A REMATCH BETWEEN Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr is not beyond the realms of possibility, with the former claiming he is a “50-50″ chance of returning to the ring.
De La Hoya has been retired since 2009 but a proposed comeback was flagged by unbeaten welterweight champion Mayweather last week.
Mayweather, who defeated Manny Pacquiao in a unanimous points decision in May, claimed a split-decision victory over De La Hoya in 2007.
But 42-year-old De La Hoya — a former 10-time world champion boasting a 39-6 win-loss record — may get the chance to exact revenge after telling ESPN.com on Monday: “It’s got to be worth my while but this is very serious.
“I have to make sure I am fighting the very best. I don’t have to come back for financial reasons or the lights or the glamour. The only reason I would come back is because I miss the competition of fighting the very best.
“I’m not preparing for an actual fight, but I run eight miles, I can hit the bag for 12 rounds, I can jump rope and do the speed bag. I do all that on a regular basis to stay in shape.
“I look great too. I’ve never seen myself look like this. Sometimes that little itch gets me in that certain spot, and when so many people tell me I can do it, it’s trying to convince me that you can.”
De La Hoya, who has battled alcohol addiction, added: “Right now I feel the best I have felt in my life physically, emotionally, mentally, because I haven’t touched alcohol for I don’t know how long. I’m training. I feel great. But it has to be worth my while.
“I’ve gotten everything taken care of, my rotator cuffs, my left hand, everything. I’m pain-free. I just feel good and when I walk the streets, everyone tells me, ‘You have to fight Floyd again’.
“Would I do it? I don’t know, but I wake up every morning thinking that I can. I think about Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler.
“If [Leonard] could do it, why can’t I? We both come from similar situations. We are both hungry for the competition, we’re both ambitious. So you never know. At the same time, I wish time flies by so I don’t have to come back.”
