Oscar de la Hoya said he'd seekMike Tyson 's advice regarding a return to the ring.- Tyson, 54, made a comeback of sorts when he took part in a wildly successful six-round exhibition involving Roy Jones Jr. in November.
- Though de la Hoya appears keen to compete in a pro match rather than an exhibition, he still wants to talk to Tyson about how he got fighting fit.
- It adds to the rumors de la Hoya wants to fight the active middleweight boxer Gennadiy Golovkin, who recently said he'd "seize the opportunity [to] legally kill] the 47-year-old promoter.
Oscar de la Hoya is seeking Mike Tyson's advice as he makes a comeback of his own, linking himself to a Gennadiy Golovkin match.
Tyson returned to the ring in November for a six-round exhibition involving fellow all-time great Roy Jones Jr.
The show was a resounding success, featured controversial YouTube creator Jake Paul scoring a haunting knockout over Nate Robinson, and reportedly brought in 1.6 million pay-per-view sales.
De la Hoya retired from
Though he wants to fight again, aged 47, he says he would do so in a professional setting rather than in an exhibition. Regardless, he wants to speak to Tyson about it.
"I do wanna talk to Mike Tyson about how he felt, just his philosophy on why he did it, how he did it - because he looked phenomenal," said de la Hoya, according to Fight Hype.
"He looked great. For a guy who's 54-years-old, he looked in amazing shape. Yes, his timing might've been off just a bit but he looked good.
"And so I was very happy for him and I would love to pick his brain on just the process, and how it took him to get to that mind frame, to the level.
"So we'll see after that conversation how I feel. But yeah, I'm in shape, I'm actually running every single day. I feel great. I'm at about 169 [pounds] right now, so I think I can get down to 154. So we'll see."
A de la Hoya return to the ring against Golovkin would be ill-advised
There is a noticeable difference in the type of event Tyson and Jones Jr. engaged in - a showcase involving two former fighters now in their 50s - and the one de la Hoya has been linked to.
Rumors abound that de la Hoya would compete in a pro bout against Golovkin, who is an active fighter almost 10 years younger than him.
Golovkin was a highly decorated amateur boxer, a feared puncher through much of his career, and has a pro boxing record of 41 wins (36 knockouts) against one loss and one draw.
Since that sole loss to Saul "Canelo" Álvarez in 2018, Golovkin has rebounded with a hat-trick of wins against Steve Rolls, Sergiy Derevyanchenko, and Kamil Szeremeta.
According to the DAZN website, the broadcaster that airs Golovkin's fights and also has a contract with de la Hoya's Golden Boy company, the Kazakh boxer said he'd "seize the opportunity [to] legally kill" de la Hoya if they ever fought for real.
De la Hoya responded to Golovkin's comments on Fight Hub TV. "[The comments] weren't nice," he said, adding that he'd be a tougher challenge than Szeremeta, who Golovkin swatted aside in a seventh-round retirement last month.
"[Golovkin is] obviously still a dangerous fighter because he hits hard. I mean c'mon, I'm not a walk in the park like the guy he fought on the other day.
"I've always prided myself on fighting the best. That's never going to change. I can't go back on that."
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