Oscar De La Hoya has taunted Floyd Mayweather in a farewell letter that describes the unbeaten fighter as “boring” and “afraid”.
The letter from De La Hoya, who was beaten by Mayweather when they fought at super welterweight in 2007, will appear in the December issue of Playboy magazine and takes aim at the unbeaten fighter after he announced his retirement earlier this year.
“Dear Floyd,” the letter begins. “You did it. You made it to the 49–0 mark, a milestone that you like to say only the great Rocky Marciano reached but that was actually achieved by others, including my idol Julio Cesar Chavez—but who’s counting? And now you’re retiring. Again.
“This time you say it’s for real. You’re serious about hanging up the gloves. On to bigger and better things. So I’m writing to you today to wish you a fond farewell. Truth be told, I’m not unhappy to see you retire. Neither are a lot of boxing fans. Scratch that. MOST boxing fans. Why? Because the fight game will be a better one without you in it.”
De La Hoya added: “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? An affair so one-sided that on one judge’s card Berto didn’t win a single round? Everyone in boxing knew Berto didn’t have a 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 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.”
De La Hoya, who was considering making a return to the ring earlier this year before deciding against it, goes on to accuse Mayweather of being “afraid of taking risks”, citing his failure to fight Manny Pacquiao until their meeting in Las Vegas in May.
“Another reason boxing is better off without you: You were afraid. Afraid of taking chances. Afraid of risk,” he wrote. “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 $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. The problem is, that’s precisely how you want it. You should have fought Pacquiao five years ago, not five months ago. That, however, would have been too dangerous. Too risky.” (The Guardian)