Oscar De La Hoya has shared the ring with Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, putting him in the perfect position to say who was greater.
In 2007, ‘The Golden Boy’ suffered a razor-thin defeat to ‘Pretty Boy’, before losing in devastating fashion to ‘PacMan’ the following year.
However, when the undefeated superstar and the Filipino went toe-to-toe themselves, it was the American who comfortably emerged the victor. Mayweather even branded Pacquiao an ‘easy’ fight.
But does the result of the contest have any bearing on who De La Hoya believes was the better boxer?
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Oscar De La Hoya says Manny Pacquiao was better than Floyd Mayweather
Having traded leather with both icons, Oscar De La Hoya has come to the conclusion that Manny Pacquiao had the edge over Floyd Mayweather.
The Mexican-American was full of praise for the eight-weight world champion’s phenomenal attributes.
In addition, he claimed that if the legend had fought his arch-nemesis while he was still in his prime, then the result could’ve been very different.
In a Best I Faced feature with the Ring Magazine, De La Hoya explained: “I would have to say Pacquiao. I think his determination, his conditioning, his skill, his power, speed, footwork … he’s one of the fighters I most appreciated.
“Mayweather-Pacquiao would have been a lot different [if they’d fought] in their primes. Pacquiao would have beat [Mayweather] easy, absolutely.”
Oscar De La Hoya makes shocking claim about the financial split for his fight with Floyd Mayweather
While Mayweather had his hand raised during his showdown with De La Hoya, it was actually the loser who walked away with the bigger purse.
By the end of his career, ‘Money’ has cemented his status as the highest-earner in boxing history.
But back in 2007, The Golden Boy was the money man of the sport.
Now, De La Hoya has revealed how much more he earned than Mayweather.