When last seen in the ring, Oscar De La Hoya was gasping for air after being dispatched by Bernard Hopkins. Now on Saturday night, about 20 months later, the Golden Boy will collect several millions of dollars more to challenge Ricardo Mayorga, the loose horse who won the vacant WBC super welterweight title about nine months ago. De La Hoya goes into the fight with a 2-2-0 record in three years, while Mayorga also is 2-2-0 in the last 29 months. That the fight is on pay-per-view is an indication of the lack of pay-per-view fighters, and whether the Golden Boy wins or loses, this should be the fight that cooks HBO’s pay-per-view golden goose. De La Hoya, the up-and-coming promoter, obviously feels that Mayorga is the right opponent to send De La Hoya, the faded fighter, out a winner. I agree, but I would not bet the ranch on it, especially if Mayorga is still around late.

Ed Schuyler writes for The Sweet Science.