Boxing
Oscar De La Hoya '90 percent sure' he will make comeback in early 2021, targets Gennadiy Golovkin
Oscar De La Hoya has his hands full as a promoter. Between the difficult separation with Canelo Alvarez and promoting his stable of young stars that includes Ryan Garcia, Vergil Ortiz Jr. and JoJo Diaz, De La Hoya has more than enough on his plate to deal with.
However, his rumored return to the ring as a fighter is also something that he’s been pondering over the past year, and it appears that he has his sights set on when he'll compete again.
“I’m 90 percent positive that I’m coming back the first quarter of next year,” the 47-year-old De La Hoya revealed to DAZN News in a recent interview.
Although December 6 will mark 12 years away from the sport, the former six-division world champion believes that he can once again be a force in boxing.
But why is he only 90 percent? Because he needs to see what happens on Saturday when Mike Tyson makes his highly anticipated return against Roy Jones Jr. in California.
“The 10 percent is based on how Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. look in their upcoming fight,” he said. “We're almost the same age. Although I'm younger, our bodies have been through the same strain with workouts and training.”
De La Hoya is particularly interested in seeing how Tyson looks considering the 54-year-old’s body transformation has many people prepared to see the Tyson of old when he steps back into the ring for the first time in just over 15 years.
“How is Tyson’s body going to react?” he continued. “I want to see what transpires, how the fight unfolds, and we’ll take it from there. But once I’m 100 percent sure you are going to be very surprised by who I want to fight.”
When pressed on a potential opponent, De La Hoya said that it’s somebody who is currently at the top of their game because he “only wants to fight the best” and is uninterested in an exhibition fight.
He did tip his hand during an appearance on The Ak & Barak Show and revealed that he’s targeting an opponent who will be competing in December.
“I’m open to fighting GGG!” De La Hoya said.
Gennadiy Golovkin is set to defend his IBF middleweight title against undefeated mandatory challenger Kamil Szeremeta on December 18 at the Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Golovkin has been actively after a third fight with Canelo Alvarez, who faces Callum Smith on December 19. It is not known if GGG is interested in a fight with De La Hoya, but it could be a highly marketable showdown should it come together.
