Let's face it, boxing's better without Mayweather - De La Hoya
ASTANA. KAZINFORM - Oscar De La Hoya, retired boxer and now well-known boxing promoter, wrote an open letter to recently retired Floyd Mayweather Jr., which was published in the December issue of Playboy magazine, Vesti.kz reports.
"Dear Floyd, you did. You have that 49-0 record. This is a high bar reached by Rocky Marciano only, according to you. Frankly speaking, several fighters reached this highly set bar including my friend Julio Cesar Chavez. Ok, forget it.
You retired. Again. This time it is for real. So, that's why I'm writing it to you today to wish you all the best. Truth be told, I'm not unhappy to see you retire. Neither are a lot of boxing fans. Why? Because the fight game will be a better one without you in it.
Let's face it: You were boring. Just take a look at your most recent performance, your last hurrah in the ring, a 12-round decision against Andre Berto. How to describe it? A bust? A disaster? A snooze fest? Everybody knew that Berto did not have chance. I think more people watched Family Guy reruns that night than tuned in to that pay-per-view bout. But I didn't mind shelling out 75 dollars for the HD broadcast. In fact it's been a great investment. When my kids have trouble falling asleep, I don't have to read to them anymore. I just play them your Berto fight. They don't make it past round three.
Another reason boxing is better off without you: You were afraid. Afraid of taking chances. Afraid of risk. A perfect example is your greatest "triumph," the long-awaited record-breaking fight between you and Manny Pacquiao. Nearly 4.5 million buys! More than USD 400 million in revenue! Headlines worldwide! How can that be bad for boxing? Because you lied. You promised action and entertainment and a battle for the ages, and you delivered none of the above. You took the easy way out. You had to fight Pacquiao five years ago, not five months ago," the BoxingScene.com published an early copy of the open letter.