Oscar De La Hoya Aims to Upend MMA and ‘Pay Fighters What They Deserve’
Former world champion boxer turned promoter Oscar De La Hoya doesn't like the way mixed martial arts fighters are paid. In fact, he said that it makes him sick. So, he is proposing to do something about it by throwing his hat into the proverbial MMA cage.
“I’m really looking forward to getting into the MMA world and making sure that these fighters are being compensated well,” De La Hoya told Fight Hub TV in a recent interview. “Because, look, we risk our lives up in the ring, so fighters should be compensated extremely well.”
De La Hoya is taking his Golden Boy Promotions into the MMA arena with a trilogy bout between UFC Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. The two were both retired before De La Hoya coaxed them back to the cage.
Liddell won both of their first two meetings, knocking Ortiz out in 2004 and 2006. Liddell hasn't fought in more than eight years, while Ortiz has been on the sidelines for nearly two years. But De La Hoya thinks their trilogy fight, which is targeted for Nov. 24 at The Forum in Los Angeles, is a good way to kick off his revamp of the MMA pay structure.
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“The current structure’s terrible. I’ve been talking to many, many fighters in the MMA, and it’s ridiculous on what they get paid. It’s crazy. It gets me sick to my stomach. So, I’m going to start Golden Boy MMA for a reason, and it’s going to start with Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, to pay them correctly, to pay them what they deserve.”
(Courtesy of Fight Hub TV)
