Oscar De La Hoya was openly critical of Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s decision to face off with Conor McGregor on Saturday, and the Golden Boy Promotions CEO offered his two cents after Mayweather earned a 10th-round TKO victory over McGregor in Las Vegas.
De La Hoya told reporters Monday he didn’t watch the fight and said Canelo Alvarez, who fights under the Golden Boy banner, would’ve knocked McGregor out inside of one round, per ESPN.com’s Arash Markazi:
During an interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani (h/t MMA Fighting’s Marc Raimondi), De La Hoya said he thought Mayweather had allowed McGregor to stay in the fight and win a few rounds early on.
“Because Mayweather let him. The first four of five rounds, he let him do that,” he said. “The punches are coming from different angles. It was a bit awkward to watch, actually.”
While many were impressed with McGregor’s ability to hold his own against one of the greatest boxers of his generation, it’s not as if Mayweather is in the prime of his career. He turned 40 in February and hadn’t fought in nearly two years when he stepped in the ring Saturday.
Yahoo Sports’ Chris Mannix thought McGregor would have a much harder time against younger fighters:
Regardless of De La Hoya’s opinion, Mayweather and McGregor will both be laughing all the way to the bank when they receive their full share of the revenues from the fight.
ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael reported Mayweather and McGregor are guaranteed to earn at least $100 million and $30 million, respectively. Mayweather’s purse could climb to higher than $200 million, while McGregor could make upwards of nine figures when all is said and done.
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