and Trinidad are neighbors in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. He said they ran into each other at a local restaurant one morning while they were both having breakfast. De La Hoya said they later drove back to his house and continued to talk about the possibility of a rematch.
De La Hoya said Trinidad looks to be in shape. He'd better be because he would have to get down to 154 pounds, which is where De La Hoya wants to fight. He said he would take a different tactic against Trinidad in the rematch.
"The style I'll use this time will be more aggressive,'' he said. "The same style I used against (Ricardo) Mayorga.''
De La Hoya said he will most likely open negotiations soon with both Trinidad and Mayweather and whomever he can make a deal with first that's the fight he'll take.
"Negotiations are the only hurdle,'' he said. "I think Trinidad will be easier to make than Mayweather...I'd like to have something signed by December, definitely by January.
"My choice now is Floyd. But if it gets complicated then I have Felix because really wants that fight. I saw it in his eyes. The tension was in the air.''
In news regarding his Golden Boy Promotions company, De La Hoya said they are working on a fight for his newly signed heavyweight Sultan Ibragimov against WBO champ Sergei Liahkovich in Jaunary. He also announced that they have signed Juan Manuel Marquez to a promotional agreement.