Video By Darren Nichols Transcribed By Jose "OnFire" Aguirre

Darren Nichols: Darren Nichols with the one, the only, Oscar De La Hoya. Oscar I got to ask you the question everyone wants to know the answer to. How's the liver?

Oscar De La Hoya:"The liver is still in pain. I'm still hurting. I massage it every night trying to make it feel better but I can never forget that painful moment. It's part of boxing."

DN: How long was it before you could actually get up and walk around with alot of pain?

OD: "That's why I was so frustrated because after about twelve, thirteen seconds then you're fine. It's those then seconds when the referee is counting. That's when it's frustrating and you can't get up because you can't breath and something is sucking you down. But after twelve to fourteen seconds you're fine. That's the beauty of a body punch, you can get a perfectly executed knockout by hitting somebody to the liver."

DN: When you partnered up with Bernard Hopkins, why him? Why not other opponents that you've faced?

OD: "Bernard Hopkins is a man who gets it. A man who stands up for what's right. Bernard Hopkins knows that he's fourty years old. He just turned fourty. Happy birthday. And he knows that he's got a few more fights left in him before he retires. I'm sure he will retire as the pound for pound king. He's a person who gets it and wants to really change the sport for the better. Mark my words, in the next five years we're going to make a huge change in the sport. It's going to happen. We have the perfect team."

DN: What's harder, going from the ring to the promotion or being a promoter getting ready for the fight getting into the ring?

OD: "It's funny. If you don't know what you're doing it's actually tougher getting into the promotion business. People think I'm going to get into this game, I'm going to promote and make money and this and that but its not like that. You have to lay down your foundation, have your perfect team. Do the right thing. We walk a straight line at Golden Boy Promotions. Whoever looks right or left and doesn't stay on that straight line that I believe in so much then they're out."It's easy as that. We want to do things right at Golden Boy Promotions. That's why Golden Boy Promotions is the future of boxing."

DN: When can we see you in the ring again?

OD: "I'm not sure. I'm actually trimming down now. I'm probably walking around at 153lbs at the most. I'm working to see if I can make it down the 147lbs and then we'll see what happen. I really haven't made plans. I'm really excited and thrilled about promoting and that's what I really enjoy."

DN: Was Hopkins really the reason for the move down?

OD: "Well we have to be real here that 160lbs is out of my league. Even 154lbs is out of my league. I'm a natural welterweight. I walk around at one fifty two, one fifty three. Without even trying. I sometimes ask myself "what if I had stayed at 147lbs?" Maybe I would have ruled and been the pound for pound champion Maybe I would have done this and that but you know what? I took that extra leap to try and make history. It didn't turn out for me but at least I tried."

DN: What does 2005 have in store for De La Hoya?

OD: "First of all getting the right deals for our fighters. Making sure boxing keeps growing and doesn't deteriote. We want to really help the sport out and the fighters. We're looking for big things for Barrera. For Escobedo who will be making his pro debut here on the card. We have Abner Mares fighting. We have Kinsley Ikeke who's fighting on the card. Demetrius Hopkins who is Hopkins' nephew. Jermaine Taylor. We're excited about this card and 2005 is the start of big things."