Slipx
02-04-2005, 03:00 PM
By Dan Rafael, USA TODAY
As a fighter, superstar Oscar De La Hoya has always shown respect for his opponents. But as a promoter, he's been a quick study in trash talk. Oscar De La Hoya says boxing will 'change for the better' once Bob Arum and Don King are out of the promotions business.
Meeting for lunch with a small group of reporters in Atlantic City before watching his fighter James Leija get knocked out by Arturo Gatti on Saturday night, De La Hoya reiterated what he's said for the last few years: that his growing company, Golden Boy Promotions, would revolutionize boxing.
But De La Hoya, who turns 32 Friday, also used the occasion to rip warhorse promoters Bob Arum and Don King, who have ruled the roost for the last 35 years.
"I'm not afraid to say it: Once the two promoters are gone, that is going to change the way people think about boxing — the networks, the sponsors," De La Hoya said. "You're talking about guys who are in their 70s. It's only a matter of time before they are gone. Once they're gone, boxing will change for the better.
"Let Don King and Bob Arum promote as long as they want," he continued. "They're putting on good fights, and they've been doing that for a long time. But I will say this: We're going to bring corporate America back to boxing and we're going to bring back network television. There is so much room for growth in boxing, it's unbelievable."
De La Hoya forgot to mention it was Arum who promoted all but two of De La Hoya's 41 fights and is a primary reason he's earned some $200 million in purses. Arum and King co-promoted his fight with Felix Trinidad in 1999, the highest grossing non-heavyweight fight.
Arum said he wasn't surprised to hear such talk from De La Hoya, with whom he has gone through two messy breakups.
"He's never been the brightest penny around," Arum said. "He's not a smart guy. If he was a bright guy, he wouldn't say anything like that. Don has done a lot of great things in boxing, and so have I. Probably the best thing I have done is make Oscar all the money that I made him. I can't get upset at what the kid says."
De La Hoya said he's in promoting for the long haul, unlike Sugar Ray Leonard, who folded his company last year after just a few years in operation. De La Hoya's company focused on signing top Hispanic talent when it was launched in 2001 but is adding non-Hispanics, including bringing in undisputed middleweight champ Bernard Hopkins as a partner.
"Golden Boy will be around forever," De La Hoya said. "I plan on doing this for as long as I can. This is a great passion I have."
While De La Hoya is busy promoting — including trumpeting a major Feb. 19 card headlined by Hopkins' 20th title defense vs. Howard Eastman at the Staples Center in Los Angeles — he said he planned to keep fighting. "Retirement is not in the near future," De La Hoya said.
De La Hoya plans to move down from middleweight, where Hopkins KO'd him last fall, to welterweight, where he scored many of his biggest wins. "Physically and mentally, I feel good. I'm looking forward to dominating again," De La Hoya said, mentioning undisputed welterweight champ Cory Spinks and junior welterweight champ Kostya Tszyu as fights that intrigue him.
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I bet Don King hires a hitman to kill this poor bastard lol
As a fighter, superstar Oscar De La Hoya has always shown respect for his opponents. But as a promoter, he's been a quick study in trash talk. Oscar De La Hoya says boxing will 'change for the better' once Bob Arum and Don King are out of the promotions business.
Meeting for lunch with a small group of reporters in Atlantic City before watching his fighter James Leija get knocked out by Arturo Gatti on Saturday night, De La Hoya reiterated what he's said for the last few years: that his growing company, Golden Boy Promotions, would revolutionize boxing.
But De La Hoya, who turns 32 Friday, also used the occasion to rip warhorse promoters Bob Arum and Don King, who have ruled the roost for the last 35 years.
"I'm not afraid to say it: Once the two promoters are gone, that is going to change the way people think about boxing — the networks, the sponsors," De La Hoya said. "You're talking about guys who are in their 70s. It's only a matter of time before they are gone. Once they're gone, boxing will change for the better.
"Let Don King and Bob Arum promote as long as they want," he continued. "They're putting on good fights, and they've been doing that for a long time. But I will say this: We're going to bring corporate America back to boxing and we're going to bring back network television. There is so much room for growth in boxing, it's unbelievable."
De La Hoya forgot to mention it was Arum who promoted all but two of De La Hoya's 41 fights and is a primary reason he's earned some $200 million in purses. Arum and King co-promoted his fight with Felix Trinidad in 1999, the highest grossing non-heavyweight fight.
Arum said he wasn't surprised to hear such talk from De La Hoya, with whom he has gone through two messy breakups.
"He's never been the brightest penny around," Arum said. "He's not a smart guy. If he was a bright guy, he wouldn't say anything like that. Don has done a lot of great things in boxing, and so have I. Probably the best thing I have done is make Oscar all the money that I made him. I can't get upset at what the kid says."
De La Hoya said he's in promoting for the long haul, unlike Sugar Ray Leonard, who folded his company last year after just a few years in operation. De La Hoya's company focused on signing top Hispanic talent when it was launched in 2001 but is adding non-Hispanics, including bringing in undisputed middleweight champ Bernard Hopkins as a partner.
"Golden Boy will be around forever," De La Hoya said. "I plan on doing this for as long as I can. This is a great passion I have."
While De La Hoya is busy promoting — including trumpeting a major Feb. 19 card headlined by Hopkins' 20th title defense vs. Howard Eastman at the Staples Center in Los Angeles — he said he planned to keep fighting. "Retirement is not in the near future," De La Hoya said.
De La Hoya plans to move down from middleweight, where Hopkins KO'd him last fall, to welterweight, where he scored many of his biggest wins. "Physically and mentally, I feel good. I'm looking forward to dominating again," De La Hoya said, mentioning undisputed welterweight champ Cory Spinks and junior welterweight champ Kostya Tszyu as fights that intrigue him.
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I bet Don King hires a hitman to kill this poor bastard lol