Is Boxer Oscar De La Hoya Readying Himself for Entering Politics?

The Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya fights Ricardo Mayorga tonight in Las Vegas.  here is what De La Hoya has to say on immigration:

De La Hoya, whose family came from Mexico to East Los Angeles as illegal immigrants before he was born, has rarely spoken out on hot political issues. However, he talked this week about his feelings on the illegal immigration controversy enveloping the nation. De La Hoya, who seamlessly moves from Spanish to English in his press conferences, believes that immigrants should at least learn English if they want to live here. “When immigrants come to this country they come to work,” he said. “My family came illegally. They came to work. It’s not easy to get a green card. Obviously, you have to work for it. You have to spend time here in this country. You have to respect the flag. You have to speak English. It’s part of being in America. I understand that and that’s what people should understand. I think this is the land of opportunity. It gave me the opportunity and I really appreciate it.”

Does Oscar D sound like a budding politician?  You betcha!  Recall also that when he fought Julio Cesar Chavez several years ago, Chavez was the fan favorite among Mexican Americans as well as Mexican immigrants who rejected Oscar’s brand of assimiliationism.  Law prof Yxta Maya Murray wrote a great magazine article about this.

For more on Oscar and the fight tonight, click here.

KJ