Former boxer and Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya has long wanted to see boxing earn back its respect and that could possibly start as early as now with Floyd Mayweather Jr. out of the picture.

Mayweather has of course retired from competitive boxing, winding it up on Sept. 12 with an unsurprising unanimous decision victory over Andre Berto.

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De La Hoya has been pretty vocal about Mayweather and his tactics, including that highly controversial bout last may between Mayweather and Filipino fighter Manny Pacquiao.

Mayweather won that as well via unanimous decision, but the undefeated American’s style of simply dodging and counter-punching was seen more as a track meet by De La Hoya.

And now with Mayweather out of the boxing picture, he believes that the new breed will bring back the sanity of the sport and show what boxing is really about.

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The thing with Mayweather is that he approaches fights like a chess match. He doesn’t rely too much on his power punches and uses the technical aspect of the game. Such wouldn’t seem so bad but his popularity may have somehow led many to believe that he could at least try to engage in fierce exchanges.

Apparently that is Mayweather’s call and even if he does oblige, it will be on rare occasions.

Hate him or love him, Mayweather uses his mind more than his muscles, but for Dela Hoya, such has made the sport lose its respectability.

Dela Hoya’s claims could be viable but the thing is, boxing is a sport that can be won via decision or knockout. As far as Mayweather is concerned, winning by decision seems to be enough since either way it, it counts as a win on his boxing record.

Boxing being better without Mayweather could be true, but then again, it won’t be surprising if any or future boxers utilize the strategy that Mayweather followed through his illustrious career.

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