The Last Word On THOSE Photos

“It’s obviously me in those photographs,” said Oscar De La Hoya to Entertainment Tonight a week and a half ago. “But obviously they’ve been photo-shopped or whatever they do with them.”

Oscar in women’s garments? I refuse to believe it. It’s too preposterous for words. To say that Oscar de La Hoya, who rose from humble beginnings in East L.A. to superstardom in the manliest of sports is a cross dresser just doesn’t make sense.

Would Oscar really be that dumb and self destructive? Would he risk a P.R. disaster and ridicule from his fans. Especially his Latino fans who embrace the machismo culture they’ve been brought up in?

Would Oscar risk the health of his flourishing empire, Golden Boy Promotions, by having his picture taken in embarrassing poses wearing fishnets and a skirt with an “exotic” dancer? It just wouldn’t make sense.

But he’s too smart to screw up like that. Right? I mean a guy with such a cunning business sense and an already gorgeous wife wouldn’t be stupid enough to risk his name, marriage, brand and business over some hot Eastern European stripper. Would he? Nah. No way.

I personally don’t care if the outcome proves that Oscar likes to play dress up and pose daintily after a few shots of Patron. Myself, I just don’t get it. I don’t care how much alcohol is involved or how beautiful a woman might be. There’s no way anyone’s putting a wig on me and getting me to pose the way Oscar is seen posing in those pictures. In fact, it’s going to take several people surrounding me with AK-47’s for me to make an attempt at putting on some fishnets.

I just feel sorry for the innocent victims of this scandal. Ricardo Mayorga and Fernando Vargas. Here are two of the hardest, roughest guys in and outside the sport and now they may have to live with the fact that they were brutally knocked out by a guy who likes to sport high heels and a skirt every once in a while.

The Oscar bashing is still out there. I say we give the guy the benefit of the doubt. I personally believe he’s been great for the sweet science. Let’s not forget that De La Hoya infused boxing with a shot of energy that invigorated the sport during the nineties when boxing was truly on its back.

The guy’s worth every cent he’s made.

De La Hoya’s fights are pay per view events that produce large gatherings of friends and family around the world. Some of them shell out the forty five to fifty bucks to hopefully see Oscar get knocked out clean. Not with a body shot like the one Bernard Hopkins landed. They want to see De La Hoya unconscious.

The Oscar haters never got their wish.

With this scandal brewing, they may get to see him down for the count again. It doesn’t look good by any means. He’s admitted to knowing the woman involved in the scandal and being in Philadelphia for a charity event during the time the pictures were taken.

How will Oscar’s people handle this? It’s likely they’ll flood the media with Oscar favorable p.r. materials.

But the questions will still linger about those pictures. Are they real? Some of the folks I’ve talked to that work with Photoshop say they look authentic. Others say that a case can definitely made for them being phony. It's pretty clear that the female at the head of the scandal is less than credible, so we're all pretty certain that she set up Oscar, if you can judge by the water cooler chatter.

Oscar should clear the air.

If the pics are real, if he was in the room with her, would Oscar take an honest, straight forward approach? Would he ever admit to a moment of weakness?

Would Oscar fess up? It’s an unlikely scenario. As its stands, Oscar’s camp is reportedly claiming blackmail.

In reality, why should we care so much? We’ve all had our lapses in judgment. You throw in some high grade tequila and a stripper and that’s where rationale ends for a lot of men. How else can one explain why a camera would be allowed by Oscar anywhere near the hotel room?

The lesson learned is that for a married man running a burgeoning empire, alcohol, strippers and a camera just don’t mix.

As usual, Oscar will survive the storm with a few bruises. He’s survived others. His crew is on double duty doing damage control as we speak.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Oscar is that he’s always up for a good fight.

Ring Bytes:

I hated to see Marco Antonio Barrera go down the way he did against Pac Man. I really expected more from him. Overall it was a disappointing main event. Luckily, the Andrade-Mack and Luevano-Davis bouts were pretty exciting.

As for Pacquiao, what can I say? His strength and athleticism is impressive but then again he didn’t put in a super star performance. Who can beat the Filipino? Juan Manuel Marquez is getting shop worn but he’s still got a great shot at beating Pacquiao. The Dominican, Joan Guzman, is also an even bet. He’s an excellent boxer who’s just as fast and athletic as Manny. Lastly, let’s not forget about the Top Rank promoted, Humberto Soto. This guy is in his prime and an assassin.  Soto vs. Pac Man is the fight I’d like to see next.

Is Bojado done? He should’ve beaten Forbes. It’s another step back for Panchito. There’s no doubt he’s got the hunger but it’s the wrong kind of hunger as the scale indicated when he couldn’t make weight on the first try.