Boxing icons Lennox Lewis and Ricky Hatton both believe Oscar De La Hoya is better served staying outside of the ring, amid talk of a possible return.
De La Hoya has been retired since 2009 but the 42-year-old ramped up speculation about a possible return to boxing on Monday after telling ESPN that he is seriously considering a rematch with unbeaten welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Mayweather beat De La Hoya in 2007.
However, former heavyweight champion Lewis, who last fought at the age of 37 in 2013, is against De La Hoya making a comeback.
“I heard @OscarDeLaHoya is 50/50 on a comeback. I’m 100/0 that he shouldn’t. Father Time is still undefeated,” Lewis wrote on his Facebook page.
Hatton was similar in his views of De La Hoya’s potential comeback, having failed in his own return in 2012.
After three years outside the ring, Hatton returned to the sport at 34, but lost to Vyacheslav Senchenko in the ninth round.
“Am I surprised? Yes and no. It never surprises me when a boxer wants to make a comeback. When a fighter had so much success like Oscar did, the hardest thing is to let go,” Hatton told Sky Sports.
“Do I think it’s the right decision? No, I have to say I don’t. Needless to say, I wish him all the very best but he’s 42. It’s just so hard to finally hard to say goodbye to the sport.
“I felt like I had to come back because I’d let so many people down. I don’t know whether Oscar feels the same.
“He’s talking about going right in at the deep end with a Floyd Mayweather rematch. He’s not talking about having an easy one back. I wish him well and only he knows why he feels the need to do it. If it’s a genuine reason then he’s got to do it.”
Credit:BBCSport
