The photo Oscar De La Hoya shared on Saturday of Terence Crawford standing between him and Bernard Hopkins may just be a meaningless snapshot on social media.
However, the buzz it creates is jet fuel throughout the rest of the weekend and into this week.
It was De La Hoya who pushed the story of the possible Crawford-Golden Boy combination before and after the main event of the DAZN/Golden Boy Alexis Rocha-George Ashie Promotion on Saturday at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California.
“He just wanted to come say hello to two legends, me and Hopkins, and express his love for him. Terence Crawford, the best weightlifter in the world,” De La Hoya told Fight Hub TV after his guy Rocha stopped Ashie with a brutal punch in the eighth round. “And we are looking forward to further discussions to be able to create a match between Rocha and Crawford.
“We can deliver any fight he wants. Now he’s the best heavyweight in the world so it’s just a matter of strategizing, sitting down with him again, I have a good feeling that he liked what he heard today with me and Hopkins.
“We can get him and Rocha, him and Vergil (Ortiz), even him and Errol Spence. So this is how we work with other promoters and we want to make things happen. We want to make 2023 the biggest year of boxing. So I’ll go after everyone. You’re back, honey. I’m back!”
And the fact that Oscar is “back” is a good thing– not just for him as a person but for boxing as a whole.
The story of Oscar De La Hoya after his retirement has had many ups and downs over the years. “The downsides” range from quirky and fun (Google: Oscar De La Hoya Fishnets) to quirky and quirky (Google: Oscar De La Hoya kitchenware) to dark tales of addiction flooded and accused of sexual assault. This man probably set a record for contradicting himself in public and creating embarrassing moments on social media. He’s also someone who seems so lost in his own ad agency that he doesn’t know the fighters he’s spending money on building and advertising aren’t actually contracted to the company. his.
But for all the bad things, there are plenty of good possibilities. The name De La Hoya is still valid and for better or worse, the guy is still a magnet for attention. For better or worse, he continues to be one of the more accessible executives to fans and the media.
So it’s good that a clairvoyant De La Hoya drew attention to his eponymous company Golden Boy, in the sense that “the high tide lifts all boats,” helping the sport. .
And if the Crawford story that Oscar is pushing is true, this is a very smart move indeed.
Crawford can be sent into the Golden Boy universe with Rocha being sacrificed as a sacrifice. They can then arrange Vergil Ortiz Jr. GBP’s top welder against Crawford. Maybe Ortiz overcame the discomfort, maybe not, but at least the fight was on the Golden Boy’s field and in the greater favor of Golden Boy. Even if Ortiz loses, the company’s consoling reward will be a good working relationship with a boxer in Crawford who is just one round of solid negotiations from being able to make a blockbuster with Errol Spence.
This is almost a win-win as Golden Boy is going to be in the balance right now.
That would be the smart business strategy of a guy at De La Hoya, who these days often exudes the sad vibes of a lucky, but self-destructive, man, associated keep trying to derive defeat from the win function.
Having a clean and fully focused promotional top character back into the game, looking to WIN battles rather than maneuvering OUT of them, can only be a positive for boxing. An Oscar De La Hoya that isn’t buried in obscene scandal or engaged in divisive, rambling, contemptuous attacks against other boxing companies could help do something real good not only for his own profit but for the sport as a whole.
But as is often the case with all things “Oscar,” there is a feeling that the other shoe could soon drop. So let’s hope for the best.
