Oscar De La Hoya Says Floyd Mayweather Is 'Not Good for Boxing' as Promoter
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is in the midst of hyping one of the most anticipated boxing matches ever against Conor McGregor on Aug. 26, but Oscar De La Hoya is not a fan of the sport's biggest star as a promoter.
Speaking to USA Today's Martin Rogers, De La Hoya explained why he's been critical of Mayweather's promoting skills.
"I personally think as a promoter, [Mayweather] has not been good for boxing," he said. "Because fighters now are thinking all about business and not thinking about the fight. And not thinking about the fans."
De La Hoya has not been shy about criticizing Mayweather. He even wrote an open letter calling on boxing fans to boycott a Mayweather-McGregor fight before it was officially announced:
"Floyd’s and Conor’s motivation is clear. It’s money. In fact, they don’t even pretend it’s not. But it’s also a lack of consequences for when the fight ends up being the disaster that is predicted. After this fight, neither of them will need us anymore. Floyd will go back to retirement — presumably for good this time with another nine-figure paycheck — and Conor will go back to the UFC."
In 2007, Mayweather defeated De La Hoya in what was the most lucrative boxing match ever at the time, with 2.4 million pay-per-view buys and $136 million in revenue.
De La Hoya is running Golden Boy Promotions and helping build the bout between Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 16.
