Gennady Golovkin issued a deadly threat to Oscar De La Hoya after the promoter claimed he could come out of retirement and defeat the IBF middleweight world champion.
De La Hoya, 47, has repeatedly stoked talks of a potential comeback, despite retiring almost 12 years ago, and told Boxing Scene: "You know how easy GGG would be for me? Oh, my gosh. I always took a good shot and I always took apart fighters like him. In my mind it would be that easy."
There has long been animosity between Golovkin and De La Hoya, stemming from the latter’s previous promotional relationship with Canelo Alvarez, and the Kazakh was clearly irked while speaking ahead of his mandatory defence against Kamil Szeremeta.
"You know Oscar, you know how dirty his mouth is," Golovkin told AFP via a translator.
"Everything involving Gennady Golovkin for him is a nightmare. He can say whatever. But let me put it this way - If I got an opportunity to legally kill a person in the ring, I might seize it."
De La Hoya has not fought professionally since a gruesome defeat by Manny Pacquiao in 2008 but insists he is serious about returning to the ring.
Golovkin, meanwhile, who suffered a first and somewhat controversial defeat in a rematch with Canelo Alvarez in September 2018, played down the chances of a trilogy fight with the Mexican superstar.
"I don't think about this because I'm tired of thinking about it," he said. "It's been over two years that we've been throwing this around. It's not my fault that this fight has not taken place.
"Currently, it's too early to say, but there is a possibility this fight might never happen."
