UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey stated this week that her future athletic goals extend beyond the octagon, including a potential foray into boxing. If that happens, former world champion Oscar De La Hoya wants to serve as her promoter.
Rousey won a bronze medal in Judo at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and has become one of the most dominant athletes in sports since transitioning to MMA. She’s got a 12-0 record with all but one of those victories coming in the first round.
Eventually, she may look to broaden her horizons again, as noted by Damon Martin of Fox Sports.
“What I would love to do: I got an Olympic medal, I would want to retire from MMA as one of the greatest of all time, I would love to have the chance to be the boxing world champion, and I would love to have the chance to be a jiu-jitsu world champion,” Rousey said. “I’d love to have the chance to be the Divas world champion and just be the best of everything at one point.”
She admitted time may be an issue in terms of trying to accomplish all of those goals while still at or near her athletic peak. As the Fox Sports report notes, she’s also became involved in Hollywood with more projects—including one with Mark Wahlberg—on tap.
That said, if there comes a time where she seriously wants to pursue her dream of becoming a boxing world champion, De La Hoya is ready to help. Mike Dyce of Fansided passed along comments the creator of Golden Boy Promotions made on Fight Hub TV.
“We’ve discussed it, and whenever she is ready to step into the ring as a boxer, then obviously Golden Boy Promotions will be right there with her,” De La Hoya said.
Surely there would be other promotions eager to sign Rousey. She’s developed into a marquee draw for UFC and the mainstream appeal would undoubtedly carry over to the boxing ring.
De La Hoya is clearly trying to get a jump on the recruitment process. It would be a good match on the surface. He’s also an Olympic medalist—earning gold in boxing at the 1992 Games—and has a long career in the sport to help Rousey with the switch.
At the very least, it’s intriguing to think about Rousey as a boxer. While there’s no doubting her athletic ability and tremendous power, boxing is more of a technical sport compared to the UFC brawls she’s accustomed to winning in mere seconds with a knockout or submission.
There’s no timetable on a potential switch—she’s slated to defend her UFC title against Holly Holm on Nov. 15—but De La Hoya and the boxing world are keeping tabs on the situation.
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