Oscar De La Hoya was, at one stage, the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. One man who is currently fighting his way towards that status is Gervonta Davis.
De La Hoya was boxing’s biggest star in his prime and scored victories over the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez, Ike Quartey, Pernell Whittaker and Fernando Vargas. Of the six divisions he won titles in, he unified two belts in the lightweight ranks.
The current man to beat at 135 pounds is ‘Tank’ Davis, who has knocked out all but two of his 30 opponents and currently holds the WBA World Title.
Speaking to the media ahead of ‘Tank’s bout with Ryan Garcia, De La Hoya was asked how he would beat the big puncher from Baltimore and joked he would:
“Take a bat in there.”
Answering more seriously, the Hall of Fame fighter turned promoter said he would work off the jab and ‘fight long’ to beat ‘Tank.’
“Look, I fought every style. I’m a huge advocate of the jab. That’s it. The jab stops everything, no matter what. What you do after, it’s on you. I would throw double, triple, four, five jabs and then go combinations left and right. I love throwing five, six punch combinations. On your toes. You gotta fight him long.”
Davis would go on to stop De La Hoya’s charge Garcia in the fight. He has since knocked out Frank Martin and will defend his belts against Lamont Roach Jr on March 1 in Brooklyn, New York.The 30-year-old has said he will retire at the end of 2025.
