Dela Hoya okay despite humbling loss, says PRO

Oscar dela Hoya is taking his time licking his wounds and trying to see what lies ahead in the very near future.

Dela Hoya, who took a terrible beating against Manny Pacquiao last week in Las Vegas, is on vacation.

Ramiro Gonzalez, public relations director of Golden Boy Promotions, yesterday said his boss could be out for a month or two.

But he assured everyone that Dela Hoya is doing just fine.

“He’s okay. Oscar is okay. He came to the (GBP) office in Los Angeles last Wednesday although he didn’t mention anything about his plans,” Ramiro said over the phone.

Gonzalez, a sportswriter of 11 years for La Opinion, said Dela Hoya, who failed to answer the bell for the ninth round against Pacquiao, is looking at some options.

“But he will announce his plans for 2009 only after he comes back from his vacation,” said Gonzalez.

He said Dela Hoya might be “reflecting” on what happened on that cold night in Vegas, and the months leading to the fight.

“He never thought he’d be beaten by Pacquiao. Now he has to consult with Richard Schaefer or maybe his wife, his family whether he would concentrate on his promotions, his business or fight one more fight.”

Or retire.

Dela Hoya may opt to fight one last time, stage a farewell bout, and hopefully come out with a bang. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has been mentioned as a possible opponent.

“But first he will try to find out what went wrong in this fight. He just had nothing out there (against Pacquiao). Maybe something went wrong in the camp,” said Gonzalez.

Bob Arum is himself clueless on what Dela Hoya should do.

“That’s up to Oscar. I can’t play his psychiatrist, at his age now he took an awful beating. I think he got hit more times on Saturday night than he had in his whole career. He certainly took more damage on Saturday night than he had in his entire career.

“He’s got to have serious thoughts about whether or not he wants to continue. I know he wants to leave with a victory on his record, but there are much more important things, at least the way I look at it. The way Oscar’s going to look at it, God knows, I couldn’t tell you,” Arum told boxingtalk.com.