Oscar De La Hoya: Ronda Rousey's Ring magazine cover is good for female boxers
Oscar De La Hoya's The Ring Magazine created a stir in the boxing world last month when it featured UFC champion Ronda Rousey on its cover. Rousey, of course, is a phenomenal MMA fighter and former two-time judo Olympian.
However, she's never boxed competitively, either as an amateur or professional. In a traditional sport like boxing, giving a non-boxer female like Rousey the cover of its most famous magazine can and certainly has rubbed some the wrong way.
De La Hoya, a former six-division boxing world champion, Golden Boy promoter and owner of The Ring, believes that Rousey's presence on the magazine cover will open opportunities for female boxers, however.
"[Rousey's cover shot has] given a great magazine attention that it's never had in its existence," he recently told Fight Hub TV, while promoting Miguel Cotto and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez's Nov. 21 fight.
"So now, what do we do with it? How do we capitalize after having her on the cover? I have some really big ideas for women's boxing. I've promised the women boxers that Golden Boy is going to get involved with women's boxing and so we have something brewing and this is obviously the beginning."
All attention is good attention, in the mind of the 1992 boxing Olympic gold medalist.
"It's created a big buzz within the boxing industry," he reasoned. "So, mission accomplished."
Furthermore, De La Hoya has hopes that Rousey will one day leave the UFC and give professional boxing a try. In fact, he says that he intends to be her promoter if and when she does.
"Absolutely," he said. "We've discussed it, and whenever she's ready to step into the ring as a boxer, then obviously Golden Boy Promotions will be right there with her."
