The “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya is still boxing’s golden one as witnessed by the extremely large turnout for his international conference call yesterday.  More than 65 reporters—both English and Spanish media outlets—dialed in to hear Oscar’s thoughts on his upcoming world super welterweight championship against Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 6.   This world championship match is being promoted by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Don King Productions and will be televised live on HBO Pay-Per-View at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.  
 

MARYLYN ACEVES, PUBLICIST, GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS:  Hello everyone, and welcome to today's conference call with eight-time world champion Oscar de la Hoya.  He will be joining us in just a few minutes, but first I want to let everyone know that Danger Zone, featuring the Golden Boy, Oscar de la Hoya versus Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga will take place on Saturday, May 6, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.  The event is being promoted by Golden Boy promotions and Don King Productions, and will be broadcast domestically live on HBO Pay-Per-View.  Available to more than 56 million pay-per-view homes beginning at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time and 6:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, with a suggested retail price of $49.95.  Telecasts will be available in high definition television for the viewers who are HDTV capable.  Tickets to see the event live and in person are priced from $1,250 to $150 and are available at the MGM Grand Garden Arena Box Office, can be charge by phone by calling Ticket master or online at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

In early March, Oscar returned to Puerto Rico after he finished the cross country media promotional tour and set up his training camp at the Wilfredo Gomez Gym located in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.  He's now making his final preparations before he travels to Las Vegas on May 1.  Oscar is joined on this call by his good friend and Golden Boy Promotions CEO, Richard Schaefer.

RICHARD SCHAEFER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS:  Good morning, to all of you.  I see with this promotion a lot of parallels to when Oscar fought Tito Trinidad.  For example, in today's conference call, I was just told that we have over 60 participants.  The media credential requests for the fight are in line with what we had with De la Hoya versus Trinidad.  On the venue, ticket sales have been very strong.  We actually have to add additional seats into the venue.  So everything is really going extremely well as it relates to the promotion.  It will be a huge night.  We have little more than a week to go, so we are all fired up and excited and it is a pleasure now to introduce to you, Oscar De la Hoya.  Oscar, if you want to make some comments on how training went and so on, and then we're going to open it up for questions and answers.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Thank you, Richard.  Training camp went really well.  I am on my final stages, I sparred close to 130 rounds.  I feel really strong, really fast.  I'm extremely excited and anxious to get up into the ring, especially at 154, because I know I will be able to perform the way I normally do, and I'm just ready to fight.

RICHARD SCHAEFFER:  OK, can we open it up for questions?

OPERATOR:  Thank you.  At this time, I would like to remind everyone if you would like to ask a question, please press star one now.  Our first question is coming Lem Fatterfield of the Baltimore Sun News.

LEM SATTERFIELD:  Hey, you know you've accomplished just so much in this sport, and I know you've been asked this a lot.  Why come back when you've done so well outside of the sport, you know, with your promotion?  You know you really did not get beat up against Bernard Hopkins and you've done so much.  Why at this point come back and fight this guy, and is it a visceral thing, is it just a competitive thing?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Well that's the exact same reason, the one you mentioned.  You know, I didn't get beat up by Bernard Hopkins even though I was at 160, which is not my weight class.  I didn't have no business there.  I just feel as a competitive athlete that coming back down to 154; I can close the book on many chapters that I've written and lay it to rest.  You know, I can end this story once and for all as a world champion and finish this sport on top.

LEM SATTERFIELD:  And particularly against this kind of opponent who just has absolutely no respect for you, I guess kind of as a human being, as a fighter, you know that kind of thing.  Why would you put yourself through this?  And I guess it may be the same answer, but could you elaborate on that?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Well it's motivation.  At this point of my career, it's not that I'm deteriorating in skills, it's not that I'm lacking in that area, but it's the motivation that gets me going now, and Ricardo Mayorga has sparked that in me.  He lit that fire in my belly and I'm full steam ahead going with my training with working as hard as I can, and I'm in tremendous shape right now, and I will show it come May 6.  It will be a tough fight because this guy can take a punch and he hits hard, but this is what I need to get up for events like this one.

LEM SATTERFIELD:  Last question, the ire that you have right now for this guy, does it compare to-can you bring up any other opponent that you've felt this for, perhaps Vargas?  You know, going into a fight and you see it kind of translating the same way, you know in this fight, the Vargas fight, how brutal it was and how you came back.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  I think and then some.  I feel as if I want to teach this guy a lesson really bad.  I'm so anxious to get inside that ring to teach him a lesson.  My demeanor will be the same.  My conditioning is, I think, better.  My experience is much, much better.  You know, people are going to think that I'm going to dance around and box this guy, but it's not going to be that way.  I mean we've prepared for a really tough, tough fight to stay in front of him, but obviously in a smart way, move our head a lot.  But it's going to be one long night for him.

OPERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question is coming from Ramiro Gonzales of LA Opinion Newspaper.

RAMIRO GONZALEZ, LA OPINION NEWSPAPER:  Oscar, Buenos dias, ¿como estamos? (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

MARYLYN ACEVES:  Excuse me, Oscar before you answer that, why don't you repeat your answer that you just gave in Spanish so that the English media can hear that as well, and then go on to answer.

(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

RICHARD SCHAEFFER:  Oscar, can you please repeat ...

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  I will.  You know, people will think that I'll be boxing this guy and dancing and boxing.  You know, a lot of people are going to be very surprised that I will stay right in front of him.  Obviously as a smart boxer, I'll know how to move my head and use my defense, but you know, guys like this who hit hard and who are wild, are guys that you have to know how to maneuver, and the more you box them, obviously the more pressure they'll put on you.  So, you have to know how to stand your ground and keep your distance and just be careful, so this fighter here is going to make me so aware and keep me on my toes, and make me fight as hard as I can.  He's going to bring out the best in me, which I'm really looking forward to.

OK, next question

OPERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question's coming from Chuck Johnson of USA Today.

CHUCK JOHNSON, USA TODAY:  How are you doing today, Oscar?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  All right Chuck, really good, thank you.  

CHUCK JOHNSON:  All right.  You mentioned about closing the book, does that mean that you're looking at this fight as the last for Oscar De la Hoya, or have you decided that that's going to be the last fight or not?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Well, I mean my plan is to win this fight in May and have my retirement for September.  My official retirement fight's for September 16, which is a date that I've always fought on.  You know, we're very focused on this fight here with Myorga because obviously in boxing, one punch and its over which is always in the back of my mind, but my plan is to do my final fight in September if everything goes well.

CHUCK JOHNSON:  OK, I'm not asking you to look past Myorga, but you mentioned September 16, the opponent, do you see that as a mega-fight?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Oh, absolutely.  My September fight has to be a mega-fight and you know, I've thrown out names like Winky Wright and Mayweather, Junior and now I hear Trinidad is wanting to come back.  So, the possibilities are there to, yes to fight the Trinidads and the Wrights and the Floyd Juniors.  You know it's a matter of analyzing who is the best opponent out there for me to face.  Those three top guys that I mentioned are world-class champions in their own right, and so my September fight if I get past this one will be a mega-fight.

CHUCK JOHNSON:  You mentioned, I know I had asked you about it previously, Oscar, and you had mentioned that you wouldn't be inclined to necessarily want that fight.  It sounds like your attitude has changed a little bit.  

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Well I mean, I've mentioned it many times over and over that I have so much respect for Floyd, Senior, that I would never fight Floyd, Junior, and obviously still out of respect winning this fight here, May 6, if everything goes well, I would have to sit down with Floyd, Senior and talk to him about it.  I'm making no decision whatsoever in my mind on fighting Floyd, Junior in September.  Out of respect I would have to sit down with Senior and talk to him.

CHUCK JOHNSON:  Well what did you (INAUDIBLE)

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Hello?  It cut off.

OPERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question is coming from Angel Rodriguez of univision.com.

ANGEL RODRIGUEZ, UNIVISION.COM:  (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  He's been talking a lot of really in a negative way attacking my persona, attacking my family, attacking my heritage.  You know, he's don his job already.  I mean he's made me train already as hard as I can.  He's motivated me already to be the best fighter I can be.  So there's no way I can fall in whatever kind of trap he's trying to set for me.  I already have my plan of attack; I already have my game plan set.  You know, I already know what I'm going to do inside that ring, so whatever little games he's trying to play, he can't play them with me.

MARYLYN ACEVES:  Next question?

OPERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question's coming from Bud Schulberg of the Sunday Herald.

BUD SCHULBERG, SUNDAY HERALD:  Oscar win or lose, you're on your way to the Hall of Fame, I just wondered if the fight should be close or controversial, could that possibly just be a rematch on the September fight?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Well I mean a close fight or a controversial fight obviously that would be the last thing that I would want for my career and for boxing.  You know, that's both of the reasons why I trained as hard as I can, to not make this fight as close as possible, to make sure we beat this guy decisively.  But if it's a fight that is a fight where it's close and a fight that people want to see again because it was such a good one, then obviously it would be an option for September.

MARYLYN ACEVES:  Next question?

OPERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question is coming from Eddie Goldman of Seconds Out Radio.

EDDIE GOLDMAN, SECONDS OUT RADIO:  Oscar, how are you doing today?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Good, thank you.

EDDIE GOLDMAN:  The question I first want to ask is, you've been out of the ring for over a year and half.  How is the layoff going to effect you, is it going to have a positive effect in the sense that you aren't hitting, getting hit, or is it going to make you a little rusty, and how are you going to account for that, too?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Well we prepared for everything.  I started training four months in advance in order to get the rust out to make sure that the timing and the power is there, the speed is there.  Actually just about three weeks ago is when I finally felt it click in me, that my speed was there, my power, my timing.  So it's no concern whatsoever that I'll feel rusty inside the ring come May 6.   And I actually feel rested, my body feels rested and with energy.  So I took every necessary precaution to make sure I go out there a hundred percent come May 5.

EDDIE GOLDMAN:  Can you tell us what you've seen in his fight with Trinidad, when Trinidad knocked him out that you can learn?  Obviously you are a very different fighter from Trinidad, but anything from that you can apply or tip off about your strategy?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Well, I mean I would, if I was Trinidad, I would have gone more to the body.  You know, hit the body.  He does have a good chin.  You know when he stuck out his chin against Trinidad, he took it, and Trinidad had one of the hardest left hooks in the game.  So, you know you have to attack the body, and when you attack the body it's just like a tree.  Chopping down the tree it comes down by itself.

EDDIE GOLDMAN:  Last thing, there's been a lot of trash talk on his side, and a lot of very nasty things said.  How much is that going to effect the fight, because as you recall he said a lot of nasty things before his fight with Corey Spinks and he lost that one, and that was-I mean obviously you are also a different fighter from Spinks, but that didn't seem to effect what happened in the ring that much.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Well the way it's affecting the fight is that, you know, for the better.  It's going to make it such an exciting fight.  My blood is boiling inside, I mean, I'm human, and a few things that he said, yes they got under my skin.  And I do want to teach this guy a lesson and hit him as hard as I can, but at the same time I have to keep my cool, be collective, you know and stick to my game plan.  So, it will be, you'll see some heated exchanges that's for sure, come May 6.

EDDIE GOLDMAN:  Do you want to make a prediction for the fight?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Just to win.

EDDIE GOLDMAN:  OK, good luck.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Thank you.

OPERATOR:  Thank you, our next question's coming from T.J. Simers of the L.A. Times.

T.J. SIMERS, L.A. TIMES:  Oscar, how are you doing?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  T.J. Simers.

T.J. SIMERS:  Some of us think you might be finished, OK?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  I was thinking the same thing too.

T.J. SIMERS:  So what for your own self, do you think you have to prove something even to yourself, that you've still got it?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Oh, absolutely, absolutely.  I mean, you know it's the athlete in me.  Especially free myself about Hopkins at 160, fighting him, fighting a bigger guy, you know getting stuck with a body shot against a bigger guy.  You know, being in the fight against a bigger guy and all those things I just keep reminding myself and I say to myself, "Hey, you are not finished.  You felt straight, you felt fast, you felt strong.  You were just in against bigger guys at 160.  So it makes me feel really comfortable fighting at 154 now because even in the gym when I'm training, I feel different.  I'm a whole different athlete inside that ring so...

T.J. SIMERS:  So a lot of this is riding on the different weight.  That's the number one thing that gives you confidence?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Well the weight is going to be a big factor. When I weigh in come May 5, the night before, I'll be at 151, 152 tops, and that's my natural weight cap there.  That's where I belong, so it makes me feel confident that I'm going to be fighting at 154.

T.J. SIMERS:  Will you be fighting scared that this could end sour?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  I'm actually, and that's a good question because there's fighters who fight scared and who put the performances of their life because they're boxing and they get away from punches, but I have a little of everything here where I want to fight angry, I want to fight scared, I want to fight-I'm anxious, I can't wait to teach him a lesson, so it's a combination of a lot of feelings.

T.J. SIMERS:  By the way, I understand you're going to on the Tonight Show with Dr. Phil on Monday night.  I don't like that guy.  Is there anything you can do about that?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  I will ask him a few questions, see if he has a few pointers for me.

T.J. SIMERS:  Just what you need, a psychologist.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  How about if I give him a little left hook?

T.J. SIMERS:  Thank, see you next week.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Thank you.

OPERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question's coming from Robert Morales of the L.A. Daily News.

ROBERT MORALES, L.A. DAILY NEWS:  Hey Oscar, what's going on, man?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Robert.

ROBERT MORALES:  How's it going, man?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Pretty good, thank you.

ROBERT MORALES:  Hey, just a couple of quick things.  Did you hear that Floyd Mayweather, Junior bought out a contract with Bob Aram (ph) and apparently was kind of a way for Floyd to have a better chance of making a fight with you?  Bob (ph) told me yesterday that he already told Floyd he wasn't going to guarantee the purse that he was going to be asking for.  Does this make you think that you will have an easier chance to make the fight with Floyd provided everything goes okay with Ricardo?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Well I mean the Floyd Junior situation, this is news to me.  He bought out his contract for a reason, and that reason I really don't know.  I feel that whatever business he does with his ex-promoter, you know that's for him to decide.  But you know, obviously people are talking about oh well September can be a big mega-fight against Floyd Junior, and I'm going to say it to everyone listening now is that, yes I've mentioned Floyd Junior, and people have been talking about that fight for a long time now.  But obviously there's nothing in stone, there's nothing in concrete.  Once again, I would have to talk to Floyd Senior and get his opinions because Floyd Senior's opinion would matter a lot here.

ROBERT MORALES:  OK, and listen, yes by the way he bought out his contract for $750,000 so just FYI.  The last thing is, you know, you're doing this co-promotion with Don King.  Is it safe to say that after you retire, do you expect to be doing more cards with Don King?  I mean are you guys working well together.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Well I mean to tell you the truth; we've been doing everything.  Golden Boy Promotions has been on top of everything right from the start.  Obviously Don King is a great promoter, and he is the co-promoter of this event because he's with Ricardo Mayorga, but most likely we probably will be doing some events together down the road because of him having certain fighters and us having certain fighters.  So you know, we want to make sure that the fighters get the biggest fights out there possible for themselves.  So, you know we've had no problems whatsoever with Don King.  He's a great promoter.  He knows how to put fights together.  Most likely we will do work together in the future.

RICHARD SCHAEFFER:  Hey Robert, this is Richard.  I echo that, I think it was a pleasure really to work with Don.  We had no problems whatsoever throughout that promotion from the very beginning up to now, with the exception of some of the press conferences where he just wouldn't stop talking, but other than that you know, it has been a pleasure.

ROBERT MORALES:  Well of course, Don's never going to stop talking.  One last question just on that note, you mentioned Oscar that you want to get the best fights possible for your fighters, and I think that's what a promoter should be doing.  That said, will you be doing anything with Bob Arum in the near future?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  I mean, I would love to, and we're a promotional company that is standing by our fighters, for our fighters and we want to make sure we get the best fights.  And you know, Top Rank has a lot of opponents where we can fight our fighters together and make them great matches.  That's something that Bob Arum has to decide.  I mean he's mentioned that he would never work with us ever in his life, but we're always going to keep the door open and make sure that we give our fighters the opportunity to fight the best they can fight.

ROBERT MORALES:  All right thank you gentlemen, thank you Oscar.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Thank you.

OPERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question's coming from John Whisler of the San Antonio Express.

JOHN WHISLER:  Oscar.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  John Whisler.

JOHN WHISLER:  How are you, sir?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Good, how's it going?

JOHN WHISLER:  Very good.  Hey, you know, two guys hating each other, you know that's certainly probably as old as the sport itself, you know as far as a promotion tool.  Why should we believe that this is real?  What is it about this guy that you don't like?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Well it's not that I don't like him, or I don't hate him.  I mean, I don't even know the guy.  You know, it's just ever since he started disrespecting me.  When he started disrespecting my wife, I mean he started disrespecting my family, he insulted my heritage, I mean especially when opponents talk like that you have to defend yourself.  And the way I'm going to defend myself is in the ring and teach him a lesson.  All this anger and hatred towards me started when we started shooting the commercial for the fight.  You know he started talking to my face and this and that, and in a press conference he slapped me across the head.  I mean, you know, you don't do things like that.  Show some respect here, and so that's why I just keep on mentioning, hey this guy is pumping me up so much.  This guy is just; I mean he has just got under my skin.  He hasn't got into my head, but he's got under my skin, and he made me train as hard as I can to really teach him a lesson.

JOHN WHISLER:  Are you hoping that maybe if you can bring out the machismo in him, maybe he'll walk into something?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Well, I mean I know he is going to bring that out.  I mean I know he's that type of fighter where he's going to come straightforward to me.  And you know he wants me to do the same thing, and I probably will, because I'm in such great shape that I'm sure I will.  I'm very positive that I'll stay right in front of him and exchange some punches.  But my game plan is all said and done, you know that's use my jab and work the body as much as I can, and the head will fall.

JOHN WHISLER:  One final question, getting back to Trinidad, I know this is down the road, but when Don King was on the other day with Mayorga, he said that Trinidad Tito had told him that he wanted to fight Mayorga when, he said, he beats you.  And then we tried to press him on, well does that mean if Oscar wins, you know you'll get Tito to fight Oscar and he kind of dodged it, but he said he wouldn't rule it out.  Do you think that's possible, because according to what we've read, he's not going to come back, he's not going to fight you.  And how much would you want that?  Do you think he would?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Right.  I mean we're going to pursue the biggest fights out there for September.  If I win this one here in May, if everything goes well, and I get through Mayorga, then my September fight, my farewell fight will be one of the bigger things out there.  And whoever it is, if it's a Trinidad, if it's a Winky Wright or if it's a Floyd Junior, you know we'll pursue and we're not going to wait for nobody.  If it happens, it happens.  If it doesn't, it doesn't.  My mind is set that come September, September 16 is the last night that I will lace up a glove and I'll retire hopefully as a champion.

JOHN WHISLER:  You've always said you wanted to avenge your losses.  Does he keep you up at night?  Do you want to avenge that one more than any of the other ones?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Not really.  I mean he doesn't keep me up at night, I mean not at all.  You know I'm very content with my career, and what I've accomplished and what I've done and I wouldn't change anything.  I've learned and grown from mistakes, I've learned and grown from things I've done inside and outside the ring, which is the important thing, growing from your mistakes.  But I just feel that the options I have, for instance, Winky Wright.  He beat Mosley, he beat Trinidad, so it's kind of like killing two birds with one stone if I fight Winky Wright.  I can fight Trinidad who was the guy who beat me and the guy who had that controversial win with me, or else I can go up and fight Floyd Mayweather, Junior who's a pound for pound champion of the world today.  So there's some pretty enticing options out there for me.  I just have to make sure I get through this right here, which is not going to be easy, and then really make a tough decision for September.

JOHN WHISLER:  OK, thank you Oscar, good luck.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Thank you.

OPERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question is coming from Michael Hirsley of the Chicago Tribune.

MICHAEL HIRSLEY, CHICAGO TRIBUNE:  Hello, Oscar.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Hey, Michael.

MICHAEL HIRSLEY:  How are you doing?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Really good, thank you.

MICHAEL HIRSLEY:  I wanted to take you back to something that you were talking about a little bit earlier and that is after this long layoff and the style that Mayorga has, have you been training and sparring mostly with the faster guys to get back up to your speed, and your strengths, or you know, do you match up against-have you been sparring with the wild, strong punches to try to simulate his style.  Who do you spar with?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  We actually found four guys here in Puerto Rico that I mean fit the Mayorga mold perfectly.  There's two guys that are really strong and just throw punches from every angle, and they just keep coming forward, and then we have a guy who has that same style, but is really, really fast, just explosive fast, and so we've been covering every angle:  the speed, the power, the pressure.  We have one guy who he's like a baby bull.  This guy's like a baby rhino, he just keeps coming forward and he's strong and fast and if you're not aware, he'll knock you out with one left hook.  I mean this guy's really strong.  He's probably about 175, 170.  So, we've covered every angle.

MICHAEL HIRSLEY:  Would we know any of these guys?  Can you tell us who any of them are?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  I know a few guys that Trinidad used when he fought Mayorga, so I really don't think their really well known.

MICHAEL HIRSLEY:  One other thing, just when you were speaking about a Trinidad fight since you are both now in Puerto Rico, is there any sense that that would be the kind of fight that in addition to all of the reasons that you talked about earlier, leading into retirement would be sort of the king of the island?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Well you know it's funny because I mean all that I hear now here on the island is, oh you have to shut Mayorga's mouth up and he talks so much and this and that, and there's no buzz about having the rematch with Trinidad.  I guess the focus now here on the island is like well you have to shut this guy's mouth up, because he talks so much stuff.

MICHAEL HIRSLEY:  They're not looking beyond this fight either then.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  No, not at all.

MICHAEL HIRSLEY:  Thank you very much, Oscar, good luck.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Thank you.

OPERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question's coming from Karl Freitag of Fight News.

KARL FREITAG, FIGHT NEWS:  Hey Oscar, how's it going?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Hey Karl, good.

KARL FREITAG:  I was wondering, you didn't go away for any kind of training camp, you're just going home at night after the gym, right?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Exactly.

KARL FREITAG:  So, how's this going to play out differently in the fight compared to going to a Spartan training camp like you usually do.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  You know it's better.  It's better because I come home and I can rest in my own bed, and I wake up in the morning and my family's here.  It's so comforting.  The energy is just different, and I've actually had several training camps in Big Bear where I have my wife and my family there with me, and one of them was when I fought Vargas, another one was when I fought Mosley the second time.  I have that family support and I think it turns out for the better.

KARL FREITAG:  Well I know a lot of fighters as motivation I guess, that they feel that they were deprived in their fight, and that's one of their acts of motivation, but I guess you don't need acts of motivation for this fight.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Well at this point in my career, I need the motivation from my family.  I need for them to be there.  I need to see them everyday.  I don't need to be 3,000 miles away.  Let's say something happened to the baby, oh he's not sleeping, they call me at 2:00 in the morning and that's a big distraction.  So at least now I know that I'm sleeping, I'm actually sleeping in the guesthouse, and they sleep at home.  I know they're taken care of.  I know that everything is fine and dandy, so all I can do is just focus on my boxing.  

KARL FREITAG:  Are you looking at Mayweather now that he's a free agent?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Well that will be like a dream come true for Golden Boy Promotions.

KARL FREITAG:  As far as the company running that, is it difficult to make big decisions for the company, Richard or Oscar, when Oscar's fighting.  I guess he has to kind of excuse himself, especially for his own fights?

RICHARD SCHAEFFER:  Oscar's very much focused on the fight, and basically all major decisions we are waiting on until after the fight.  So he's very focused on that, and you know we have a great relationship and friendship and so we trust each other, so that really wasn't a factor or wasn't an issue.

KARL FREITAG:  After this, this month in general's going to be a big month for Golden Boy with this other big promotion.

RICHARD SCHAEFFER:  Yes, I was actually talking to  the head of HBO pay-per-view, and he said he doesn't recall any other promoter since the pay-per-view business started having that many back-to-back mega-fights.  Of course, with this one here and then in June with Hopkins and Carver, and then in July with Mosley and Vargas, and in between we have several HBO fights, World Championship Boxing with Barrera and then with Montiel and Gonzales the following week.  So they do not recall any promoter ever in the history having had that many mega-fights back-to-back.

KARL FREITAG:  Congratulations, that's a pretty impressive feat there.  All right thank you very much gentlemen.

RICHARD SCHAEFFER:  Thank you.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Thank you.

OPERATOR:  Thank you, once again to ask a question please press star one now.  Our next question is coming from Tom Stewart of Bangor Daily News.

TOM STEWART, BANGOR DAILY NEWS:  Hi, yes, good afternoon Oscar, how are you?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Good afternoon, things are good.

TOM STEWART:  Good.  The question I wanted to ask you, you know obviously you're a promoter now, and from a promotional point of view, how do you see Mayorga?  Is he a promotable guy?  And do you think he is good, or do you think he is bad for boxing?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  I personally think he's bad for boxing, and as a promoter I think he's crossed the line.  To a certain extent, you know if he were to say a few words, and then shut his mouth, he would be a promoter's dream, but he's crossed the line and when you start insulting family and heritage and this and that, you don't do things like that.  I mean you know, you can maybe insult the fighter and say I'm going to knock you out and this and that, but you don't go and insult heritage and family and wife and this and that.  So, as a promoter I wouldn't want him to be in our stable, and personally he's just crossed the line.

TOM STEWART:  OK, thanks, and just one more question.  You know you come from a long line of fighters.  I guess really your grandfather was a fighter, your father was a fighter, you obviously are a great fighter. What would happen ten or fifteen years from now if your son comes to you and he says, "Dad, I want to box."  What would be your answer, or what's your thoughts on that?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  I would do everything possible to stop the trend, so to speak, with me.  I would do everything possible first to say, "Hey go to school, get your education, do something else that's easier."  But if he was insisting on "hey I want to fight, I want to do this, I want to be like you," then I would have to support him one hundred percent.

RICHARD SCHAEFFER:  You know let me just quickly add here something.  There were some questions about Mayorga and so on, as it relates to kind of things he says.  You know, attacking the opponent in my opinion like Vargas did, that's all right, and Vargas went pretty far and really had a true hatred of Oscar.  You know that's one thing, but when somebody and anybody irrespective of whatever sport it is goes and attacks and talks bad about the wife, the family, the Mexican people, the gay people, Oscar's deceased mother, and on and on, then I just can sum it up in two words.  That is in my opinion a "low life."  That is not needed and I think that's just wrong.

OPERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question is coming from George Perez of the San Juan Star.

GEORGE PEREZ, SAN JUAN STAR:  (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

OPERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question is coming from Miguel Cruz of Impacto Latin News.

MIGUEL CRUZ, IMPACTO LATIN NEWS:  (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

OPERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question is coming from Robert Morales of the L.A. Daily News.

ROBERT MORALES:  Hey, Oscar, one last thing.  On Mayorga's call he said that the reason he started disliking you came years ago when you first kicked Chavez's ass.  He said that's the reason why he started disliking you.  Basically he made it sound like because you're both Mexicans that you should have let Julio win just because he was everybody's idol.  Now do you think he really believes that or is that something he pulled out of his ass to justify the way he's been acting?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  No, he pulled that one out of left field.  That's the funniest thing I've ever heard.  No, you know it's funny because when we shot the commercial, that's when we first met.  We shook hands and everything, and then all of a sudden he like flips, I don't know what it was, he started getting emotional.  It was weird.  You know, here we are shaking hands, and then all of a sudden he just flips and he started talking and revving himself up and oh I'm going to knock you out, and this and that, and I was like, whoa this guy has some problems.  So ever since then, then he like started attacking me and this and that and that's how it started.

ROBERT MORALES:  Well thanks Oscar, good luck, man.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Thank you.

OPERATOR:  Thank you, our next question is coming from Diego Martinez of Reforma.

DIEGO MARTINEZ, REFORMA:  (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

OPERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question is coming from Ramiro Gonzales of the L.A. Opinion Newspaper.

RAMIRO GONZALEZ:  (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

OPERATOR:  Thank you, our next question's coming from Angel Rodriguez of Univision.com

ANGEL RODRIGUEZ:  (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

OPERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question's coming from William Trillo of Boxing 2006.com.

WILLIAM TRILLO, BOXING 2006.COM:  Hey Oscar, how's it going this afternoon?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Very good, thank you.

WILLIAM TRILLO:  Listen Oscar, obviously we know he's got under skin, and this is a lesson that he needs to learn.  How do you go about separating what's under your skin from the actual trainings, the work, and what you have to do inside the ring with a guy that's off the hook?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  It's something I've thought about for a long, long time ever since we even signed the contract to make this fight.  I was maybe five, six months ago saying to myself, "OK, who am I going to fight?  Who's going to get me revved up to get motivated for this fight?" and so when I thought about Mayorga, I said to myself, "okay this guy's going to get under my skin, as long as I don't let him get into my head, we have a fight.  We're going to keep our composure and make it a good fight".  And so that's what I've done.  I've mentally prepared myself to take all these verbal blows left and right, and he's got under my skin which has allowed me to train as hard as I can, and get motivated, but he hasn't got into my head, which is very important.  That's the reason why I'll be able to keep my cool and stick to my game plan.

WILLIAM TRILLO:  So it goes without saying how many fighters have lost inside of a ring because it does get into their head and they get out of their game plan.  Obviously along with your physical roadwork, you've been doing some mental roadwork as well.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  Oh absolutely, and I've prepared for this for a long time, for many months, even before the fight got signed I've been preparing for this.  So it's a matter of just preparation.  If you're prepared then you can, I know I'll be able to ace this test with flying colors.

WILLIAM TRILLO:  That's great.  Richard, I know Oscar's been buried away in camp so it's no surprise that he didn't know about the Mayweather buyout with Top Rank.  Were you aware of it? And can I get your comments on that?

RICHARD SCHAEFFER:  No I was aware of it, and I guess Floyd Mayweather wants to keep his options open and once we decide, I've read that his hand is hurting.  But we are very busy with our fight so I haven't paid any-I mean I read it and said "well okay" and moved on because it doesn't really concern us at this point and we'll deal with after Oscar's fight.

WILLIAM TRILLO:  Great, both you guys are gentlemen, thank you so much, we'll see you next weekend.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA:  All right, thank you very much guys.  It's time for me to go train, so I appreciate all the support and especially all the media which obviously makes these fights and it makes it happen so (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

RICHARD SCHAEFFER:  Thank you.

MARYLYN ACEVES:  Thank you everyone.

4-27-2006