by David P. Greisman

The straw that stirs the drink is in a glass that’s half empty.

Oscar De La Hoya has long epitomized his Golden Boy nickname, be it from the Olympic medal he won in Barcelona in 1992, his marketable looks or his ability to drive the box office in person and on pay-per-view. He is the superstar who packed upwards of 50,000 people into the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, for a 1998 mismatch with Patrick Charpentier. He is the superstar who, nearly a decade later, drew 2.4 million pay-per-view buys for a clash with Floyd Mayweather.

But for how much longer?

De La Hoya went corporate years ago, directing much of his attention toward Golden Boy Promotions and a stable that mixed aging superstars with prospects aspiring for a portion of their predecessors’ prosperity. He fought twice in 2004, and then took all of 2005 off before returning with one appearance each in 2006 and 2007. Those respective recent bouts, a stoppage of Ricardo Mayorga and a split decision loss to Mayweather, came on the first Saturday of May, the weekends corresponding with the Cinco de Mayo holiday. That same date has again been set aside for De La Hoya despite the current lack of an announced opponent.

The world awaits. Again.

This world, however, is a tad smaller than the one optimistically referenced in the marketing for last year’s Mayweather match. De La Hoya has won three and lost the same since 2003, the defeats coming against Bernard Hopkins, Mayweather and Shane Mosley. He is, at 34, a part-time fighter and a full-time father, the patriarch of fledgling businesses and a dad to two young kids with his wife, Millie, including his aptly named newborn daughter, Nina. But De La Hoya can still pick and choose when he fights, where he fights and whom he fights. And that one person will have struck it rich before the first blows are struck.

The potential opponents range in size from the 130-pounders at junior lightweight to the welterweights who tip the scales at 147. They hail from the Philippines and Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom and the United States. Some are but the subjects of speculation or unfounded rumors. Others might have a good chance of finding themselves in the ring with De La Hoya.

First, the long shot with no shot.

Zab Judah had been mentioned as a feasible foe, a former welterweight champion whose speed and talent are inversely proportional to his consistency and chin. If De La Hoya were to drop down to 147, Judah would have both the flash and the fan base to pique viewers’ interest.

It’s not going to happen.

Judah suffered a hand injury in a November decision win and is currently on the proverbial shelf. And there are bigger fish to fry than an opponent whose last big win came in 2005 against Cory Spinks.

What about the big name in a little package?

Manny Pacquiao was mentioned as a reasonable rival after the Filipino Firebomber entered the ring at 142 pounds for his October rematch, contested at a weight limit of 130 pounds, with Marco Antonio Barrera. Never mind that Pacquiao began his career in 1995 as a 106-pound junior flyweight, seven divisions below then-lightweight beltholder De La Hoya.

Pacquiao has done in the Philippines far more than De La Hoya has achieved in America, becoming a national hero, a political candidate, a star for who everything and everyone stopped – including criminals – when he stepped between those ropes. Pacquiao hasn’t matched De La Hoya in the United States, but he has become enough of a commodity that two promoters, De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and Bob Arum’s Top Rank, staged a legal battle for the right to have him under contract. The two parties eventually reached an agreement, allowing Pacquiao to fight any of the top 130-pounders in Golden Boy’s stable, if not the head honcho himself.

But Pacquiao is set for his long-awaited second go-around with Juan Manuel Marquez, scheduled for a March date that would leave far too narrow a window between then and De La Hoya’s fight in May.

“Manny has to beat Marquez, and then probably [he’ll have] another fight with David Diaz,” Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, said in a recent interview with BoxingScene writer Jake Donovan. “And then if Oscar, for his farewell fight, wants to take on Manny, that would be a huge, huge fight.”

Arum, suffice it to say, has another candidate in mind for De La Hoya. More on that later.

The biggest pay-per-view ever was this past year’s De La Hoya-Mayweather. The second biggest of 2007? Mayweather’s welterweight championship defense against junior welterweight king Ricky Hatton. In the build-up to that bout, Hatton’s name was brought up in conversations concerning De La Hoya’s upcoming outing. As if, with Mayweather, Hatton didn’t have enough to be concerned about.

De La Hoya seemed to be leaning toward the Mancunian Mauler. Perhaps he was hoping a Hatton upset would lead to a clash in which the Golden Boy could clear his own loss to Mayweather, albeit indirectly. Such a scenario would be much akin to the fashion in which Marco Antonio Barrera once openly rooted for Erik Morales to defeat Manny Pacquaio, as Barrera had twice outpointed Morales but had lost to Pacquiao in a one-sided beating.

De La Hoya showed up at Hatton’s training camp, recommending sparring partners that would help him prepare for Mayweather. And then De La Hoya predicted a Hatton win.

That, of course, didn’t come true. But that doesn’t mean Hatton is out of the running.

“The reason why it works with Hatton is because of his style,” De La Hoya told the Agence France-Presse news outlet following Mayweather’s knockout win over Hatton. “It would be a ‘Clash of the Titans.’ ”

Although Hatton seems destined for a return to his more natural weight class of 140 pounds, there is little more persuasive than an eight-digit paycheck.

For that same reason, few would be surprised to see Mayweather once again cancel his retirement plans in order to further his new “Money” moniker. Mayweather had long been an elite fighter with extraordinary skills, but it wasn’t until he shared a bill with De La Hoya that he finally entered the stratosphere. Mayweather hit the talk-show circuit, was a contestant on a reality dancing competition and received the recognition that had long eluded him.

Mayweather has said he is taking time off to focus on his children and his business ventures. But watching his willingness to show off his stacks of cash and bounteous bling, it’s easy to see him forgoing his principles in favor of principal. And it would be easy money compared to that earned against the one man most would like Mayweather to face, the one man most likely to be waiting this May in the corner opposite De La Hoya.

Miguel Cotto, in lieu of Mayweather, is the man to beat at welterweight. Since arriving at 147 a year ago, Cotto has taken out Carlos Quintana, Oktay Urkal and Zab Judah, and taken a decision over Shane Mosley. Though he has yet to reach the heights of his Puerto Rican predecessor Felix Trinidad, there is ample opportunity for him to ascend from superstar to sensation.

De La Hoya was undefeated until he met Trinidad in 1999, a disputed majority decision defeat that came in a manner that could gnaw on a man’s pride long after he had hung up his gloves. Beating Cotto won’t remove that blemish, but it would provide a satisfactory conclusion to his career.

“I saw a lot of vulnerability in Cotto … a lot of things that I can take advantage of,” De La Hoya told New York paper Newsday following Cotto’s bout with Mosley. “I saw a whole bunch of things I would have done differently than Shane.”

In the past, however, De La Hoya has referred to his wife, Millie, while declining a potential bout with Cotto, saying she has asked him not to fight anyone else from her native Puerto Rico. Cotto’s promoter, the aforementioned Arum, joked that he would have Cotto apply for Israeli citizenship.

Cotto, much like De La Hoya, has built a tradition of certain dates being set aside for him. For two straight years, Cotto has fought in Puerto Rico on the first Saturday in March. For three straight years, Cotto has starred at Madison Square Garden in June on the weekend of New York City’s National Puerto Rican Day Parade.

A bout with De La Hoya could change all plans.

“After the New Year, we will talk to HBO; the plan is for Miguel to fight in late March or early April and then fight again in June or July,” Arum said in a recent interview with BoxingScene editor-in-chief Rick Reeno. “The date in late March or early April would be a doubleheader with Antonio Margarito. Provided they win, Cotto would fight Margarito in June or July.

“Nothing is set until we hear from Oscar after the New Year,” Arum said. “I have a good relationship with Golden Boy Promotions. I spoke with [Golden Boy executive Richard Schaefer] and told him that we can’t wait forever. I’ll speak with Richard again after the New Year. It’s up to Oscar. Maybe he won’t fight [in May]. Maybe he’ll pick someone else. Everything should be sorted out after the New Year.”

The world awaits. Again.

The 10 Count will return next week.

David P. Greisman’s weekly column, “Fighting Words,” appears every Monday on BoxingScene.com. He may be reached for questions and comments at fightingwords1@gmail.com