Boxing News: Pacquiao Inadvertently Responds To De La Hoya Comeback Plans

KEY POINTS

Manny Pacquiao does not appear confident of De La Hoya's comeback plans
Pacquiao was the last opponent De La Hoya faced back in 2008
De La Hoya has yet to get an opponent who may come from MMA

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya announced plans to return in July, a move that has drawn mixed reactions.

The decision is believed to have been inspired by Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr., two former boxing champions who donned their trunks again in a slugfest last November.

It was surprising news for boxing fans considering De La Hoya has been inactive since December 2008 against Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao. He quit after eight rounds and eventually retired.

Since then, the 48-year-old has focused on promoting fights. His most popular client was no less than Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.

Ironically, Pacquiao posted a curious video via his Instagram account when word got out that Oscar De La Hoya was coming out of retirement. It was a clip from their bout nearly 13 years ago that prompted the legendary boxer to respond.

“And still couldn’t take me down drained and all. Love you,” De La Hoya stated.

Reading between the lines, De La Hoya stressed that he never went down in that match. He took quite a beating from the eight-time division champion before his corner saw enough.

It will be interesting if De La Hoya will use this as some sort of motivation when he re-enters the ring in July.

However, it has yet to be known who the "Golden Boy" will face in his comeback fight. The names of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Gennady Golovkin have been mentioned on several occasions, and there is no telling if either will push through.

In a previous post, it was mentioned by Ryan Kavanaugh that the target opponent for De La Hoya is someone from mixed martial arts (MMA).

Several names come to mind. The list includes Anderson Silva, Dillon Danis and Conor McGregor. To date, nothing close to who among them or other “big” MMA names have been divulged.

Mayweather appears to be at the top of the list although it would not be surprising if YouTubers Jake or Logan Paul are thrown in the mix.

For now, De La Hoya is making a comeback, but that won’t be complete until he has an official opponent.