One of the biggest detractors of the original Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor fight, Oscar De La Hoya, feels the same way of a potential rematch as he did in 2017.
Following McGregor’s 40-second win over Cowboy Cerrone at UFC 246, Mayweather released posters promoting hypothetical fights between himself and McGregor and against current UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“Look, the sport’s different,” said De La Hoya to Boxing Scene during a press event on Monday. “Boxing is boxing and MMA is MMA. I think both should just stay separate and kind of stay in your own lane, you know? Because if, for instance, if McGregor fights Mayweather again, it’s gonna be the same story. Nothing changes, you know? It’s not that McGregor [isn’t] good at what he does [in UFC]. He’s great. But Mayweather’s great at what he does as well. So, I think everybody should just stay in their own lane.”
Mayweather publicly announced not only a comeback in late 2019, but a partnership with UFC President Dana White, which White told reporters Mayweather “must” fight on it for it to be a success.
De La Hoya dipped his toe into the MMA waters in 2018 in the much-maligned Golden Boy MMA event headlined by Tito Ortiz’s only victory of Chuck Liddell, which was the only major fight on a card featuring regional and lesser-known fighters.