Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Oscar De La Hoya, sort of

Notebook www.espn.com by Dan Rafael Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Oscar De La Hoya, sort of Sugar Ray Leonard and Oscar De La Hoya never faced each other in the ring, but that doesn't mean that the boxing icons of their eras can't engage in a little friendly competition outside of it. Leonard, host and fighter mentor on "The Contender" reality series, will welcome De La Hoya to the series in this season's second episode (airs Sept. 11 on ESPN) for a little fun, some promotion and a friendly wager. De La Hoya once had his own reality boxing series, Fox's "The Next Great Champ," which was rushed to the airwaves to beat the arrival of the first season of "The Contender" and quickly tanked. Now, De La Hoya, head of Golden Boy Promotions, is working closely with "The Contender" brass to promote a Sept. 15 HBO PPV card in Las Vegas. On that card, junior lightweight champ Juan Manuel Marquez faces Rocky Juarez in the main event, but two of the undercard fights match "Contender" boxers against Golden Boy fighters -- middleweight and season one "Contender" winner Sergio Mora against former junior middleweight titlist Kassim Ouma and season two runner-up and junior welterweight Steve Forbes against one-time top prospect Francisco "Panchito" Bojado. De La Hoya, an admitted fan of "The Contender," and his fighters joined Leonard and his fighters to tape the episode in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago. It's no coincidence that it will air a few days before the pay-per-view card. During the appearance, De La Hoya, a longtime friend of Leonard's and his occasional golfing partner, speaks to the season three cast and offers some words of encouragement. "They were excited to meet him," Leonard said. "And we had Sergio and Forbes and Ouma and Bojado work out a few rounds with the third-season boxers. It was a lot of fun." Said De La Hoya, "I told the guys that it's a great opportunity they have to be on TV and to be exposed to the world, and to take advantage of it. Everybody wants to win, but you have to train hard and fight hard." And then there is the bet Leonard and De La Hoya make on the episode. It's pretty simple, yet amusing. If De La Hoya's fighters go 2-0 against "The Contender" guys on the Sept. 15 card, Leonard will replace the round card girl for selected rounds during the main event and vice versa if Leonard's fighters win. If it's a 1-1 split, both legends will share duties. "When my fighters win, Oscar will walk around as a ring girl," Leonard said. "It's all in fun." Said De La Hoya, laughing, "I have already ordered a pink skirt for Sugar Ray Leonard to wear around the ring." And if Leonard's fighters win? "I've been working out just in case," De La Hoya joked. Aside from an opportunity to promote the PPV card, Leonard and De La Hoya agreed that the two companies working together is good for boxing. "I just feel this collaboration, two major companies coming together, trying to build champions and superstars really adds a bit of class to the sport of boxing," Leonard said. De La Hoya is offered dozens of appearance opportunities each week, but is very selective. He said it was a no-brainer to appear on "The Contender." "When I decided to do the appearance with Sugar Ray Leonard, I thought to myself, 'This is the direction that boxing is going towards.' You have Sugar Ray Leonard with 'The Contender,' and myself with Golden Boy, and he's trying to do the right thing for boxing, and so am I. Getting together, it really shows not only the boxing world, but the people in general, that we can work together, the way we're working now with Top Rank, to make these great fights happen. It was part of the plan to promote the Marquez-Juarez event and since we have two Golden Boy fighters against 'Contender' fighters, it was a natural fit." There will be some training interaction between Leonard and De La Hoya, who showed off their considerable rope-skipping skills for the cameras. "It was kind of a little competition, there is always competition," Leonard said. "I don't care if I am 51 years old. I always feel I can drop you with a left hook." That, of course, leads to the inevitable question: What would have happened in a Leonard-De La Hoya welterweight showdown? "It would have been a huge fight with a capital 'H,' but Oscar knows I would have beaten him," Leonard said. "Obviously, I would have to disagree," De La Hoya said. Both admit it's nice to think about the mythical super fight. "We've talked about it," Leonard said. "What always comes across though is that there is that competitive spirit. It's all about bragging rights, whether it's in the gloves or golf. Trust me, he will attest to the same thing." Added De La Hoya, "I've always thought and imagined what a great fight it would have been between the two of us. That would have been a huge fight." LOL..... by the way if anyone cares: Alfonso Gomez vs Ben Tackie October 16th