Nobody wants to get in the ring with Oscar De La Hoya. After his tentative rematch with Floyd Mayweather on September 20th was canceled because Mayweather announced his retirement, De La Hoya approached Ricky Hatton about filling the date. Hatton is taking a pass, however. "It would be too soon, Richard only fought two weeks ago," Ray Hatton, the boxing champion's father and manager, told British Broadcasting Corp. Sport. "Oscar likes to fight in September because of Mexican Independence Day, but Richard is chilling out at the moment."
Hatton beat Juan Lazcano on May 24th and is slated to meet junior welterweight titleholder Paulie Malignaggi sometime in the fall. He was also angling for a rematch with Mayweather, who stopped him in the 10th round of their December bout.
De La Hoya dropped to 150 pounds for his May fight with Steve Forbes but that's still 10 pounds above Hatton's most comfortable weight. It would be a poor choice for Hatton who is better served by taking on Malignaggi and then trying to work out a fight with Manny Pacquiao after that. It wouldn't be quite as much money as a De La Hoya fight but it would be a dandy and one that he'd be more likely to win.
As for De La Hoya, there aren't a ton of options out there. Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito fight in July which means neither would be ready for September. He could try and make a fight with Verno Phillips, perhaps, or a third fight with Shane Mosley but both would lack the sizzle of a must-see. His camp has promised a forthcoming announcement about a fight for September but it doesn't look like one that will be a blockbuster.
