LAS VEGAS — Oscar De La Hoya went into the ring Saturday night knowing he might be a few minutes away from the end of his lucrative career.
He left as a champion who — after turning in his most impressive performance in years — might want to rethink his retirement plans.
Fighting for the first time in 20 months, the Golden Boy dominated Ricardo Mayorga, knocking down the Nicaraguan brawler in the first round before stopping him in the sixth to claim the WBC's 154-pound title.
Showing no signs of rust or reluctance, the 33-year-old De La Hoya (38-4) flattened Mayorga (28-6-1) in the opening minute and seldom let up, unleashing waves of punishing head shots until Mayorga went down for the third time at 1:25 of the sixth. De La Hoya jumped onto the ropes with the flair of a champ who was back in his element again.
"No matter what, I was going to stand up to him, let him know right away that I was here to fight," De La Hoya said. "I had to show the bully that I wasn't going to back down."
From the opening shots to the fantastic final flurry, it was perhaps the best fight for De La Hoya since he stopped Fernando Vargas four years ago.
De La Hoya has said he wants to finish his career Sept. 16. There is a chance of a tantalizing bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. — whose father trains De La Hoya.
Mayweather watched De La Hoya's dominance from ringside and said he wants the September fight, calling it "the biggest fight in boxing history."
De La Hoya clearly hadn't lost his passion for the ring since Bernard Hopkins stopped him in the ninth round in September 2004.
Mayorga, 32, insulted De La Hoya on several levels before the bout, which attracted 13,076 to MGM Grand Garden Arena.
"You are a great champion," Mayorga said to De La Hoya. "You are a great fighter. I apologize for everything I said to you."
De La Hoya replied, "I forgive you."
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