Oscar's Next Fight Set

It's done. The fight has finally been announced. Following months of speculation regarding Oscar De La Hoya's and Floyd Mayweather's next opponents, an event has finally become official. On May 3rd, in Los Angeles, boxing's biggest draw will step into the ring with boxing's best fighter, as well as boxing's most intriguing fighter, and one of Europe's most recognizable faces. Huh? That's right, in an unprecedented event that will put four championship belts up for grabs, Floyd Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and Miguel Cotto will arrive at Dodger Stadium to take part in Boxing's first Royal Rumble. Four fighters. One Champion. As Mills Lane would say, "Let's get it on!" "Done deal, baby! Done deal," an excited De La Hoya said. "I wanted it. How could I not be excited? I took this fight because, like always, I always want to take on the best, and these guys are considered the best in the world." De La Hoya is the founder of Golden Boy Promotions which will be responsible for staging the event, "My thinking wasn't financial. It had to do with it being the biggest event out there and wanting to fight the best and be the best." Said Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather's best friend, adviser and assistant trainer, "They are the four biggest names in the sport and them coming together is going to be one of the biggest events in the history of the sport. It gets no bigger than this. We're very happy that we were able to come to an agreement. We really want to thank Oscar, Miguel, and Ricky for giving us the opportunity. This is what the fans wanted and this is what they are going to get." The site, according to Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, will be Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, where De La Hoya has always dreamed of fighting. The annoucement came following months of speculation about who De La Hoya would face on May 3rd. Boxing insiders figured that Cotto, Mayweather, and Hatton were the leading candidates, but no one believed that all three fighters would be invited into the ring with Oscar at the same time. Schaefer had been negotiating the fight for some time in separate meetings with representatives of Cotto, Mayweather, and Hatton. But talks of a single fight featuring all of the four fighters heated up in the immediate aftermath of Mayweather's knockout victory against Ricky Hatton to retain his welterweight title on Dec. 8. Schaefer said, "Until December 8, we weren't sure we would need to stage this event. If Ricky had won that fight, the Oscar-Hatton fight would be huge. But, Mayweather won. So, now we need this event right now to capitalize on the growing interest in boxing." Other than there being no neutral corners, no additional accomadations will be made to the ring to adjust for four fighters. The ring will be standard size, there will be one referee, and three judges. The scoring will be done on a 10-9-8-7 system. Fighters will still lose points for being knocked down or committing fouls. 'It's done," Schaefer said. "History has been made today. It will be one of the biggest fights in history. Our goal is to break all records."