Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather traded some sharp words during a press conference before their 2007 superfight…
Floyd:”Shane Mosley is nobody. Shane Mosley is a sparring partner. I can’t really say nothing bad about Shane because he’s not his own boss. If I’m going to talk about Shane I’m going to talk about his wife or I’m going to talk to Oscar, because them are his bosses.”
“I’ve seen Oscar fight, he got a lot of gifts. When I say gifts, Oscar knows when he fought Pernell Whitaker he lost. Oscar knows when he fought Ike Quartey, he lost.”
“There’s two things that we do know about Oscar – we know he gets tired and we know he will lay down. Those are two things that you gotta know about Oscar.”
“As far as a guy pinning me on the ropes, it hasn’t happened in 20 years. And it won’t happen on May 5.”
“I ain’t nervous, I ain’t ever nervous. I mean, what am I nervous for? I’ve been in 18 championship fights. I mean, this guy (Oscar) doesn’t pose no threat to me. I mean, no guy pose no threat to me. It’s not being cocky, it’s confidence. I believe in myself. So Oscar doesn’t pose a threat to me at all.”
“Actually I did find out something. He ain’t real. Oscar De La Hoya is a fake ass fighter. And it’s like he was saying stuff, like I didn’t deserve to be in the sport of boxing and I don’t deserve certain things. It’s more like we all know Oscar De La Hoya is greedy. He’s ungrateful and he’s a brat. And HBO will tell you that.”
“God don’t make mistakes. And the reason I’m where I’m at and undefeated is because, like I said before, God has truly blessed me with a talent. The talent is boxing. And I’m appreciative. And when it’s all said and done, only God can judge me. And God don’t make mistakes and that’s why I’m in this fight. And you know he say shit like he sold this fight out. Like I told you before, it takes two. I do good numbers with or without Oscar. Is this my biggest penny? Absolutely. Why? Because it takes two. I needed a dance partner. And he needed a dance partner.”
Oscar: “All I know is how his father would tell me he’s a little brat and he needs a lesson. I truly feel that Mayweather needs a humbling experience. He really is a little brat. Just the way he comes across. I mean, he’s very arrogant. I mean, obviously we were on the press tour for so many days. And he can get up on the podium and say a few nice things and then his real side will come out. I mean, he starts talking all this trash about I’m nothing and I haven’t fought anybody. And this and that. And it’s uncalled for. It’s unnecessary. I mean, you won’t ever see Tiger Woods talk bad about Jack Nicklaus. It’s just something that’s disrespectful.”