Corey Erdman, Fight Network
Oscar, Floyd Mayweather takes on Robert Guerrero this Saturday. When you put on these kind of massive events as a promoter, do you get the same kind of excitement you did as a fighter in these situations?
Oscar De La Hoya
I actually do. It's funny how it works, where I'm sitting down at ringside, and watching these great fights happen, I wanna be in there. I wanna go in there and come out of retirement and fight myself, but when I think about it, sitting down and watching these great fights, and knowing that we put them together and organized everything, it's really satisfying. It's such a wonderful feeling to watch these guys perform, and not getting hit. I'm actually a pretty happy camper where I'm watching from.
Corey Erdman, Fight Network
Your fighter Robert Guerrero obviously has a colossal task ahead of him. The oddsmakers have him somewhere in the neighborhood of a 10-to-1 underdog at times. What does he have that can trouble or beat Floyd Mayweather come Saturday?
Oscar De La Hoya
I think obviously youth is on his side. I think Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero, he's a southpaw fighter, which is gonna be difficult for Mayweather. He's coming from different angles. He has to make it a very physical fight, go out there and fight every single minute of every single round. I think there are a lot of advantages that Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero has. It's not gonna be an easy fight. You have to take into consideration that Mayweather has been out of the ring for one year, he's 36 years old, so it's going to be a quite interesting event come Saturday night.
Corey Erdman, Fight Network
Now you guys have put together a pretty good undercard as well, and I've noticed that in the pay-per-view previews and whatnot, that Abner Mares and Daniel Ponce De Leon are a very big part of the promotional push, the same way that Canelo was when Floyd fought Cotto, for example. Is that because you guys see Mares as a potential pay-per-view attraction down the road?
Oscar De La Hoya
Abner Mares against Ponce De Leon is gonna be a war. It's gonna be such a classic, classic fight. I can actually see a trilogy with these guys. It's gonna be a very interesting fight. Abner Mares is a very dangerous, strong puncher, fast, very smart, intelligent, uses his angles inside the ring. Ponce De Leon just comes in straightforward and fights. I think this fight here might steal the show.
Corey Erdman, Fight Network
Speaking of the promotion of the fight, this one has had a heavy push on CBS and Showtime obviously, and that's something you've been pushing for the last few years. Obviously the Top Rank with HBO and Golden Boy with Showtime standoff isn't ideal, but in some ways, would you say it's actually made you guys work harder as promoters?
Oscar De La Hoya
Obviously, competition makes you work harder. It keeps you on your toes. We've been working very, very hard, day in, day out, just to bring the best fights to the public. Just to make sure that we face off the best fighters in the world, and make sure the fans are happy. The ultimate goal for Golden Boy Promotions is to make the best fights happen, that's it. That's the bottom line. And we've been pretty successful at it.
Corey Erdman, Fight Network
Speaking of some good fights down the road, Robert Guerrero can't look ahead obviously, but as a promoter, you kind of have to. We're hearing two names as the potential next Mayweather opponent, assuming he wins on Saturday: Amir Khan and Canelo Alvarez. Are either of those a possibility, and if so, which one would you prefer?
Oscar De La Hoya
Obviously there's several opponents that Mayweather can face after this fight here on Saturday, or who knows? Maybe Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero's gonna surprise and shock the world. There's different possibilities when you talk about Canelo or Amir Khan facing Floyd Mayweather, Guerrero facing Canelo. There's different fights that we can make where the fans are really gonna be content, and just watching these gladiators go at it inside that squared circle. Who knows what's gonna happen? We have to wait until Saturday night. And that's why it's so interesting, because the outcome of this fight is gonna actually put the winner in position to face a Canelo Alvarez or an Amir Khan.