After some back-and-forth jabs in the past, the war of words between UFC superstar Conor McGregor and boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya is heating up. The latest escalation happened when De La Hoya gave a sharp response when asked about how he would fare against McGregor in a fight.
''Oh, come on, brother, [I'd knock McGregor out in] two rounds," De La Hoya said on CBS Sports' "State of Combat" podcast posted Thursday. "Because one thing about me, I went for the kill always."
The response from McGregor on Twitter was short and to the point.
I accept your challenge, Oscar de la Hoya.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 7, 2020
De La Hoya replied in a tweet Friday morning, saying he wasn't issuing a challenge and was just answering the question as he saw it.
For the record: McGregor, I never challenged you. I was just asked a question and I simply spoke the truth... 🥊
— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) May 8, 2020
There is no secret of De La Hoya's disdain for the highly publicized and lucrative Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor showdown in 2017, which was not so coincidentally scheduled just a few weeks before his company staged the first encounter between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin. Not only did De La Hoya believe it was an insult to "real" boxing, but it might also have cut into his own business.
There was no denying the box-office success of that promotion, which was panned critically but was a financial blockbuster for everyone involved.
McGregor's bout against Mayweather procured over 4 million pay-per-view buys and generated more than $600 million in revenue. Mayweather scored a 10th-round stoppage of McGregor in the sanctioned boxing match at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The 31-year-old McGregor last appeared in the more familiar settings of an Octagon on Jan. 18, stopping Donald Cerrone in the first round of a UFC event.
As for the 47-year-old De La Hoya, who captured major world titles all the way from junior lightweight to middleweight, he has not seen live action since he was soundly defeated by Manny Pacquiao in eight rounds in December 2008. What was thought to be a favorable matchup for De La Hoya was instead an unfortunate end to what was a memorable career. De La Hoya ended up quitting on the stool that night -- and soon after announced his retirement from the ring.
He finished his career with a mark of 39-6 (30 KOs) and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2014.