By Edward Chaykovsky
Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya is still very willing to have his company work with former UFC champion Ronda Rousey - who a few weeks ago was entertaining the idea of entering the sport of boxing to chase a world title.
This past Saturday night in Australia, Rousey suffered her first career defeat when she was knocked out in two rounds by Holly Holm, who previously captured multiple titles as a boxer. Holm, who was regarded as one of the best female fighters when she competed, made a full-time switch to MMA in 2013.
De La Hoya, who owns Ring Magazine, had the publication feature Rousey on the cover of their latest issue - which drew a lot of controversy from boxing fans who were irate over an MMA fighter being showcased by the 'Bible of Boxing' and other fans were upset that Holm, a former world champion in boxing, was never given the same consideration.
Rousey was dominated by Holm's accurate punching, defense and movement, and then knocked out by Holm's trademark high kick in the second round.
Despite the loss, De La Hoya still believes Rousey can make it as a female boxer.
"Of course [I would still be willing to promote her in boxing], if she still has the desire of coming back to boxing - then we are right here waiting for her with arms wide open," De La Hoya told Steve Edwards and Maria Sansone of Fox LA.
De La Hoya was not overly surprised by Rousey's defeat, which stunned fight fans around the world.
"Well, that's what happens when you face the best. Look, it happened to Muhammad Ali, it happened to the very best. When you take chances, when you dare to be great - then you are going to get beat at some point in your career. That's what happens. She didnt want to take the easy route and just fight anybody. Good for Holm," De La Hoya said. [Holm] is such a classy lady, I love it."
There have been reports that Rousey did not properly train for the fight and that affected her conditioning. She was breathing very heavy by the end of the first round.
"When fighters taste success, when they have the hype around them, you [sometimes] forget about the training and they think more about the interviews....its so distracting. If they have a rematch, who knows, it might be a whole different story. Ill tell you one thing, Ronda will be focused and determined," De La Hoya said.
Should Holm use the victory to restart her boxing career? De La Hoya sees no point in pursuing that possibility - at least right now -because Holm stands to make a mountain of money for a Rousey rematch in 2016.
"I think at this point right now, as an MMA fighter, there is a lot of hype around her and a rematch would be huge for her, here in the States," De La Hoya said.
