Oscar De La Hoya loses to Shane Mosely twice in the ring, and then offers him a job and stake in his company. Oscar De La Hoya gets knocked out by Bernard Hopkins, and then offers him a job and stake in his company. Oscar De La Hoya loses to the Ring Magazine’s number one pound-for-pound boxer, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., and then purchases the magazine less than a year later.
“If you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em.” This seems to be Golden Boy Promotions’ mantra these days, not the sanitized mission statement that you can find on their Web site. De La Hoya’s latest financial coup is a brilliant marketing move, but is likely to raise the ire of many fighters and fans alike.
The question is real simple. Can one expect objectivity in the Ring boxer ratings, if an active fighter (De La Hoya), with a stable of up-and-coming fighters under his promotional umbrella, owns the company that gives out the ratings? I think this will be the case, based on my general belief that Oscar’s intentions are in the right place.
If this is not the case, Oscar De La Hoya and his partners will have a lot of explaining to do. To paraphrase their mission statement, "Golden Boy Promotions strives to become the leading Boxing Promotional Company through integrity, honesty, hard work and determination."
If any questionable ratings favoring Golden Boy fighters come out, De La Hoya and his partners will not only be under heavy scrutiny, they will become everything that they vowed to rid the sport of – greedy promoters who cared more about money and power than the betterment of the sweet science.
The boxing world will be watching with eyes wide open.
