Boxing legend and longtime rival of UFC president Dana White, Oscar De La Hoya, believes a potential boxing superfight between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou could be a mega event on par with the glory days of Mike Tyson’s heyday. De La Hoya discussed the potential bout on a recent episode of The MMA Hour.
“Fighters like [Ngannou], I think he can hang in there for a few rounds. If it’s a boxing ring, he obviously can hang in there for a few rounds, but Tyson Fury is a guy who grew up boxing. That was his thing and that’s his sport. Huge advantage for Fury. Obviously, if it was in a cage it would be a whole different story. [Ngannou] would tap him out or whatever, kick him and knock him out in 30 seconds. Totally different sports.
De La Hoya: Ngannou vs Fury Could Be “Mega Event”
But I think it will be great for both sports. I think it will be great for boxing because it will be a huge fight. It will be a mega event like when [Mike] Tyson was fighting. You had all that hype behind these big events and fights. It would be that big.” De La Hoya also wants to work with mixed martial artists in future, including but not limited to Ngannou itself.
“I would love to speak to [Ngannou]. Any fighter who is an MMA fighter, I’m here, I would love to speak to anybody. I would love to pick their brain, I would love to maybe sit down and discuss some business. I’m all for it. I think these fighters who are MMA fighters who have been with the UFC or are with the UFC, I would love to just talk from fighter to fighter and pick each other’s brains and see what happens.”
That also extends to a man of whom De La Hoya is a professed fan, free agent and UFC legend Nate Diaz.
“We are good with each other. I respect him like there’s no tomorrow. He’s real, he’s authentic, he’s as real as they get and he’s a fighter. He can fight. I would love to talk to him. There’s a lot of interesting possibilities with Nate Diaz — a possible Jake Paul fight for instance, which would be massive, which would be huge. There’s other fights that you can build up and promote but I would love to talk to him.”
Are we closer than ever to a clash of the titans? Let us know in the comments.
