ESPN: Hoya will fight Cotto if he wins vs Margo....

Now, it's one and done for Oscar De La Hoya.
The former six-division titleholder has amended his exit strategy from a three-fight plan to a two-bout plan in the wake of Floyd Mayweather's unexpected retirement last week. Initially, De La Hoya, who easily outpointed Steve Forbes May 3, planned to meet Mayweather Sept. 20 in a rematch of boxing richest fight before following it up, win or lose, with a career finale in December.
With Mayweather walking away, De La Hoya said he's decided to pass on a September fight and end his career with an HBO PPV fight in Las Vegas or his hometown of Los Angeles on Dec. 6 , which could come against welterweight titleholder Miguel Cotto if he is successful in a July 26 fight against Antonio Margarito.
De La Hoya said he thought about such opponents as Ricky Hatton, Sergio Mora, Manny Pacquiao, Felix Trinidad and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Cotto figures to be the most difficult opponent he could pick in Mayweather's absence, as well as the opponent who can help him finish his career with the most commercial success.
De La Hoya is dead serious about a potential fight with Cotto, who is from Puerto Rico, where De Le Hoya now lives.
"I've always fought the best," De La Hoya told ESPN.com Thursday in the midst of his national book tour to promote his autobiography, "American Son."
"Who do people consider the best? Floyd retired. He wouldn't fight Miguel Cotto," De La Hoya said. "I would fight him. People see him as one of the best. I know he has a tough fight ahead of him, but I strongly feel he is too fast for Margarito. I see Cotto winning this fight."
Later Thursday, Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer and Top Rank president Todd duBoef exchanged emails expressing a desire to open negotiations for the fight.
"I will discuss with [Top Rank] the possibility to put together a fight with Oscar and Cotto," Schaefer said.

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AP Photo/Brennan Linsley
This one's for the fans: If De La Hoya, center, has his way, his last fight will come against Miguel Cotto, left, in December.


Whomever De La Hoya meets, he said it will be his last fight. Period. He said he has never wanted to be the stereotypical boxer who retires multiple times.
"There are no thoughts whatsoever about fighting again after 2008," De La Hoya said. "I've given Richard the marching orders. I have prepared everybody. This is it. This is my last year in the ring. There's no dinero that will bring me back, no amount of moolah."
De La Hoya said he had no ill will toward Mayweather for messing up his schedule.
"I was actually surprised, but if he is retired, then I wish him all the best," said De La Hoya, who dropped a split decision to him 13 months ago. "You hear about these sad cases where fighters retire at an early age and when they're not prepared to retire, and they come back. Hopefully, he can be one who, when he retires, he means it. It was unfortunate we had a big fight scheduled. It's disappointing, but I'll move on.
"So I'm going to do one more fight and call it a day. I'm not losing sleep over Mayweather. I was looking forward to fighting twice more, but I guess it will be one time, and I will still go out with a big bang. I'm gonna pick the toughest opponent out there. Obviously, it has to mean something, it has to be an event and it has to motivate me."
While De La Hoya leaves the Cotto negotiations to Schaefer, he's on the road for a national book tour to promote "American Son," which came out this week. Written with Los Angeles Times sportswriter Steve Springer, De La Hoya said he's enjoyed meeting fans on the tour.
"It's fun because I missed interacting with the fans," he said. "The fans that are coming to the book signings have been awesome. I have never signed as much in my life."
De La Hoya said the book offers insight into his personal and professional life, from his rise from the East Los Angeles barrio to the 1992 Olympic gold medal and pro stardom. He details the painful passing of his mother from cancer before the Olympics, talks about his family, having children out of wedlock, how he deals with his financial success and how he dealt with a gambling problem. Of course, he also covers his most important fights in detail.
"I enjoyed the process of writing this book," he said. "I enjoyed telling the stories and telling the truth about my life and career. You will read the ups and downs. There are fun moments, serious moments, the passing of my mother. It's fun for me to able to send a positive message.
"I wanted to explain to people that I have been down many times in my life and got up to fight even harder. With immigration, with the economy, with gas prices, a lot of people have been knocked down. Hopefully, my story can be inspiration and hope for that person trying to capture the American dream."

 

I doubt he will fight Margo...

 

he doesn't have a huge following in Mexico as you think... (Hoya) Hes more mainstream in the US. To tell you the truth, I think he would make more money fighting Mora then Margo.

 

Definitly an interesting discussion on who will he fight if Cotto loses. I hope Cotto doesn't lose focus, could be thinking ahead to the benjamins!

 

I agree. Hoya should of waited in terms of Cotto's focus... But, I think it will help promote Cotto\margo :happy . We will see, I know I will be there.

 

**** yea it will motivate Margo. The dudes whole fight game is based on emotion and brute force. The guy is a mull. Matter of fact, margo doesn't need Hoyas motivation, he has plenty of his own. :deal