Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather are undeniably two of boxing’s greatest legends from the 90s and 2000s. De La Hoya captured gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, while Mayweather earned a bronze at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Both fighters went on to have illustrious professional careers, and their highly anticipated showdown in May 2007 drew 2.4 million pay-per-view buys, cementing its place as one of the best-selling fights in boxing history.

But here’s the thing: when two of the best step into the ring, only one can emerge victorious. Both fighters gave everything they had, each vying to have their hand raised after the final bell. Unfortunately for De La Hoya, ‘Pretty Boy’ Floyd Mayweather proved to be the superior boxer that night, winning by split decision. Despite the outcome, the ‘Golden Boy’ believed he had won the fight, but he recently revealed the critical mistake that cost him the bout.

Oscar De La Hoya knew it in his heart

Speaking to Oscar De La Hoya, retired NFL tight end, Shannon Sharpe, during the latter’s Club Shay Shay podcast episode, probed De La Hoya about why he thinks he had beaten ‘Pretty Boy’ during their sold-out bout in 2007. The head of Golden Boy Promotions never really shied away from making his thoughts known, so he recollected how he felt right after the final bell.

“When you are a fighter inside the ring and you hear the final bell rings, you know it in your heart, in your gut, and physically if you won or you lost. You just feel it, it’s a sensation,” De La Hoya said, recollecting his feelings on the fateful night. He further added that it didn’t matter whether he was right or wrong, because “I just felt it.”

It’s worth mentioning that during this time, Floyd Mayweather had just entered his prime days while De La Hoya was on the last legs of his career. In fact, De La Hoya would go on to retire from the sport two fights after his skirmish with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Looking back at it, De La Hoya claimed, “I fought against the best Floyd Mayweather, in his prime, you know, undefeated… So I was pretty proud [of] what I accomplished that night.”

However, that doesn’t mean Oscar De La Hoya didn’t make any mistakes that night, mistakes that lost him the fight even if it was by a close margin. “You start thinking okay if I just cruise here, land a few punches, I have the first half won already, so if I could just one more round I can win the fight, 7-5, maybe a draw,” De La Hoya explained his strategy while inside the ring with Floyd. 

He acknowledged this sort of strategy can quickly prove ineffective, which Oscar finally admitted after more than one decade, stating, “Obviously that night it was a big mistake.” Interestingly, Floyd would end his professional boxing career undefeated, becoming the one of richest athletes in the world. However, Oscar De La Hoya knows one boxer who could beat Floyd. 

The Only Boxer who could beat Floyd Mayweather

In an October 2018 issue of The Ring Magazine, Oscar De La Hoya revealed the one fighter he believes could have defeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. Reflecting on his storied career, De La Hoya pointed to Manny Pacquiao as the only boxer capable of overcoming Mayweather. He highlighted Pacquiao’s “determination, conditioning, skill, power, [and] footwork” as the key attributes that would have made him a formidable opponent for Mayweather. 

Having faced both fighters in his career, De La Hoya emphasized that Pacquiao’s relentless style and versatility in the ring would give him the edge over Mayweather, underscoring the respect he has for the Filipino boxing icon’s abilities.

Of course, by this time, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao had already fought. In yet another blockbuster bout in Las Vegas, Floyd Mayweather defeated ‘PacMan’ via a unanimous decision to cement his legacy as one of the best ever. Regardless, De La Hoya added, “Mayweather-Pacquiao would have been a lot different (if they’d fought) in their primes. Pacquiao would have beat (Mayweather) easy, absolutely.”

It’s been seventeen-odd years since their fight ended, and it seems Oscar De La Hoya still remembers his fight with Floyd Mayweather quite vividly. Why wouldn’t he? It was one of the biggest bouts of his career. Did you watch the fight? Who do you think won?