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De La Hoya Isn't Sure Dec. 6 Fight With Pacquiao Will Be His Finale

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The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 29, 2008

Oscar De La Hoya finally has an opponent for his farewell fight - only the Golden Boy's tantalizing matchup with Manny Pacquiao might not be his final bout after all.
De La Hoya and Pacquiao have confirmed their plan to meet Dec. 6 in Las Vegas, matching the most popular star in boxing with arguably the sport's best pound-for-pound fighter.

After Pacquiao, the dynamic Filipino lightweight, agreed to move up 12 pounds to welterweight, De La Hoya inked a deal for what's certain to be boxing's most lucrative bout since his split-decision loss last year to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the richest fight in boxing history.

Yet De La Hoya (39-5, 30 KOs) changed the fight's stakes Thursday when he acknowledged he wasn't sure he'll retire afterward. De La Hoya repeatedly had said he would quit boxing after this year, but his inability to land a rematch with Mayweather in September might have altered his plans.

"Let's just say my foot's got caught in the door," De La Hoya said. "My focus is my training. My focus is my next fight. I'm not going to talk about retirement. I'm not going to think about retirement. I want to be 100 percent focused on the job I've got to take care of, and we'll see after the fight how I feel."
De La Hoya will take on Pacquiao (47-3-2, 35 KOs) at the MGM Grand Garden, which has hosted each of his past six fights except his victory over Steve Forbes last May in Carson, Calif.

Given De La Hoya's worldwide popularity and Pacquiao's fanatical following in his native Philippines, the fight seems likely to challenge the HBO pay-per-view records set by De La Hoya's fight with Mayweather.

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