Boxing: Floyd Mayweather Jr. Reveals He Dislikes Oscar De La Hoya, Tags Manny Pacquiao Fight As Most Satisfying

KEY POINTS

Floyd Mayweather Jr. did not like Oscar De La Hoya
Pacquiao, Hatton wins satisfied Mayweather Jr. the most
Mayweather Jr. offers to train Deontay Wilder

Floyd Mayweather Jr. did not like Oscar De La Hoya. That is one of the revelations of the retired boxing great when he took on a no holds barred interview where he bared some interesting facts of his unblemished career.

Mayweather Jr., who is currently in the United Kingdom for his “Legendary Icon” tour, did not think twice as he mentioned the “Golden Boy” when asked who among his former opponents he disliked the most.

The Michigan-born fight legend crossed paths with De La Hoya inside the ring way back in 2007 when he captured the WBC Light Middleweight belt, prevailing in a close split decision for his 38^th win in a row. Judges Chuck Giampa and Jerry Roth scored the bout 116-112 and 115-113, respectively, in favor of Mayweather while Tom Kaczmarek had De La Hoya winning in his card, 1115-113.

But despite the close call, the affair never had the sequel which fans were clamoring for. After the painful loss, De La Hoya would fight in two more bouts before deciding to hang it up, punctuating his career with an 8^th-round surrender to Manny Pacquiao in 2008. Mayweather, meanwhile, would hit peak-form and dismantled all his next assignments since.

The 43-year-old also cited his former opponents who, after asserting mastery on them, gave him the most satisfaction. “There’s two fighters. Ricky Hatton and the Manny Pacquiao fight,” the former five-division world champion said.

Mayweather Jr. also did not get away with questions about the recently concluded heavyweight rematch between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder which the British fighter won via a seventh-round TKO. Asked about his thoughts, Mayweather backed Wilder with his support, even offering to train the Bronze Bomber who just exercised his clause to fight Fury for the third time.

If I train him (Wilder), I can teach him how to win," he said. "Win, Lose or Draw, Deontay is our brother that has accomplished many triumphs and as a community, we should all uplift and support him throughout it all.”