Oscar De La Hoya has penned a letter to boxing fans, urging them to turn their backs on the possible Floyd Mayweather Jr. versus Conor McGregor boxing match.
As former 10-time champion De La Hoya works to promote the Sept. 16 middleweight title bout between unbeaten, three-belt champion Gennady Golovkin and Mexico's most popular fighter, former two-division champion Canelo Alvarez, his cause has been distracted by attention on Mayweather-McGregor.
That match would pit boxing's 40-year-old, retired Mayweather (49-0), who left as the sport's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, against UFC lightweight champion McGregor, a skilled striker who became the first UFC fighter to simultaneously wear two belts in November.
But De La Hoya is among many boxing veterans who foresee a one-sided outcome that could potentially turn fans against his sport again, as happened in Mayweather's boring 2015 victory against Manny Pacquiao in the richest fight in history.
