BOXING : MAYWEATHER AND DE LA HOYA SQUARE OFF

Mayweather threatens De la Hoya !

 

Floyd Mayweather stoked the fires ahead of his May super-fight with Oscar de la Hoya by poking and jostling his opponent at a New York press briefing.

The two ring superstars clash at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas on 5 May.

De la Hoya will defend his WBC light middleweight crown against WBC welterweight champion Mayweather.

But as they met to publicise the fight, Mayweather taunted the 'Golden Boy' by insisting: "I'll do what I've done to 37 others and bust his ass."

In a show of typical bravado, both fighters revealed their chiseled torsos to prove their fitness before Mayweather delivered a withering attack on six-weight champion De la Hoya.

 

Mayweather, who is moving up to 154lbs for the first time, stood nose-to-nose with his opponent, bumping him with his chest and calling him a "pussy".

De la Hoya, 34, remained calm, insisting he would make Mayweather pay once they got into the ring, with the world's best pound-for-pound fighter tag at stake.

"When he's talking, it's just more fuel, baby," De la Hoya said through gritted teeth.

"I respect Floyd as a fighter but come 5 May, he's going to be hurting for weeks."

The hotly-anticipated clash has already sold out for a Nevada-record gate of $19m.

 

A record 1,200 closed circuit showings are expected for the fight, to be broadcast to 176 countries.

De la Hoya has been trained for the last six years by the challenger's father, Floyd Mayweather Sr, but will have veteran Freddie Roach in his corner for the big fight.

But Mayweather mocked De la Hoya and said he would back up his bravado with hard cash.

He added: "I'll bet you $1m, $2m, $3m I'll beat you. Every dime in my bank account, right now."

 

WWW.BBC.CO.UK