Oscar De La Hoya joined WQAM in Miami with Dan Sileo to talk about what he is doing as a promoter to help fighters, what he thinks of Floyd Mayweather Jr, on the idea that Mayweather is more talk than substance in the ring and the confidence that Miguel Cotto has coming off his most recent win over Antonio Margarito.

What he is doing as a promoter to help the fighter:

“You empower the fighter and without the fighter you have nothing. Without any athlete, in any sport, you have nothing. We try to make sure that the fighter is aware from what he’s making, we try to tell them look ‘get yourself good lawyers and good people around you because this career is not going to last forever so you might as well take advantage and do it right because I did it worng for a while.’ When I first started boxing, my first year, I learned everything and I had these managers that ripped me off because I was aware of nothing. I was in the dark for one year and after that year, got myself lawyers and the best people around me. I just opened up my eyes and I just want to help these kids out and make sure they’re well off when they’re fighting and when they retire.”

Where Floyd Mayweather ranks amongst the fighters he has faced:

“Well he definitely has got to be one of the best, top three that I’ve faced. Fighting Pernell Whitaker, fighting (Felix) Trinidad, fighting Julio Cesar Chavez and those guys are great fighters and Mayweather has got to be up there absolutely. He’s undefeated and he’s proven over and over that he is one of the best, if not the best of this era. I respect him, I respect his abilities and I respect the respect that he has for this sport. He’s doing well for himself and I’m proud to be promoting this event alongside with him. He understands the game, he understands about hard work, dedication and discipline so it’s going to be quite interesting to see what happens on Saturday and beyond. Will he ever face Pacquiao? Will he go up against the very best? It’s going to be very interesting.”

On the idea that Mayweather is not like because of how he talks and the things that he says:

“It’s all show, it’s all show. Look Mayweather is an entertainer. That’s what he is. He’s a fighter obviously but he’s an entertainer and he understands how to promote the game. You watch 24/7 on HBO and you see him talk, say all these absurd things about his opponents and it’s all show. He’s really a nice guy. The times that I have dealt with him, he comes across very nice. I think a lot of people have this idea that he’s just the worst guy ever because of TV and the media but he’s a nice guy and I have to take my hat off to him. I will tell you one thing, a lot of people want to see him lose because he’s the best. That makes him a great fighter so I think this Saturday night Miguel Cotto has a great shot. It’s going to be a great fight, I think it’s a 50/50 fight, Mayweather is going to be in great shape, Cotto is in great shape, especially after he got revenge against Antonio Margarito in their second fight so he’s full of confidence. I see this fight being a war.”

On the confidence Cotto has coming off his latest win over Antonio Margarito:

“My hat off to Miguel Cotto for taking that rematch, for accepting that rematch, for having the courage to fight Margarito once again because I will tell you any fighter out there wouldn’t do what Miguel Cotto did against Margarito because when you take a beating like that especially when Margarito maybe had those loaded gloves on, you just don’t take that rematch and you don’t want anything to do with him ever again. The fact that he did want that rematch and beat Margarito in that fashion it just shows you the character and he’s gotten back what was taken away from him. That confidence level is sky high now and it’s perfect timing. Going into this fight Saturday night he’s going to be full of confidence believing in his abilities that I can do it again. It’s going to be quite interesting. I think the first six or seven rounds Miguel Cotto has a tremendous shot at doing something that nobody has ever done. Can he stick to him game plan? Can he stay focused for the whole 12 rounds if it goes 12 rounds? We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Listen to Oscar De La Hoya on WQAM in Miami here

De La Hoya joined ESPN Radio Los Angeles to talk about coming clean about his alcohol and drug related addictions, why he chose to share those personal struggles with the world, how he believes his career would have been longer and more successful had he not been drinking, when he took his first drink, how he’d drink while training for important fights, the shocking photo of him in fishnets that surfaced of him on the web, and how he’s content with his work running Golden Boy Promotions to stay focused on beating his disease.

On the news he just broke about his personal battle with alcohol and drugs:

“It was actually big news to myself, big news to a lot of people all over the world — even non-sports fans. I came out with the truth, all the secrets and lies I was living with all these years with my alcohol addiction and recently with my drug addiction. And I wasn’t afraid to say it; I kind of had to say it. Therefore I feel much better, I feel relieved, I just feel pure, I feel honest, I feel I can just look into your eyes and talk to you and not feel any shame. I’ve been dealing with my problem — my alcoholism — for many, many years at a young age. I’m just glad I did it. I’m glad I did it because I can now live life.”

On what prompted him to go public with this news:

“Well the fact that it’s kind of like I had this 800 pound gorilla on my back, and I felt so good about myself after I did it. I checked myself into a program for two months, so it was just something I had to do because nobody talks about this, even people who have this problem. There’s millions and millions of people who live under a rock with this problem, and I just felt that I had to do it. I had to do it because enough is enough because this is affecting so many people; it’s like people are dying from this. You hear all these stories about celebrities with this and that and problems, and even normal people with just tons of problems — I just had to do it and I feel so much better.”

Does he think his career would have been even more successful had he not been drinking like he was for so many years:

“Oh, absolutely. First of all, my first drink was at eight years old and it’s a disease that’s haunted me forever, and it still haunts me and it’s going to continue to haunt me.”

Was he drinking during training camps leading up to important fights?

“Oh absolutely. The training kind of controls my cravings, but still I had to have that one glass of wine after training, or those two glasses of wine after a training camp or after a training day. Yeah, absolutely, it was a big problem. I’m glad it’s over. I do realize it probably shaved off four or five years from my boxing career.”

On the pictures of him in fishnets and how those came to be:

“Well let’s just put it this way — and I’ve talked about this already and people know — but let’s just put it this way: when you’re drunk, when you’re not thinking straight, when you’re doing drugs, you do stupid things. And obviously that’s what happened to me. And like I said, there’s no more lies, there’s no more secrets, I’m an open book now. People when they drink, people when they do drugs, they do stupid things. And obviously that’s what I did.”

If his work running Golden Boy promotions is enough to keep him distracted from his disease:

“Now that I’ve found help I have no void whatsoever to fulfill. Obviously I still have the drive, I still have the energy, and I still have those big goals that I want to accomplish. My first goal obviously is to grow the sport as much as I can, to help the sport as much as I can. But, yeah, now that I’ve gotten my health and I have to continue to fight — this is the toughest fight of my life — forget about Pacquiao, Mayweather, and Hopkins and all those guys. You can throw all those guys into one ring and they wouldn’t be even as tough as what this disease is; this is the toughest fight of my life. So as long as I continue doing what I’m doing and helping myself and thinking about myself first, I can really be the person that I am — or that I was — when I was 12, 13, 14 years old. So it’s just a matter of living one day at a time, so that’s what I’m going to continue doing.”

Listen here to De La Hoya with Max & Marcellus on ESPN Radio LA (interview begins at 10:00 mark)

Right now Floyd Mayweather is undefeated and many have considered him the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. Pacquiao on the other hand has gotten past every fighter that has stood in his way with relative ease recently and there are some people out there that consider Pacman the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. The only way to answer the burning question is to have the two fight each other. As a boxing fan, I want to see the best fights that the sport can offer. Pacquiao vs Mayweather would be just that.

However, here we are two years later and after a number of negotiations, this fight still hasn’t been finalized. Mayweather blames Pacquaio and Pacquaio blames Mayweather. However, when it comes to Money, he has been known to duck opponents in the past to keep his perfect record intact. It seems like that is what he is doing here as well. When it comes to Floyd Mayweather Jr, everything is calculated, everything is planned, and there’s no reason to think this strategy isn’t planned as well.

Oscar De Lay Hoya joined WQAM in Miami withrec Big O to talk about Floyd Mayweather Jr’s recent video comments about Manny Pacquaio, whether or not he thinks Mayweather may be ducking this fight, and whether or not it’s reasons like this that boxing has been surpassed by MMA to a lot of people.

On Mayweather’s comments about Pacquaio

“Obviously there is no room for any type of language of that sort. It’s uncalled for and it should never happen coming from anybody’s mouth. That’s the bottom line. I’ve known Floyd Mayweather Jr. for a long time and yes he is a very colorful guy and I think sometimes he can be  a bit naïve and not the smartest guy on the block, but I truly feel he doesn’t have a racist bone in his body. I truly feel that yeah, he’s a fighter that likes playing games and likes playing those mind games but when you even mention those types of words to another race or another culture, its uncalled for and it shouldn’t be happening. Maybe he did cross the line a little bit.”

On the idea that Floyd Mayweather is ducking Manny Pacquiao:

“The conclusion that I’ve come to is that Mayweather, believe it or not can be smart when it comes to playing with your head, playing with your mind, and playing those mind games. They say you beat the fighter before you step in the ring. Mayweather did fight (Shane) Mosley and beat him with ease what was it two months ago and claims he’s on vacation, but one thing I ask myself is you have these precious years of your career where you’re at in your career and you’re at your peak, you should take advantage of them. Fight everybody. Fight whoever you have to fight. Like you mentioned, Sugar Ray fought everybody. I fought everybody. That’s what it’s all about. We’re fighters. That’s one thing I pride myself in the most is I never ducked anybody and I was willing to fight anybody. I was willing to step up against Ike Quartey who nobody knew, who was from Africa, had bricks in his hands, and was an undefeated young fighter. Those are fights that people love and this is going to be no exception. When Pacquaio and Mayweather fight each other it’s the type of fight that makes the sport and we have to figure out a way to make this fight sooner than later.”

Listen to Oscar De La Hoya on WQAM in Miami here

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