Opponent May Be Wright for De La Hoya

Oscar De La Hoya is exploring the possibility of fighting middleweight Winky Wright this fall -- with Bob Arum promoting.

De La Hoya, now a promoter and inactive as a fighter since losing to undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins in September, had announced plans to return to the ring in the 147-pound division Sept. 17.

Before retiring, De La Hoya, a former champion in six weight divisions, had also hoped to lure Felix Trinidad, who beat him in 1999, into a rematch. But when Trinidad was defeated last month by Wright, De La Hoya’s thinking shifted. It was Wright’s debut at middleweight after reigning as the undisputed 154-pound champion.

Whatever De La Hoya’s plans, it seemed safe to assume Arum was not part of them. They had an ugly parting when Hopkins signed with De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions after beating De La Hoya on a ninth-round knockout. Arum had been operating under the assumption that he would be promoting Hopkins.

When he signed Hopkins, De La Hoya announced that Arum would no longer be his promoter.

Arum responded with a verbal attack against De La Hoya, publicly questioning whether De La Hoya had given up against Hopkins.

But Arum has subsequently learned through Richard Schaefer, head of De La Hoya’s promotional company, that his last contract with De La Hoya included an option for one additional fight.

“I had forgotten,” Arum conceded.

Once a De La Hoya fight is set, Arum can bid on it. If Golden Boy comes back with a higher offer, Arum can match it. But he has only one option, and if he passes on De La Hoya’s next fight, there might not be another.

“Let’s give it some air,” said Arum of a Wright-De La Hoya match. “I would have to decide if it would be economically feasible to go after such a fight. But right now, it’s a little premature.”

Whenever De La Hoya fights again, Staples Center has the right to make the first bid to be the site.

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Doctors expect to learn more about the condition of boxer Ruben Contreras today after bringing him out of a medically induced coma. The 32-year-old Mexican flyweight, injured in a fight Saturday night at Staples Center, was put in the comatose state after surgeons at California Hospital Medical Center successfully removed a blood clot surrounding his brain.

Arum, who promoted Saturday night’s fight card, has offered financial assistance to the fighter’s wife, Nancy.