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Oscar De La Hoya attacks Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor fight
Oscar De La Hoya was one of the biggest critics of Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor from the moment it was announced. And now days after the fight took place, the former world champion and Olympic gold medallist is still heavily attacking the event.
"I thought it was a fraud," De La Hoya said. "Only Mayweather knows why it lasted 10 rounds."
Five-division champion Mayweather won the fight by a TKO in the 10th round to improve to a perfect 50-0 in his career in a one-sided bout that played out the way many had expected.
Gennady Golovkin, meanwhile, said this week that he did not watch Mayweather-McGregor and that defending his world middleweight titles against De La Hoya-promoted 'Canelo' Alvarez on his Las Vegas debut on September 16 could be his most difficult contest yet.
"It is the biggest fight of my career," said Golovkin. "Canelo is the biggest champion and the biggest name out there. I didn't watch it (Mayweather-McGregor). I am too busy," he said.
Golovkin's advice to McGregor, who was making his professional boxing debut, would be to return to mixed martial arts in the UFC where he is still the lightweight champion and yet to defend his title. "McGregor in boxing, no. He's not a boxer. He is a UFC fighter."
Three-belt champion Golovkin and Alvarez will fight to decide the middleweight king at the T-Mobile Arena in Sin City in eighteen days' time. The fight has been discussed as a major event in boxing for over two years, bringing a match-up of great styles. It is seen as the boxing match of the year.
Thirty-five-year-old Golovkin told a news conference at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles that a victory over 'Canelo' is needed if he wants to establish a legacy in boxing."I need this fight to get back to boxing. I have been working hard in training every day," said Golovkin, who has fought in seven different countries and 22 cities but never in Las Vegas. The Kazakh remains undefeated with a 37-0 record while Alvarez has only lost once in 51 fights (49-1-1).
Promoter Tom Loeffler said WBC, IBF and IBO champion Golovkin is highly motivated for this fight, a 20,000 sell-out. The Mayweather-McGregor fight had 14,600 spectators, with little interest from the Mexico audience, according to several Mexican journalists speaking to Telegraph Sport.
"Gennady has the sparkle in his eye again," said Loeffler. "He's very motivated."
Golovkin's promoter Loeffler believes Mayweather's victory should not be part of his 50-fight legacy. "There should be two asterisks. When you talk about breaking records you can't count that as a 50th fight. Just like when Muhammad Ali fought Inoki. It was a spectacle."
Alvarez, meanwhile, is also of the mindset that this is the biggest fight of his career outside his contest with Mayweather, which the 27-year-old lost in September 2013 by majority decision. "It is right there with Mayweather and possibly bigger. That fight taught me a lot. But this fight will bring out the best in me. Golovkin is the most dangerous fighter at this moment. We want to show him that on this side, there is a lot more to give, too."