Can Oscar De La Hoya Bring MMA And Boxing Fans Together To Sing Kumbaya? Don’t Bet On It

Is Oscar De La Hoya trying to leave the supposed moribund body of boxing on the side of the road, only to drive off with a healthier and robust MMA? That’s what been swirling around the water cooler these days as Golden Boy Promotions has taken a penchant for promoting MMA fights, in particular Affliction fights, like the one that happened this past weekend against DLH’s boy Fedor Emelianenko and Andrei Arlovski (who was coached by Freddy Roach… coincidence?). We wouldn’t put any more interest in it other than it’s DLH putting some time in MMA to get some cash, but on the same night Oscar was with Fedor in Anaheim, another one of his fighters—Sugar Shane Mosley—was kicking the crap out of Antonio Margarito at the Staples Center (which, by the way, has a statue of East L.A.’s own in front of it). Does this signal an olive branch from DLH to MMA fans, a large percentage of whom don’t want boxing to intrude on their octogon-shaped haven? Maybe, but don’t bet on it winning many converts.

Gary Shaw, a longtime boxing promoter who took a detour to promote MMA with the now-defunct Elite-XC, said there is no way for De La Hoya to bridge the wide divide between boxing and MMA fans and bring both sports under the same banner.
“Oscar is not into MMA,” Shaw said. “He can’t sit there and tell you anything about the moves or strategies that these guys are using. Oscar is not into MMA, and the people who are in MMA are haters. They will never accept him. Oscar won’t be able to overcome that.”
While we agree, if DLH is going to continue putting on MMA shows, it’s going to have to be smaller fights on a regular schedule. As hard as it’s going to be, that way he could overcome the stigma of being the “boxing guy” and become a name that’s synonymous with MMA not just for the big fights. Maybe once he retires for good he’ll put that kind of work in, but don’t expect it to be any time soon.
Boxing, MMA make strained bedfellows [ESPN]
Image [SI.com]