SPORTS SHORTS 92: OSCAR DE LA HOYA EYES MAYWEATHER REMATCH, SAYS PACQUIAO PROBABLY THE BEST FIGHTER HE FOUGHT
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 31 Mar 2021
Six-division champion and legendary Oscar De La Hoya announced Friday that he has a preferred date for his planned ring comeback. At a news conference for the promoter Triller Fight Club, De La Hoya stated that he would make his return fight on July 3.
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De La Hoya, now 48-years-old, told reporters last August that he would activate his boxing career once again and now the date is announced for his fight. This time he will be promoted by the new fight promotion launched by the social media platform Triller.
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Ryan Kavanaugh, the CEO of Triller parent company Proxima Media, told ESPN that he and De La Hoya are "dear friends" and the two have planned his return for "a long time." Kavanaugh said the fight card will take place in Texas, possibly at the AT&T Stadium, and they are targeting a "big" UFC name as opponent.
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"He has been [training] and in his own words, he's stronger and better than ever," Kavanaugh said of De La Hoya. Sources told ESPN that De La Hoya has a multi-fight deal with Triller and this will not only be for one bout.
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Triller is an American video-making and social-networking service owned by Proxima Media. With a total of 250 million app downloads worldwide, Triller has users from all over the world.
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Triller hosted the popular boxing match of Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr and Jake Paul vs. Nate Robinson. It won the purse bid to for the fight between unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez vs. George Kambosos. Triller bid $6.018M, beating out DAZN at $3.5M and Top Rank at $2.3M.
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De La Hoya of Montebello, California, was a 1992 Barcelona Olympic gold medalist. He held the WBO junior lightweight, WBO and IBF lightweight, WBC light welterweight, WBC and IBA welterweight, WBA (Super), WBC, IBA and The Ring light middleweight, and WBO middleweight titles.
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He has not fought since his loss to Manny Pacquiao. He is one of the biggest draw in boxing history. The news conference was held Friday to promote Triller Fight Club's April 17 card, which is headlined by YouTube star Jake Paul and former UFC fighter and Olympic wrestler Ben Askren.
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Oscar De La Hoya fought the best fighters in boxing in his professional career from 1992 to 2008. He faced big name opponents in the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez, Felix Trinidad, Shane Mosley, Bernard Hopkins and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
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De La Hoya agreed to face the still rising fighter Manny Pacquiao, who happened to be his last opponent in December 6, 2008. De La Hoya, when asked who was the best fighter he faced, answered "Probably Pacquiao".
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For De La Hoya, Pacquiao was a compleat fighter. "I think his determination, his conditioning, his skill, his power, his speed, his footwork. He was probably one of the fighters I’ve most appreciated.” De La Hoya was forced to quit on his stool at the end of the eighth round in 2008 during their match.
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De La Hoya's opponent is currently not known yet or to be determined (TBD), but Ryan Kavanaugh told Yahoo Sports that De La Hoya's goal for an opponent is no less than Floyd Mayweather Jr.
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De La Hoya's fight against Mayweather in 2007, a split-decision win for Mayweather, was the biggest earning boxing match during that time, generating more than $150 million with $120 million in pay-per-view revenues. There were plans for a rematch, but it never happened because Mayweather retired.
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No wonder why De La Hoya is interested to have a rematch, even 14 years have passed. The return bout largely depends on Mayweather's readiness to face Golden Boy. Mayweather called De La Hoya for a rematch in 2015, but Oscar declined saying he likes to stay retired.
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Russell Westbrook was the first to log 30-10-20 triple-double since Magic Johnson. The Washington Wizards guard torches Indiana Pacers for a historic triple-double as he breaks the franchise record in only 38 games.
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Westbrook overtook Darrell Walker for the franchise lead, getting triple-double No. 16 with Washington, No. 162 overall. Westbrook had accumulated 35 points, 14 rebounds and a career-best 21 assists in the Wizards’ 132-124 victory over the Pacers.
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It was just the third time in NBA history that a player grabbed 30 points, 10 rebounds and 20 assists. Oscar Robertson (32-15-20) did it on December 11, 1961 vs. Chicago; Magic Johnson (32-11-20) had it on November 28, 1988 at Philadelphia.
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The only Wizards player to deliver a 20-point, 20-assist triple-double was Rod Strickland (21-12-20) on February 10, 1998. Westbrook has now tied Oscar Robertson as the only players with at least 15 triple-doubles in five seasons.
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Jesse Owens was discriminated. He was black and he competed in track and field in 1936 Berlin. Adolf Hitler and the Germans saw Owens as an inferior athlete because of his skin color. Owens would win four gold medals in the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump, and 4×100 relay.
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They call him “The Phenomenon” or “The Fish,” Michael Phelps won eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, breaking Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals in Munich. With his six golds from 2004 in Athens and four more in London in 2012, he won 18 golds and 22 total medals over four Olympics.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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