Oscar De La Hoya was a mainstay fighting around Cinco de Mayo week throughout his illustrious 16-year career.
As a promoter, the boxing icon created the same opportunities around the Mexican holiday for the fighters he helped build, chiefly Canelo Alvarez.
The Hall of Fame fighter and Golden Boy executive has not promoted a boxing card around the holiday ever since Alvarez scored a unanimous decision win against Daniel Jacobs on May 4, 2019.
If the recently retired De La Hoya could have it his way, he wants to make his return on the holiday weekend in grand fashion featuring three of the Mexican stars he promotes.
“The idea that I have is for a mega event in May. I’m hoping to put Gilberto Ramirez, Joseph Diaz Jr. and Jaime Munguia on the same card,” De La Hoya told BoxingScene.com in an interview.
“It would be before or after [Cinco de Mayo]. We know that maybe Canelo is going to get that [Saturday, May 7] date. It’s obviously justified. He’s the man now. But a pre-Cinco de Mayo card with those three guys would be a pretty special card.
“It would be a special card and a great card around the festivities in May. That will be something special. I am working on that. We’re working with DAZN to bring fight fans the best fights that we can possibly deliver.”
The stars could align for De La Hoya if staging a stacked card is a route he ultimately wants to consider because all three fighters should theoretically be ready to fight by May.
On Dec. 4, the lightweight Diaz (32-2-1, 15 KOs) lost a competitive unanimous decision to Devin Haney.
On Dec. 18, the former super middleweight champion Ramirez (43-0, 29 KOs) scored a 10th round TKO in a wildly entertaining slugfest against Yunieski Gonzalez.
The former junior middleweight champion Munguia (39-0, 31 KOs) is fresh off a third-round TKO win against D’Mitrius Ballard on Feb. 19.
Munguia was the last to fight from the trio but he could be the first to land a potential opponent. On Tuesday, the WBO ordered a fight between Munguia and Janibek Alimkhanuly for an interim title at 160 pounds. If a deal is not reached by March 4, a purse bid hearing will ensue.
Ramirez and Diaz fought on the same card last July in Los Angeles at the Banc of California Stadium.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com.