Oscar De La Hoya: Floyd Mayweather 'the best,' now can dictate terms to Manny Pacquiao -- Grand Rapids Press

By David Mayo, The Grand Rapids Press

LAS VEGAS -- Oscar De La Hoya, who was curiously absent during fight week and gave business partner Shane Mosley advice on several consultations about how to fight Floyd Mayweather, found himself torn early in Mayweather’s 12-round unanimous decision victory Saturday night over Mosley.

By fight’s end, those mixed emotions turned to pride, he said, about being the only fighter to take Mayweather to a split decision, in 2007.

"I was thinking to myself I’m kind of proud of what I accomplished," he said. "Mayweather, he’s great -- and my fight with him was a tight fight."

De La Hoya lost twice to Mosley, in 2000 and 2003, and his partner in Golden Boy Promotions leveraged Mayweather’s failed talks with Manny Pacquiao to secure the welterweight blockbuster for himself.

Some considered it the most dangerous fight of Mayweather’s career because of Mosley’s speed and power -- attributes that combined to wobble the Grand Rapids native on a pair of crackling right hands in the second round.

Beyond that moment, it didn’t turn out that way.

"He fought a fighter, in Shane Mosley, that was supposed to be the most dangerous fight of his career, and Mayweather showed us that he’s the best," De La Hoya said. "Mayweather is on a different level. He’s on a different level because he’s a student of the game. He will dissect you outside the ring and finish you off inside the ring. He knows how to get in your head. He knows how to beat you mentally, then he will beat you physically."

De La Hoya said the efficiency of Mayweather’s one-sided victory "convinced me he is the best" in boxing today.

"Mayweather is special," he said. "So we have to respect that.

"He showed me true greatness because I felt that he was going to not be able to handle Mosley’s punch. And he just showed true greatness, what he’s all about -- all the hard work, the work ethic he has. It just shows you that Mayweather is the real deal. I’m a firm believer that Mayweather is the best we have right now."

De La Hoya also fought one opponent the world most wants Mayweather to face: Manny Pacquiao.

Pacquiao’s eighth-round technical knockout victory in 2008 was De La Hoya’s last fight.

"Being a student of the game, Pacquiao makes many mistakes," De La Hoya said. "And that will fall into Mayweather’s hands -- easy. It’ll be an entertaining fight, let me tell you, because there’s no stop in Pacquiao, there’s no quit in Pacquiao, that’s for sure."

A proposed Mayweather-Pacquiao fight fell apart last winter over a drug-testing issue but De La Hoya said Mayweather "is the one to dictate terms" based on his perfect record, victory over another pound-for-pound contender in Mosley, and marketability.

"Mayweather is the king of the world now," he said.

E-mail David Mayo: dmayo@grpress.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/David_Mayo

Source: mlive.com