Oscar De La Hoya has spoken out and revealed the best fighter that he ever shared the ring with.
Known more commonly as ‘The Golden Boy’, De La Hoya made his professional debut back in 1992, just a couple of months after he walked away from the Olympic Games in Barcelona with a Lightweight Gold Medal.
He would go on to become a world champion in no less than six weight classes during his career, ranging from super-featherweight right the way up to middleweight.
De La Hoya racked up a number of legacy-defining victories along the way, defeating the likes of Pernell Whitaker, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr and Hector Camacho amongst a number of others.
In a feature with The Ring Magazine, ‘The Golden Boy’ didn’t hesitate to name Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao as the best fighter that he ever shared the ring ring, paying homage to the eight-division in a fitting statement.
“I would have to say Pacquiao. I think his determination, his conditioning, his skill, his power, speed, footwork … he’s one of the fighters I most appreciated. Mayweather-Pacquiao would have been a lot different [if they’d fought] in their primes. Pacquiao would have beat [Mayweather] easy, absolutely.”
Pacquiao defeated De La Hoya via eighth round stoppage when they clashed in a non-title bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas back in December of 2008, which would prove to be the final ring appearance of ‘The Golden Boy’.
De La Hoya announced his retirement from the sport shortly after, shifting his focus to a career as a promoter under the ‘Golden Boy Promotions’ banner which he established in 2002.
As for ‘PacMan’, the 46-year-old made a sensational return to the ring back in July after taking a four year hiatus from the sport, fighting to a split draw against reigning WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios.
