Businessman and family man Oscar De La Hoya is keeping himself awfully busy these days, but not too busy to think about his next move as a fighter.
His promotional company, Golden Boy, is involved in several of the fall's most notable matches, namely Juan Manuel Marquez-Rocky Juarez (Sept. 15), Manny Pacquiao-Marco Antonio Barrera II (Oct. 6), Miguel Cotto-Shane Mosley (Nov. 10), Joan Guzman-Humberto Soto (Nov. 17) and Floyd Mayweather-Ricky Hatton (Dec. 8).
There was his recent taping of an appearance on the Sept. 11 episode of ESPN's "The Contender."
His wife, Millie, is pregnant with their second child together.
His business empire, in addition to his promotional company, is thriving.
He could also probably spend every minute of the rest of his life counting the millions he's earned, including an estimated $30 million-plus for his May 5 split-decision loss to Mayweather.
But De La Hoya (38-5, 30 KOs), who has won 10 world title belts in six divisions, has no immediate plans to stop fighting and is thinking about his ring return, targeted for May 3, 2008.
And when he does return, De La Hoya said that he will be back in the welterweight division he once dominated before moving up to junior middleweight and taking a two-fight stab at middleweight.
"Nothing is set in stone about who I'm going to fight," De La Hoya told ESPN.com in a recent interview. "Right now, I'm plotting these fights [that Golden Boy is promoting], keeping myself busy and spending time with my family. I won't decide who I am going to fight until I see how things unfold [in the fall], but I will be back at welterweight, that's for sure."
His last eight fights have come at either junior middleweight or middleweight and he hasn't fought at 147 pounds since stopping Arturo Gatti in the fifth round on March 24, 2001. So why go back?
"I can make the weight no problem, easy," De La Hoya said. "And I think because of the names in the division, the matchups."
The weight class is loaded with such stars as Mayweather, Mosley, Cotto, Hatton, Paul Williams, Kermit Cintron and Antonio Margarito.
Whoever gets the lottery ticket to face De La Hoya next, he said he doesn't want to have to chase his opponent around like he did with Mayweather. It was a fight in which De La Hoya was the aggressor as he stalked the pound-for-pound king and tried to use his size advantage to his benefit. Mayweather, however, was too elusive and did enough to avoid big punches while outboxing De La Hoya to win a close fight.
"I really do want to be involved in one of these fights where it goes down in history. I want to be involved in one of those fights like [Diego] Corrales-[Jose Luis] Castillo, a war," De La Hoya said.
So at age 34 (35 by the time he fights), he really wants to be in a fight where his pretty face gets messed up?
"I don't mind," he said. "I've been bruised up in previous fights. I really want that kind of fight before I'm done, especially at this stage of my career because I still can. We'll have to wait and see who's out there, but I want to prove it to myself and be in one of those legendary fights, I really do. I haven't been in those wars throughout my career. I feel great and I don't think one would hurt. What a way to go out."
One fighter, however, De La Hoya has no intention of fighting is Cotto, even if he defeats Mosley, De La Hoya's one-time ring rival and current partner in Golden Boy.
"I promised my wife I wouldn't fight any Puerto Ricans," he said, noting that he lives with Millie in her native Puerto Rico, where she is a pop music star. "So, I don't think so. The fight would be great. We would stand toe-to-toe. But I can't do it. It's not because I would be afraid of Cotto or not want to fight. I think it's out of respect for Millie. I've had these fights and she's been supportive even though she has wanted me to retire. It's my turn to give a little something back. She sincerely asked me not to fight Puerto Rican fighters. So I have to respect that."
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Ponce De Leon keeping busy
Junior featherweight titlist Daniel Ponce De Leon, the massive puncher from Mexico who wiped out Rey Bautista in the first round Aug. 11, is wasting little time returning to action. Because it was such a short bout and he is so anxious to fight, Golden Boy has booked Ponce De Leon to face Reynaldo Lopez (28-4-2, 19 KOs) in a nontitle match Sept. 28 (Telefutura) at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa near Palm Springs, Calif.
Assuming he wins, Ponce De Leon, 27, will make another title defense before the end of the year. Golden Boy vice president Eric Gomez told ESPN.com that they are weighing two options. One is for Ponce De Leon to appear on the HBO PPV undercard of the Dec. 8 Mayweather-Hatton fight. The other is to go to the Philippines in late November or early December for a rematch with Gerry Penalosa.
Ponce De Leon (32-1, 29 KOs) outpointed Penalosa in March in competitive fight, after which Penalosa dropped down to bantamweight and won a belt on the same Aug. 11 card as Ponce De Leon's last fight. Penalosa is willing to move back up in weight for a rematch, Gomez said.
Gomez said there is strong interest from Filipino TV network ABS-CBN in bankrolling a rematch.
"Ponce will go to the Philippines if the money is right, or he will stay here and fight on the Mayweather-Hatton card," Gomez said.
Fighting first on free network Telefutura will help Ponce De Leon's rising profile. "He's starting to get a strong following and fighting on free television will only help him out," Gomez said.
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Berto to face Estrada
Rising welterweight contender Andre Berto, the 2006 ESPN.com prospect of the year, has officially been added to the Sept. 29 HBO card headlined by middleweight champion Jermain Taylor's defense against No. 1 contender Kelly Pavlik at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall.
Berto (19-0, 16 KOs) will face David Estrada (21-3, 12 KOs), who represents another step up in competition for Berto, 23. Berto is coming off a July 27 decision win against ex-title challenger Cosme Rivera, who knocked him down for the first time in his career in the sixth round of the ESPN2 main event. Berto will be making his third appearance on HBO and is excited about it.
"It's going to be an action-packed, throwback night of boxing," Berto said. "I am honored to be the co-feature on the Taylor-Pavlik fight card. As always, I will train my hardest and put on the best possible performance for my fans."
Estrada, 28, has won three in a row since back-to-back losses to Shane Mosley and Kermit Cintron.
"I'm excited about being the co-feature on the Taylor versus Pavlik fight, but what I'm very excited about doing is beating Andre Berto and getting my rematch with Cintron," Estrada said.
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Although Humberto Soto (42-5-2, 26 KOs) is scheduled to challenge junior lightweight titlist Joan Guzman Nov. 17 on HBO, he's taking an interim fight Sept. 14 in his hometown of Los Mochis, Mexico, against the wishes of American co-promoter Top Rank and HBO. Soto, promoted by Nacho Huizar in Mexico, will face Ismael Gonzalez (18-13, 7 KOs) in a 10-round lightweight bout. It appears to be a relatively safe fight -- Gonzalez has lost seven of his last eight fights -- but there is always the possibility of a loss or an injury that could prevent the Guzman bout. Soto, however, last fought June 9, knocking out Bobby Pacquiao in the seventh round, and wants to stay sharp in preparation for Guzman.
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• Heavyweight titlist Wladimir Klitschko, widely regarded as the best of the four heavyweight belt holders, likes the idea of the IBF-ordered four-man box-off to determine his next mandatory challenger. The box-off includes Chris Byrd and Alexander Povetkin, who meet Oct. 27 in Germany, and Calvin Brock and Eddie Chambers, who meet on Showtime Nov. 2. The winners of the two bouts will square off in early 2008 for the right to meet Klitschko next summer. "This tournament to find the mandatory challenger for me is a good idea because it creates more interest in the division," said Klitschko, who will make an optional defense in early 2008. "I have fought Byrd and Brock and even though I beat them they are both strong fighters and tough opponents. Chambers and Povetkin are young and undefeated, but both still have to prove their strength against tougher guys."
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• Super middleweight Andre Ward (13-0, 8 KOs), the only U.S. boxing gold medalist at the 2004 Olympics, makes his Showtime debut on "ShoBox: The New Generation" Nov. 16 in St. Lucia, promoter Dan Goossen told ESPN.com. Although Ward, 23, is contractually tied to HBO, the network gave him an out to appear on Showtime's prospect-oriented series. Ward will face 20-year-old Roger Cantrell (12-0, 8 KOs), who has never boxed outside of Tacoma, Wash.
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• Knockout artist Edison Miranda's return is set for Oct. 30 at the Hard Rock resort in Hollywood, Fla., Seminole Warriors Boxing promoter Leon Margules told ESPN.com. Warriors is teaming with promoter Lou DiBella for a special edition of DiBella's monthly "Broadway Boxing" series in Florida. Miranda will make his debut at super middleweight against an opponent to be named. It will be his first fight since losing a shootout with Kelly Pavlik in an all-action slugfest May 19 in a middleweight title eliminator. DiBella plans to put prospect James McGirt Jr., son of Buddy McGirt, on the card along with a pair of heavyweight reclamation projects he recently signed: Attila Levin (29-3, 23 KOs), who has been knocked out in his last two bouts and hasn't fought since being easily stopped in three by Nikolai Valuev in February 2005, and Andre Purlette (39-2, 35 KOs), who has fought only twice since 2003.
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• In his first bout since a stunningly one-sided decision loss April 14 to junior bantamweight titlist Cristian Mijares, exciting ex-junior flyweight champ Jorge Arce returns to action Sept. 16 at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. Arce (46-4-1, 35 KOs) faces Mexican countryman Tomas Rojas (26-10, 18 KOs) in the 10-round bantamweight match. Rojas suffered a decision loss to Mijares in a 2004 Mexican junior bantamweight title bout. Also on the card: Edgar Sosa (28-5, 14 KOs) makes the second defense of his junior flyweight crown against Lorenzo Trejo (30-15, 17 KOs). Top Rank is putting on the rare Sunday card for the Mexican network TV Azteca, which wanted a big show in Vegas on Mexican Independence Day weekend. The card might air in the U.S. on sister station Azteca America.
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• Junior flyweight belt holder Ulises "Archie" Solis (25-1-2, 19 KOs), fresh from his mammoth one-punch, eighth-round knockout of Rodel Mayol on Aug. 4, returns to headline Versus' "Fight Night" at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas on Oct. 4. His opponent has not been determined, but Top Rank said it will offer the fight to Giovanni Segura, a top contender it also promotes.
Quote Of The Week:
"Training is going great. … I'm at 170, only have to lose eight pounds. I did 10 rounds yesterday. We'll do 12 next week and bring it down. I'm working hard, and I'm looking forward to stepping into the ring with Mayorga."
-- Fernando Vargas, apparently fibbing to reporters during an Aug. 22 teleconference about how good he felt heading into a Sept. 8 fight with Ricardo Mayorga, which was postponed three days later when Vargas was diagnosed with anemia, the blood disorder that had made him so weak during training camp that he had to see his doctor.
His promotional company, Golden Boy, is involved in several of the fall's most notable matches, namely Juan Manuel Marquez-Rocky Juarez (Sept. 15), Manny Pacquiao-Marco Antonio Barrera II (Oct. 6), Miguel Cotto-Shane Mosley (Nov. 10), Joan Guzman-Humberto Soto (Nov. 17) and Floyd Mayweather-Ricky Hatton (Dec. 8).
There was his recent taping of an appearance on the Sept. 11 episode of ESPN's "The Contender."
His wife, Millie, is pregnant with their second child together.
His business empire, in addition to his promotional company, is thriving.
He could also probably spend every minute of the rest of his life counting the millions he's earned, including an estimated $30 million-plus for his May 5 split-decision loss to Mayweather.
But De La Hoya (38-5, 30 KOs), who has won 10 world title belts in six divisions, has no immediate plans to stop fighting and is thinking about his ring return, targeted for May 3, 2008.
And when he does return, De La Hoya said that he will be back in the welterweight division he once dominated before moving up to junior middleweight and taking a two-fight stab at middleweight.
"Nothing is set in stone about who I'm going to fight," De La Hoya told ESPN.com in a recent interview. "Right now, I'm plotting these fights [that Golden Boy is promoting], keeping myself busy and spending time with my family. I won't decide who I am going to fight until I see how things unfold [in the fall], but I will be back at welterweight, that's for sure."
His last eight fights have come at either junior middleweight or middleweight and he hasn't fought at 147 pounds since stopping Arturo Gatti in the fifth round on March 24, 2001. So why go back?
"I can make the weight no problem, easy," De La Hoya said. "And I think because of the names in the division, the matchups."
The weight class is loaded with such stars as Mayweather, Mosley, Cotto, Hatton, Paul Williams, Kermit Cintron and Antonio Margarito.
Whoever gets the lottery ticket to face De La Hoya next, he said he doesn't want to have to chase his opponent around like he did with Mayweather. It was a fight in which De La Hoya was the aggressor as he stalked the pound-for-pound king and tried to use his size advantage to his benefit. Mayweather, however, was too elusive and did enough to avoid big punches while outboxing De La Hoya to win a close fight.
"I really do want to be involved in one of these fights where it goes down in history. I want to be involved in one of those fights like [Diego] Corrales-[Jose Luis] Castillo, a war," De La Hoya said.
So at age 34 (35 by the time he fights), he really wants to be in a fight where his pretty face gets messed up?
"I don't mind," he said. "I've been bruised up in previous fights. I really want that kind of fight before I'm done, especially at this stage of my career because I still can. We'll have to wait and see who's out there, but I want to prove it to myself and be in one of those legendary fights, I really do. I haven't been in those wars throughout my career. I feel great and I don't think one would hurt. What a way to go out."
One fighter, however, De La Hoya has no intention of fighting is Cotto, even if he defeats Mosley, De La Hoya's one-time ring rival and current partner in Golden Boy.
"I promised my wife I wouldn't fight any Puerto Ricans," he said, noting that he lives with Millie in her native Puerto Rico, where she is a pop music star. "So, I don't think so. The fight would be great. We would stand toe-to-toe. But I can't do it. It's not because I would be afraid of Cotto or not want to fight. I think it's out of respect for Millie. I've had these fights and she's been supportive even though she has wanted me to retire. It's my turn to give a little something back. She sincerely asked me not to fight Puerto Rican fighters. So I have to respect that."
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Ponce De Leon keeping busy
Junior featherweight titlist Daniel Ponce De Leon, the massive puncher from Mexico who wiped out Rey Bautista in the first round Aug. 11, is wasting little time returning to action. Because it was such a short bout and he is so anxious to fight, Golden Boy has booked Ponce De Leon to face Reynaldo Lopez (28-4-2, 19 KOs) in a nontitle match Sept. 28 (Telefutura) at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa near Palm Springs, Calif.
Assuming he wins, Ponce De Leon, 27, will make another title defense before the end of the year. Golden Boy vice president Eric Gomez told ESPN.com that they are weighing two options. One is for Ponce De Leon to appear on the HBO PPV undercard of the Dec. 8 Mayweather-Hatton fight. The other is to go to the Philippines in late November or early December for a rematch with Gerry Penalosa.
Ponce De Leon (32-1, 29 KOs) outpointed Penalosa in March in competitive fight, after which Penalosa dropped down to bantamweight and won a belt on the same Aug. 11 card as Ponce De Leon's last fight. Penalosa is willing to move back up in weight for a rematch, Gomez said.
Gomez said there is strong interest from Filipino TV network ABS-CBN in bankrolling a rematch.
"Ponce will go to the Philippines if the money is right, or he will stay here and fight on the Mayweather-Hatton card," Gomez said.
Fighting first on free network Telefutura will help Ponce De Leon's rising profile. "He's starting to get a strong following and fighting on free television will only help him out," Gomez said.
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Berto to face Estrada
Rising welterweight contender Andre Berto, the 2006 ESPN.com prospect of the year, has officially been added to the Sept. 29 HBO card headlined by middleweight champion Jermain Taylor's defense against No. 1 contender Kelly Pavlik at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall.
Berto (19-0, 16 KOs) will face David Estrada (21-3, 12 KOs), who represents another step up in competition for Berto, 23. Berto is coming off a July 27 decision win against ex-title challenger Cosme Rivera, who knocked him down for the first time in his career in the sixth round of the ESPN2 main event. Berto will be making his third appearance on HBO and is excited about it.
"It's going to be an action-packed, throwback night of boxing," Berto said. "I am honored to be the co-feature on the Taylor-Pavlik fight card. As always, I will train my hardest and put on the best possible performance for my fans."
Estrada, 28, has won three in a row since back-to-back losses to Shane Mosley and Kermit Cintron.
"I'm excited about being the co-feature on the Taylor versus Pavlik fight, but what I'm very excited about doing is beating Andre Berto and getting my rematch with Cintron," Estrada said.
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Although Humberto Soto (42-5-2, 26 KOs) is scheduled to challenge junior lightweight titlist Joan Guzman Nov. 17 on HBO, he's taking an interim fight Sept. 14 in his hometown of Los Mochis, Mexico, against the wishes of American co-promoter Top Rank and HBO. Soto, promoted by Nacho Huizar in Mexico, will face Ismael Gonzalez (18-13, 7 KOs) in a 10-round lightweight bout. It appears to be a relatively safe fight -- Gonzalez has lost seven of his last eight fights -- but there is always the possibility of a loss or an injury that could prevent the Guzman bout. Soto, however, last fought June 9, knocking out Bobby Pacquiao in the seventh round, and wants to stay sharp in preparation for Guzman.
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• Heavyweight titlist Wladimir Klitschko, widely regarded as the best of the four heavyweight belt holders, likes the idea of the IBF-ordered four-man box-off to determine his next mandatory challenger. The box-off includes Chris Byrd and Alexander Povetkin, who meet Oct. 27 in Germany, and Calvin Brock and Eddie Chambers, who meet on Showtime Nov. 2. The winners of the two bouts will square off in early 2008 for the right to meet Klitschko next summer. "This tournament to find the mandatory challenger for me is a good idea because it creates more interest in the division," said Klitschko, who will make an optional defense in early 2008. "I have fought Byrd and Brock and even though I beat them they are both strong fighters and tough opponents. Chambers and Povetkin are young and undefeated, but both still have to prove their strength against tougher guys."
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• Super middleweight Andre Ward (13-0, 8 KOs), the only U.S. boxing gold medalist at the 2004 Olympics, makes his Showtime debut on "ShoBox: The New Generation" Nov. 16 in St. Lucia, promoter Dan Goossen told ESPN.com. Although Ward, 23, is contractually tied to HBO, the network gave him an out to appear on Showtime's prospect-oriented series. Ward will face 20-year-old Roger Cantrell (12-0, 8 KOs), who has never boxed outside of Tacoma, Wash.
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• Knockout artist Edison Miranda's return is set for Oct. 30 at the Hard Rock resort in Hollywood, Fla., Seminole Warriors Boxing promoter Leon Margules told ESPN.com. Warriors is teaming with promoter Lou DiBella for a special edition of DiBella's monthly "Broadway Boxing" series in Florida. Miranda will make his debut at super middleweight against an opponent to be named. It will be his first fight since losing a shootout with Kelly Pavlik in an all-action slugfest May 19 in a middleweight title eliminator. DiBella plans to put prospect James McGirt Jr., son of Buddy McGirt, on the card along with a pair of heavyweight reclamation projects he recently signed: Attila Levin (29-3, 23 KOs), who has been knocked out in his last two bouts and hasn't fought since being easily stopped in three by Nikolai Valuev in February 2005, and Andre Purlette (39-2, 35 KOs), who has fought only twice since 2003.
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• In his first bout since a stunningly one-sided decision loss April 14 to junior bantamweight titlist Cristian Mijares, exciting ex-junior flyweight champ Jorge Arce returns to action Sept. 16 at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. Arce (46-4-1, 35 KOs) faces Mexican countryman Tomas Rojas (26-10, 18 KOs) in the 10-round bantamweight match. Rojas suffered a decision loss to Mijares in a 2004 Mexican junior bantamweight title bout. Also on the card: Edgar Sosa (28-5, 14 KOs) makes the second defense of his junior flyweight crown against Lorenzo Trejo (30-15, 17 KOs). Top Rank is putting on the rare Sunday card for the Mexican network TV Azteca, which wanted a big show in Vegas on Mexican Independence Day weekend. The card might air in the U.S. on sister station Azteca America.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Junior flyweight belt holder Ulises "Archie" Solis (25-1-2, 19 KOs), fresh from his mammoth one-punch, eighth-round knockout of Rodel Mayol on Aug. 4, returns to headline Versus' "Fight Night" at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas on Oct. 4. His opponent has not been determined, but Top Rank said it will offer the fight to Giovanni Segura, a top contender it also promotes.
Quote Of The Week:
"Training is going great. … I'm at 170, only have to lose eight pounds. I did 10 rounds yesterday. We'll do 12 next week and bring it down. I'm working hard, and I'm looking forward to stepping into the ring with Mayorga."
-- Fernando Vargas, apparently fibbing to reporters during an Aug. 22 teleconference about how good he felt heading into a Sept. 8 fight with Ricardo Mayorga, which was postponed three days later when Vargas was diagnosed with anemia, the blood disorder that had made him so weak during training camp that he had to see his doctor.