Donald Trump be warned: Famed Mexican-American boxer Oscar De La Hoya says it would only take him one punch to knock out the Republican front-runner in a boxing match.
Now a promoter, De La Hoya is using Trump’s provocative campaign-trail comments about illegal immigrants and Muslims to hype his promotional company’s May 7 bout between Mexican fighter Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and British Muslim fighter Amir Khan.
“He inspired me to make this fight,” De La Hoya, who is chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, said in Spanish about Trump, according to a translation by ESNEWS. “Imagine this, having a Mexican who’s an idol like Canelo Alvarez celebrating a great night of boxing in Las Vegas, in the United States. Thanks to him for inspiring me to make this fight.”
Asked whether he plans to vote for Trump, a longtime boxing fan, De La Hoya said “of course not,” before adding: “If I had the opportunity to get in the ring with him I’ll knock him out with one punch.”
WATCH (starting at 2:53):
The 43-year old De La Hoya retired from boxing in 2009 after winning 10 world titles in six different weight divisions. Trump has never competed as a professional boxer, but he has repeatedly said on the campaign trail that he has “very strong hands.”
The video of De La Hoya’s comments was posted Monday, though it is not immediately clear when or where he made them. A 3-city promotional tour for the fight ended Wednesday in Los Angeles.