Now that Floyd has backed out and Hatton declined what last two fights will Oscar take to complete his career?

Question

Now that Floyd has backed out and Hatton declined what last two fights will Oscar take to complete his career?

Answer 1

There was some talk of Oscar taking on the winner of Cotto/Margarito, but I don't know how serious Oscar's side was.  It would make for a spectacular exit from boxing for Oscar.  Somehow I don't think it will ever materialize, but if it did, it would be a classic way to end a career.

Answer 2

oscar shouldve retired years ago,he is way past his prime..winky wright & pacman are calling him out,the winner of cotto margarito will murder oscar..he should have a trilogy with shane mosley!

Answer 3

I think he should fight a young Champion like Paul Williams.

Answer 4

That is the million dollar question......who is Oscar going to choose for the last fight of his career??    Judging from his wanting to fight Hatton, Mayweather and rumors of a possible Pacman matchup i'd say it'd be someone that is natually smaller than him.........but that's just going on the fights that he wanted or have been rumored to want.  But it looks like what he wants is not going to happen because Hatton would be a better fight weight wise for Pacman........Mayweather retired and i don't think he'll come back unless Cotto beats Margo and then goes on to be clearly the best in the division and talked about as a possible all time great.    The common denominator between a fight between DLH and Hatton/Mayweather or Pacquiao is that they are the most popular fighters in all of boxing.......they are probably #'s 1-4 in terms of how many fans they have.    I would think that the next in line in popularity and thus bankability/marketability would be Cotto...........So my guess would be Cotto if he wins against Margo.......if Cotto get's beat then i think he might try to avenge a loss against a former conquerer like Mosley.........

It makes me more confident that Cotto is who he wants because he moved the date of his next fight to December instead of the originally scheduled month of September which would've been too little time for Cotto to take a break and then train for the fight.......I understand that he's only fighting one more fight instead of two but that doesn't mean that he had to change the date of his next fight..........he could've easily just kept the Sept date and found another opponent, but instead he chose to move it back to the end of the year which would allow Cotto to have a month or so of recovery before he had to go back into training and it would also give Oscar enough time to train harder than he has in a while for the toughest/most grueling fight he's fought since at least his fight with Hopkins.

Just a guess of course........but it seems to make sense......at least to me.

Answer 5

hoya has stated he only wants one more fight now and then he will retire, i believe the opponant will be the winner of cotto - margarito

Answer 6

Hmmm....This is a very tough question, because Oscar wants winnable fights, and there are some things that make a few of the proposed fights unlikely.

vs. Cotto: His wife is Puerto Rican, and she has asked him on more than one occasion not to fight Cotto because of this. Maybe she will go along with it eventually, but thats unlikely. And I dont think Oscar will ignore his wife's request.  Also, this is most likely a loss for De La Hoya, and he doesnt want to go out that way.

vs. Margarito: If Margarito gets past Cotto, which is possible, but very doubtful, this would be a lucrative match. However, at this stage of his career, this is not the type of fight Osacr wants; like Cotto, this is more than likely a fight he wont win.

vs. Paul Williams: This fight only makes sense if Oscar waits until after Williams fights the Cotto/Margarito winner. I say that because Williams has trouble making the 147 lb limit, but i think he will want to unify the titles before he moves up to 154.  Once he can accomplish that, then the payday would be even bigger.  However, if Williams decides to leave the 147 lb division instead of waiting for the winner, I think Oscar will have to consider him.  If they fought, it would be interesting to see which Williams shows up for the fight - the one who let Carlos Quintana kick his butt all over the ring, or the one who outfought Margarito and destroyed Quintana the second time around.  If the first one shows up, Oscar goes out on top by beating an up-and-coming world class fighter. If the real Williams shows up, Oscar goes out a loser, but still with is head held high, after losing to a potentially great fighter.  Either way, its a fight Oscar has to think about.

vs. Sergio Mora: This is DEFINITELY a fight Oscar should take. First and foremost, its a fight that Oscar can, and probably will, win. Mora is a good fighter, don't get me wrong.  But he beat a shot Vernon Forrest, not the Forrest who beat Shane Mosely twice.  That being said, he's still the division champ.  And what better way for Oscar to go out but on top? Second, the draw from this fight will be very big. Mora is a champion from the first season "contender" series, and while that may not say much, those guys are marketing geniuses.  With Oscar's drawing power, and those guys at work, the gate and pay per view would be off the charts to watch Oscar fight a tough, gritty fighter, who in reality is not very good and ready-made for him to beat.

vs. Tim Bradley: this fight only makes sense in that Oscar likes to fight smaller guys, and Bradley brings a legitimate world title to the table.  He went after Hatton at 140, who is currently tied up with the number 2 guy at 140, paulie malignaggi. So, the natural choice would be to take the number 3 guy, who is Bradley.  Also, Bradley is coming off of the biggest win of his career, his win over Junior Witter.  His confidence is at an all time high, and he will have never seen the dollars Oscar will throw at him, no matter how skewed the terms are in Oscar's favor.  Bradley will jump at this fight, and believe he has a legit chance to win, so he will be ready and compete at his highest level.  Were Oscar to beat him, again, it would lend credence to those saying Oscar is still a credible fighter, able to beat top competition.

So, in order, Oscar should look at Sergio Mora, Tim Bradley, and Paul Williams.

P.S. Let me clarify this - I don't like Oscar De La Hoya, I never have. He lost to every big name he fought with the exception of Ike Quartey (Shane Mosley twice, B-Hop, Floyd Mayweather, Felix Trinidad....okay, I will say this, that should have been a draw. De La Hoya did run around the second half of the fight, but Tito did nothing to take Oscar's title, and like I said on another answer, he in no way shape or form beat Pernell Whitaker, that fight wasn't even close). But, I respect him as fighter because he did clean out each division he competed in, took on all comers, never ducked anybody, and never backed down from anyone.  You can't help but respect a fighter who does that.

Answer 7

He'll have to take a fight before either Cotto or Margarito, if he goes in against either one rusty he'll be in real trouble.

The best case scenario is Trinidad, he's said he wants to avenge that loss before he retires - but weight will be a big issue with that one.  Hopefully it won't be another "tune up", but I don't see Oscar allowing himself to be a stepping stone for a Paul Williams, Andre Berto, or another young strong champ - its not worth it to him.

I honestly don't believe he'll even fight Margarito, I think Hatton's people are now holding out because they know he is by far the best opponent out there for Oscar before the potential MEGA fight against Cotto.  

So, while convoluted, I'm betting it will be Hatton in August or Sept., after praying Cotto takes care of Margarito.  Then Cotto early next spring to close the show.  If Cotto loses, still Hatton and work like crazy to get Tito to get down to 154 and end it all with him.