Oscar De La Hoya Wrote a Savage Takedown of Floyd Mayweather

The Golden Boy trades left hooks for snarky jabs.

Back in 2007, Oscar De La Hoya went 12 rounds with Floyd Mayweather and walked out of the ring a loser by split decision. Eight years later, with both fighters retired, the former Golden Boy is ready for a rematch. But not in the ring. 

De La Hoya wants to fight with words this time, and he threw his first punches in the December issue of Playboy. “I’m writing to you today to wish you a fond farewell,” he writes to Mayweather. “Why? Because the fight game will be a better one without you in it.”

“Boring” is how De La Hoya describes Mayweather, and it’s hard to dispute that. Mayweather’s cerebral, defensive style wins fights, but it doesn’t make for much excitement in the ring. De La Hoya calls Mayweather “afraid” too. “Afraid of taking chances. Afraid of risk,” he writes. Essentially, De La Hoya says he was afraid of losing. 

And it’s Mayweather’s undefeated record that best proves this, De La Hoya writes. “You took the easy way out. When you weren’t dancing around fading stars (show idea for you: Dancing Around the Fading Stars), you were beating up on outclassed opponents.” De La Hoya, on the other hand, lost six times because, he says, he was willing to fight the best.

De La Hoya concludes his screed by suggesting Mayweather make use of his skills and “open a used-car dealership or run a circus.”

All told, it’s a pretty acerbic rant aimed at a guy who has no shortage of faults. But De La Hoya doesn’t  go after Mayweather’s moral failings, he just calls him a boring loudmouth. Still, it’s good to see the Golden Boy swinging again, even if it’s just on the page.

Now we eagerly await Mayweather’s reply in this newly minted war of words. He’s even welcome to write it here at Maxim.

Photos by Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times / Getty Images