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McGregor, the biggest pay-per-view draw in the UFC promotion,
announced earlier this month that he had signed his half of the
deal to box against the 40-year-old Mayweather, who retired in
2015 with a 49-0 record.
"With each passing day, it looks more and more likely that the
circus known as Floyd Mayweather v Conor McGregor will be coming
to town in the near future," De La Hoya wrote in an open letter
posted on his Facebook account.
"One group will eventually be left to make sure this farce
doesn't occur... We, the fans, who are the lifeblood of our
sport," he wrote.
The 10-time professional world champion predicted his former
rival Mayweather would simply destroy the 28-year-old McGregor
in any such contest.
"...just wait until the best boxer of a generation dismantles
someone who has never boxed competitively at any level --
amateur or professional.
"Our sport might not ever recover," said De La Hoya, pointing
out the differences between boxing and MMA.
"To use a bit of an extreme analogy, I happen to be a pretty
good golfer. Could I potentially hold my own on one of the
second-tier tours? Maybe. But would I be able to compete with
Rory McIlroy, Jordan Speith or Sergio Garcia? Of course not. Nor
would I think to try."
The proposed bout threatens to overshadow the September
superfight between Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez which De
La Hoya's company is promoting but the American said his concern
was genuine.
"...if Floyd were to come out of retirement to take on someone
like Keith "One-time" Thurman, Errol Spence or some other top
welterweight, not only would I applaud the fight, I'd be the
first one on line for a ticket," he added.
"That kind of fight is what the fans -- and I am a fan first --
deserve."
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by John
O'Brien)
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