It's been awhile since HBO aired boxing, but they go back to their roots a bit as they are airing ''the Golden Boy'', on Oscar De La Hoya, who was once the foundation of the HBO Sports boxing franchise. The two-part feature premieres next Monday night (9 pm, ET/PT).
Now, I'm not a critic -- Rex Reed, I ain't -- but I am a connoisseur of documentaries. Just recently I have seen the one on 'the American Gladiators' (both from ESPN and Netflix), 'Goliath' on Showtime (on Wilt Chamberlain) and 'Wham' (yeah, 'Wham', I said it).
The biggest compliment I can give 'the Golden Boy' is that as someone who has been on the boxing beat since the mid-90's and covered much of De La Hoya's storied career up close, is that not only was a I entertained by much of what I already knew, but I learned a few things, also.
GBP/Oscar De La Hoya
Here is a trailer to this production:
The Golden Boy | Official Trailer | HBO
In short, for me a documentary is good if I would rewatch it. This applies for 30 for 30's such as 'the U' on the renegade Miami Hurricanes of 1980's and 'the Last Dance' on Michael Jordan's final season as a Chicago Bull. For me, 'Hoop Dreams' no matter how many times I've seen it, is always compelling.
Well, 'the Golden Boy' is in this category. Not only because De La Hoya had such a notable career, but the fact that he is so open about some of his foibles. And yes, they delve into 'everything' that happened outside the ring.
GBP/Oscar De La Hoya
Mario Lopez, a close friend of De La Hoya and one the executive producers, said on this weeks
3 Knockdown Rule' that, "It was important that Oscar had to feel at peace, and he said this whole process was therapeutic. You can look back, you can really have this honest portrayal.
"I've always said, being his friend, and with the ups and downs of anyone's life, if you're a good guy -- and at the end of the day, he's a good guy, with a good heart -- you want to root for somebody who's a nice dude. If you're a jerk and just not nice to people, then it's different."
Perhaps, De La Hoya would not have been so transparent without that trust.
"From the beginning, I told Oscar, 'as a friend, I'm going to look out for you, but at the same time the way it's really going to resonate is if you are completely honest about certain things that are out here and address them,'" said Lopez. "I think people are going to respect that, because look, no one leads a perfect life."
GBP/Oscar De La Hoya
De La Hoya freely admits that he did succumb to temptation many times. For some, how he spoke about it will be revealing, for him, it was cleansing. He seems to be a good place.
"In order to do this, I obviously had to be ready," he said, during an in-studio visit to 'the 3 Knockdown Rule'. "Ready emotionally, even spiritually. I had to be good with myself to do this."
ARUM
Bob Arum, who is featured in 'the Golden Boy' tells SNAC.com that whether Shakur Stevenson faces undisputed lightweight champion, Devin Haney next or not, that, "Shakur is going to fight later this year in a major fight. Maybe it'll be against Haney, maybe it'll be against (Vasiliy) Lomachenko. I don't know, but the fights going to happen."
It's been reported that the WBC is putting a deadline on Haney to make up his mind on keeping the title, or vacating. Before Stevenson can enforce any kind of mandatory, he has to see if Haney will even stay at 135. Rumors abound that he could move up and face WBC junior welterweight titlist, Regis Prograis in the fall
As for Stevenson, his next fight could take place on November 16th in Las Vegas.
Mikey Williams/Top Rank
Arum explained, "because Formula 1 will be on the weekend, and people come in really early to see them practice. So there will be thousands of people in town. We put on a good fight on, we'll sell it out."
It's unusual nowadays to have title fights take place on weeknights in the States. It used to be a regular occurrence.
"But that was a different era, you couldn't get the theaters and arena's for closed-circuit on any other days other than Monday or Tuesday," Arum pointed out.
TEO
So it turns out junior welterweight champion, Teofimo Lopez, is not retired, as he informed the WBO that he intends on keeping his title.
"He was at my house a couple of days ago," Arum told SNAC.com. "We had a lovely lunch and spent some time. I think his heads back on."
Mikey Williams/Top Rank
Lopez impressively out-pointed Josh Taylor back in June to re-establish his status as an elite boxer. As for what's next, Arum says, "We're looking to make him a really big fight, either later this year, or maybe in conjunction with the Super Bowl, next year."
3KR
Here is the complete show that features De La Hoya in-studio with Mario and I (on YouTube):
THE 3 KNOCKDOWN EPISODE 009 | MARIO LOPEZ STEVE KIM | OSCAR DE LA HOYA HBO MOVIE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
And to subscribe to 'the 3 Knockdown Rule' on your favorite podcast platform, hit the Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/3knockdownrule
FINAL FLURRIES
Arum says that the all-Mexican showdown between Emanuel Navarette and Oscar Valdez at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona is doing well at the box-office. "We're going to have to open up the whole building.".... George Kambosos-Maxi Hughes will headline this Saturday nights card on ESPN at 10 pm, ET/7 pm, PT, with coverage of the Top Rank undercard on ESPN+ starting at 6:15 pm, ET/3:15, PT....Jared Anderson makes a quick return as he faces Andriy Rudenko on August 26 in Tulsa, OK, with fellow heavyweights Efe Ajagba and Bakhodir Jololov on the ESPN undercard....Looks like William Zepeda-Mercito Gesta will take place on September 16....I can be reached at k9kim@yahoo.com.....
