Oscar De La Hoya: "Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Will Not Be My Last Fight. I Won't Retire"

[chop]

By Mark Vester

The contracts are signed, the date is set and only the fight remains. Oscar De La Hoya (38-4, 30 KOs) and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (37-0, 24 KOs) collide on May 5, 2007 on HBO pay-per-view, at either the MGM Grand in Las Vegas or the Staples Center in California.

De La Hoya told boxing scribe Dan Rafael that he is no longer going to retire after his May bout with Mayweather. For months, De La Hoya has told the media that next May would be his final bout in boxing, and retirement would be the next step. That is no longer the case. De La Hoya said the he still feels young and plans to continue to fight until he feels that his skills are no longer there.

"No, it's not going to be my last fight," De La Hoya said. "Call me crazy, but I changed my mind. I feel good. As long as I can still feel the timing and the speed is good, I can keep on going for a few more fights. If I see that first sign of slipping, I am pretty sure I will be able to say, 'Hey, enough is enough.'"

De La Hoya is trained by Floyd Mayweather Sr., the father of Floyd Jr. He plans to speak with Floyd Sr. about being in his corner and training him for the fight against his son. Should Floyd Sr. decline, he will get a another trainer for the fight.

"I will sit down with him and talk about this," De La Hoya said. "I want to see how he feels. I want to look into his eyes and see if he is going to be as passionate as I am when we are in training. I want us both to be comfortable with the situation."

[henry]

De la Hoya is a true champion and my favorite fighter. I hope this pans out and we are able to see him in a couple more bouts.

[chop]

he still has a few fights left in him not that he has anything to prove, I am willing to bet everything I have he will fight Trinadad before he retires

[Beanflicker]

I'm glad to hear this fight was made, and even glader (is that even a word) to hear DLH is not going to retire. IMO he has no reason to. He gave a great effort against Hopkins, considering the skill level of Hopkins and the size advantage he has, and that was the only time in his career he was clearly bested (his other losses were all close/controversial decision). He looked great against Mayorga, and he still is the biggest draw in boxing now with Tyson gone.

[MMAsterkillah]

WAR MAYWEATHER! For some reason I dislike the "Golden Boy". Mayweather seems like kind of a douche, and he thinks hes the best ever; but only time will tell and until hes proven wrong its easy to see what hes boasting about.

[skunknuts[ADR]]

Mayweather talks shit about every boxer possible and when he fights them, he proves his shit talking lol, but i really think that Oscar is going to be put into retirement after this fight, look what Floyd did to Baldomir

[Chickenjorge]

de la hoya is a boring boxer.

plus he's a little on the gay side, i hope maywhether knocks him out.

[skunknuts[ADR]]

a-greed

[henry]

Oscar is a true champion and far from boring. We'll see on May 5th how "boring" he is with a KO over Floyd.

[Sharkhunter]

I think the retirement question should wait until after the PBF fight.

[chad]

two great fighters no doubt. but i aint expecting a great fight. neither is really a come forward fighter. i'd rather of seem floyd fight hatton. de la hoya vs mayweather will be one of the biggest ever fights and especially intriguing because of the floyd snr scenario. my pick would be de la hoya.