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LAS VEGAS - Oscar De La Hoya insists he does not dislike Floyd Mayweather junior.
"I don't dislike anybody," said De La Hoya.
"I just don't care for him."
The 34-year-old American and Mayweather meet at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Sunday (NZ time) for De La Hoya's World Boxing Council super welterweight championship.
Hype for the fight, which is expected to be one of the highest-grossing in boxing history, has been aided by an apparently genuine tension between the two principals.
During an 11-city media tour in February, Mayweather repeatedly hurled insults in De La Hoya's direction. The 1992 Olympic gold medalist dismisses the taunts as a sign of jealousy.
"I think he resents everything that's happened to me," said De La Hoya (38-4, 30 KOs), who has won world title belts in six different weight divisions and is the most financially successful non-heavyweight in boxing history.
Mayweather rejects the claim.
"I'll never get jealous of him. Whatever he's done in his career, I'm happy for him. I've made a lot of money in this sport, I know what it takes," he told reporters.
However, Mayweather (37-0, 24 KOs) is clearly rankled by what he perceives as a lack of credit for his own illustrious career, even though he has become widely acclaimed as the best fighter in the world, pound-for-pound.
"I always rise to the occasion, beat everybody that they put in front of me. Every time I beat an A-class fighter, I make an A-class fighter look like a D-class fighter, and you guys won't give me the props that I deserve," he complained.
He expects the same response on Sunday, even if he wins the fight well, which he asserts he will.
"I already know what they're going to say. They're going to say, ' is over the hill, he's old.' I'm 30, he's 34. We're both in our thirties.
"I'm going to dominate. Believe me, I'm going to dominate."
In addition to the personal animosity between the two fighters, much attention has centered around the relationship between the two men and Mayweather's father, Floyd Sr.
Mayweather Sr. trained his son for the early part of his career, until they became estranged and Floyd Jr. turned instead to his uncle Roger, himself a former world champion.
For the past seven years, the elder Mayweather trained De La Hoya, who elected not to use him for this fight, citing the potential conflict of interest, as well as the trainer's demand for a payment of US$2 million.
Mayweather senior subsequently rejoined, and then once more left, his son's team, and is attending the fight at the invitation of De La Hoya, who provided him with ringside tickets and a hotel room. However, the younger Mayweather is confident that blood is thicker than water.
"In the middle of the fight, he's going to be sitting in Oscar's corner, shouting instructions to me," he said.
At a time when boxing has lost much of its popularity in the United States, many commentators have argued that this bout could "save" the sport, but De La Hoya does not believe it needs salvation.
"Boxing isn't dying," he said. "In Europe, (super middleweight world champion) Joe Calzaghe can sell 35,000 tickets to a fight. In Germany, they can fill 40,000-seat arenas all the time. We just have to make the right fights, and the people will come."
However, De La Hoya issued a challenge to Mayweather to rise to the occasion and ensure the contest matches the hype.
"Make it a fight," he said.
"Make it a fight that people are going to enjoy. Let's fight."
- REUTERS
