By Joe Harrison
Last Thursday morning, as part of an 11-city tour, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather attended a press conference held at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, IL. As usual, “Pretty Boy” Floyd had plenty to say. Before the press conference began, the four-division champion was the first to arrive and speak to reporters.
“I don’t do quotes. The only quote you need to hear is this, ‘I’m the best, and quotes don’t mean nothin.’ Everything I’ve said, I walk it like I talk it. Whatever I’ve said, I went out there and done it. He (Oscar) had quotes for Bernard Hopkins, and he lost. He had quotes for Shane Mosley in two fights, and he lost. He had a quote for Trinidad, and he lost. I had quotes 37 times, and all my 37 times, all the quotes came to life.”
After speaking with reporters, Mayweather stormed through the press area yelling, “Let’s get it on right here. Let’s give Chicago what they want to see. I’m gonna bust him up!”
Eventually, the six-division world champion De La Hoya arrived and spoke to reporters as well.
“Every great champion in the history of boxing has lost. His (Floyd) day will come. On May 5th, we’re gonna be prepared to the fullest. That’s my mentality and I train as hard as I can to be prepared, and come May 5th, he will see my fists.”
The press conference was held in front of a large crowd of evenly divided fans. When Mayweather spoke, he continuously taunted De La Hoya, but Oscar just smiled and kept his cool.
“To me, it’s not a black thing, it’s not a white thing, it’s not a Hispanic thing, it’s a sport called boxing. I know what I can do. They say they got a game plan for me, but there were 37 game plans, and all 37 came up short.”
“The less you get hit, the longer you last in this sport. Believe me, you talk about me running, don’t worry, I don’t run too much. When he (Oscar) fought Trinidad, he did some hell of a running. We know who the runner is. Remember this, the history books say he took an ‘L’ to Trinidad. That’s where it counts at.”
“Then there’s Golden Girl Promotions, I’m sorry, Golden Boy Promotions. Who we got? We got Winky Wright, Shane Mosley, Oscar, Bernard; the four Golden Girls.”
“Anything I say, I can back up. Ya know, it’s more like, Fernando Vargas, he ain’t nothin’ but a front-runner. I do my homework on all these fighters. Shane Mosley beat you with his eyes closed. Bernard Hopkins hit you with a phantom punch and you went down. You can beat the canvas, but you can’t get up. I don’t get it.”
When it was De La Hoya’s turn to speak, he tried to show more class.
“You all know I’m not the talker before the fight, but on May 5th, my fists will do the talking. He will see them May 5th. I have to give him his dues; he’s done good for the sport of boxing. He’s won world titles. He beat Victoriano Sosa, he beat “El Nitro” Bruseles, he beat Arturo Gatti, and he beat Baldomir, but come May 5th it’s going to be a whole different fight. We’re gonna fight as hard as we can to make sure we win this fight.”
When De La Hoya (38-4, 30 knockouts) and Mayweather (37-0, 24 KOs) square off at the MGM Grand for De La Hoya's title, the fight is expected to set pay-per-view records and be shown in a record 176 countries. It also sold out in three hours. The bout will be featured live on HBO PPV in a fight entitled "The World Awaits."