Felix and Oscar Could Rematch
By R. THOMAS UMSTEAD -- Multichannel News, 6/18/2000 8:00:00 PM
Welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya is arguably the engine that drives pay-per-view boxing today, and Time Warner Sports is making sure the "Golden Boy" has enough top opponents to help churn out PPV revenue.
With De La Hoya's June 17 bout against "Sugar" Shane Mosley in the books, the industry can focus on his scheduled September PPV fight, which could pit him against Felix Trinidad in a lucrative rematch.
Home Box Office's recently signed multifight deal with undefeated super welterweight champion Trinidad-who beat De La Hoya in a controversial decision in September-could also spawn several other attractive PPV-boxing events, senior vice president of distribution, marketing and operations Mark Taffet said.
A rematch of the 147-pound warriors would be music to the PPV industry's ears. The first De La Hoya-Trinidad fight generated 1.25 million buys and $64 million in PPV revenue-records for a non-heavyweight boxing event.
But scheduling a rematch has been difficult due to Trinidad's prior alliance with HBO rival Showtime Networks Inc. Showtime Event Television distributed Trinidad's most recent PPV bout-March's win over then-World Boxing Association junior middleweight champion David Reid.
HBO's multiyear, multifight agreement with Trinidad, announced two weeks ago, clears the way for a potential rematch. The deal includes provisions for at least one PPV appearance on HBO's sister service, TVKO, Taffet said. Trinidad's first fight of the deal will be a July 22 HBO bout against contender Mamadou Thiam.
If Trinidad wins-and if De La Hoya beat Mosley June 17 (after press time)-a September Trinidad-De La Hoya rematch is certainly possible.
TVKO already has a PPV deal in place for a fall De La Hoya bout, and Trinidad is one of the opponents under consideration.
A sticking point could come over weight classes. Trinidad has said that he would not move back to the 147-pound welterweight division, while De La Hoya is reluctant to move up to 154. A compromise weight of 150 to 152 was being negotiated, but an agreement could not be reached.
If De La Hoya lost to Mosley, a rematch between those two fighters would most likely take precedence. A third option would be a fight against popular welterweight contender Arturo Gatti.
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