Former Olympic Gold medalist and six-weight division boxing world champion Oscar De La Hoya, now 42 years old, is talking about making a comeback, and has tossed out the name of current middleweight king-pin Gennady Golovkin as a potential opponent.
The announcement came as a surprise since it has been roughly six and a half years since we last saw De La Hoya compete and he has been working on his Golden Boy Promotions banner and has not been surrounded by huge comeback talk in the past.
There is some speculation in the boxing world that the company may not be doing as well as De La Hoya would want, and there is no doubt his return would generate a big influx of cash. In pictures appearing on social media, Oscar looks to be in shape and if a fight with Golovkin were to materialize he would deserve credit for hunting down one of the most feared fighters out there today. But many experts see De La Hoya’s chances as slim to none against the brutal Golovkin, and it is likely the line on this fight would open with Golovkin a wide favorite.
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If De La Hoya pulls the trigger on a comeback, expect Golovkin to say yes to the fight. The list of potential opponents who could draw big money is limited to smaller guys who would fight up a weight class (such as Miguel Cotto or Saul Alvarez) or bigger men who would force Golovkin to move up in weight (such as Andre Ward and Carl Froch). If he is looking for a big money fight, well then De La Hoya is probably the biggest fight out there for him.
Until he is in the ring fighting, we will not be sure what De La Hoya has left. He looked pretty shot towards the end of his career and he has had a long laundry list of personal problems in the years, namely substance abuse issues. Even if those types of problems are a thing of the past for De La Hoya, the amount of media scrutiny and attention that will come with his return will likely make for a rehash of many of those old stories. Even if the body is OK, De La Hoya is gonig to have to be as mentally tough as he has ever been to have any hope of success.
