De La Hoya needs to retire

What a sorry performance.

Oscar De La Hoya proved again to be the biggest featherweight in the world after getting KO’d by Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas on Saturday, Dec. 6.

De La Hoya looked slow and old and that was before he refused to come out of his corner after the eighth round. He couldn’t handle Pacquiao’s jab or left uppercut. And it was Pacquiao’s SPEED that overwhelmed De La Hoya. When has that ever happened?

There wasn’t a single punch De La Hoya was landing with authority as he was out-fought and out-manned by a smaller, more determined and simply better Pacquiao, who said he knew he would beat the ‘Golden Boy’ after the 2nd Round.

De La Hoya talked the talk before the fight, hamming it up for cameras on that ESPN-produced mock-u-drama. He did his best to try and make others believe he had one more good fight, one more victory, in him.

Now we know it isn’t just his act that’s grown old.

AEG propping up Golden Boy

In an apparent attempt to save what’s left of boxing, Anschutz Entertainment Group has purchased a “significant ownership stake” of Golden Boy Promotions, owned by Oscar De La Hoya. The move comes on the heels of De La Hoya’s recent decision to buy 20 percent of the Houston Dynamo, a Major League Soccer franchise owned by AEG.

So AEG is funding De La Hoya’s sorry boxing promotion and De La Hoya is taking the Dynamo of AEG’s hands. Is this an even give and take? Or is De La Hoya, one of the great middleweights of his time, and his promotions company being propped up by Anschutz?

The boxer has promised to fight only two more opponents before retirement, which leaves his promotions company without its most profitable fighter. De La Hoya’s stable of punchers (Sugar Shane Mosley, Ricky Hatton, Bernard Hopkins, Winky Wright) are all well past their primes. It’s obvious that Golden Boy needed a serious infusion of cash in order to survive long-term.

This agreement has been in the works for some time. De La Hoya first fought at AEG-owned Staples Center in 2000 and recently defeated Steve Forbes at the AEG-owned Home Depot Center on May 2, 2008. He now has a scheduled rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and the smart money is on the fight taking place at Staples Center rather than in Las Vegas. Also look for Golden Boy fighters Moseley, Hatton, Hopkins and Wright to step in the ring at AEG venues from London to Shanghai; AEG owns and operates dozens of stadiums and arenas around the world.

Though the financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, AEG CEO Tim Leiweke says the deal is “a big commitment.” It must be, AEG has announced its plan to build a 7-foot bronze statue of De La Hoya outside of Staples Center. So while sports fans gather around statues of Magic Johnson and Wayne Gretzky, they can glance over and say: “Hey look! It’s the physical manifestation of AEG propping up Oscar De La Hoya.”

Is Golden Boy being propped up by AEG? Take the poll.

De La Hoya’s dynamic MLS move ambiguous

Oscar De La Hoya, the Golden Boy, recently purchased 20 percent of the Houston Dynamo, reigning two-time Major League Soccer champs. On its face it looks like just another former athlete buying into a sports league different than the one in which they compete; like Joe Gibbs buying into NASCAR, or Wayne Gretzky buying into Canadian Football.

But there’s something problematic about this move. Why would De La Hoya want only 20 percent of the Dynamo? Obviously, it makes sense to buy into the MLS — it’s an exciting product — but why masquerade the fact that you’re eventually going buy the team outright? Aren’t you going to be the face of ownership anyway?

Maybe De La Hoya is feeling guilty. Isn’t the Golden Boy from Los Angeles, born and raised? There’s two MLS franchises in town, right? “Why might he chose to purchase a franchise elsewhere?” his homies might ask, hypothetically.

Well neither is really for sale right now. The Galaxy are owned by Phil Anschutz, owner of Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), and one of the founding investors of MLS. The other, Club Deportivo Chivas USA, is owned by Mexican businessman Jorge Vergara, who also owns Mexican League giant Chivas de Guadalajara.

Here’s where it gets interesting… It just so happens that AEG, based in Los Angeles, owns two MLS teams, the L.A. Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo, and wants to sell one.

L.A. has David Beckham playing on the rightside. Houston’s got Ricardo Clark, Brian Ching and Dwayne De Rosario and back-to-back titles. Which team do you think Anschutz is willing to sell?

De La Hoya was offered a piece of Houston. The reason? They don’t have Beckham. Anschutz, once the owner of six MLS teams (Colorado Rapids, NY/NJ MetroStars, DC United, Chicago Fire) is rumored to have been inspired to invest in MLS after watching the play of Beckham. Anyway, he’s now sold all but the Galaxy and Dynamo outright as the MLS has intentionally trended towards single-entity ownership.

Then what about Chivas USA, you ask? You gotta think they’re for sale! And on the cheap, right?

Maybe De La Hoya is an elitist. He’s rich. He’s talented. He’s rich. He moved out of L.A. when he started getting millions for Pay-Per-View fights and probably hasn’t gone back but a handful of times since. It’s all but certain he no longer associates physically, even mentally, with the kind of fan Chivas attracts. After all, why go back there when you’ve already moved away? He probably didn’t want the pressure of being owner of THEIR team, THEIR passion, THEIR struggle.

De La Hoya instead chose to invest some of the $600 million he’s earned in the ring in Houston, on the Dynamo, rather than in his home town. It may not be a dubious move but it certainly is ambiguous, kind of like De La Hoya. Maybe the affluent Tex-Mex CEOs are more his style.

Is De La Hoya good for the Dynamo? Take the poll.