Oscar De La Hoya Planning ‘Something Very Exciting’ For Golden Boy’s MMA Return
Oscar De La Hoya is not done venturing into the world of mixed martial arts. In fact, he’s planning something big for Golden Boy MMA’s return.
Golden Boy MMA’s first-ever show took place last year and was headlined by a grudge match between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. Despite the hype of the event, it was not much of a success in terms of pay-per-view buys.
It seemed like De La Hoya would stick to boxing afterwards but that’s not the case anymore. He even believes the first show was a success:
“I tried…actually I am getting into MMA and I am working on something very exciting and I am sure I am going to get a lot of heat from Dana White,” he said in a recent interview (via MMA Mania). “But this creates opportunity. You have Bellator and UFC, who want to monopolize the whole industry with Dana White being the cheerleader. But there is always room for another player.
“We did an MMA show that was successful. A lot of people loved it. It was two name fighters, over the hill, I believe, in Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. But it was just a great atmosphere and a great event. So I told myself, ‘We have something here.’ We know how to promote and we know the industry. So we are working on something big right now.”
White Is A Bully
As De La Hoya embarked on his first MMA event, his feud with UFC president Dana White escalated at the time. And it will likely continue if the Golden Boy founder returns to MMA:
“He’s (White) is what we call a bully,” De La Hoya added. “He is one of those guys that has to bully you to get his way. That’s the bottom line. Why do you think a lot of his fighters aren’t happy with their contracts or how they get treated?
“Look, I obviously admire what the Fertitta’s brothers have accomplished and what they did and where they took the company. Obviously it wasn’t Dana White. It’s the Fertitta brothers who have the brains who took this company to a whole new level and sold it off for $4 billion. Dana White was just the best friend of the brain child. But look, what he’s done is great and I respect him.“
De La Hoya claims to respect White but what if they competed against each other?
“I would be the shit out of him. Come on man, are you kidding me,” he added when asked of a boxing match between the two promoters. “Not in the Octagon, he’ll beat the crap out of me.”
What do you make of De La Hoya’s comments?
