De La Hoya Considers Mexico Bout

Oscar De La Hoya has a world title bout in his first outing at 160 pounds on Saturday against World Boxing Organization champion Felix Sturm. Then he has a probable unification bout against undisputed middleweight king Bernard Hopkins on Sept. 18. Still, De La Hoya’s calendar is far from full.

De La Hoya, aiming for a world title in a sixth weight class, is kicking around the idea of fighting in Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium -- before a crowd that could approach 100,000.

“That would be after the Hopkins fight,” De La Hoya said Wednesday at the MGM Grand. “That would be like a farewell fight for the fans, a freebie.”

Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez fought in Mexico City’s Plaza de Toros on May 22 in what was billed as his retirement match.

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De La Hoya also spoke of the BALCO steroid controversy embroiling Shane Mosley, who twice defeated De La Hoya, most recently in De La Hoya’s last fight on Sept. 13.

“I’m hoping and I’m wishing that he wasn’t [on steroids],” De La Hoya said. “Mosley’s a good kid and a great friend. But there’s so many details there. Look at his physique, his energy, his power. Against Winky [Wright], he wasn’t the same. His physique wasn’t the same.”

Six months after beating De La Hoya, Mosley lost a lopsided decision to Wright.

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Ever the self-promoter, the self-managed Hopkins has been trotting around with a pair of horseshoes around his neck. He has been told they belong to fellow Philadelphia native Smarty Jones, who will attempt to win horse racing’s first triple crown since 1978 at the Belmont Stakes on Saturday.

“They probably just fell off some pony,” said Hopkins, who will meet Robert Allen in Saturday’s co-main event.