Confident De La Hoya looks ahead to Mayweather rematch

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

CARSON, California (Reuters) - Oscar De La Hoya confidently turned his thoughts towards his rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. later this year after comfortably beating fellow American Steve Forbes in a non-title bout on Saturday.

"I can't wait for September," the 35-year-old told reporters after registering a unanimous decision victory over Forbes in front of a crowd of 27,000 at the Home Depot Center.

"It's all business now. It is personal and I am going to beat him (Mayweather). You watch. I'm going to beat him. It's all about having the perfect game plan.

"The harder you try, the better it is for Floyd junior. We will get it done. This is very personal."

"Golden Boy" De La Hoya, in the twilight of his career and arguably the biggest name in boxing, was beaten on a split decision by Mayweather in Las Vegas 12 months ago.

In the sport's highest-grossing fight, Mayweather won a tight verdict from two of the three judges and De La Hoya knows where he needs to improve in the much-anticipated rematch.

"Just more jabs, stay on my toes more and move my head more," said the Mexican-American, who has won world titles in six different weight divisions.

POPPING JABS

"We will definitely be popping more jabs. Stiff hard jabs, that's going to be the key."

Although Saturday's 12-round bout was widely regarded as a tune-up for his September showdown with Mayweather, De La Hoya said he never under-estimated Forbes, a former IBF super featherweight champion.

"I never looked past Steve Forbes," he added. "Obviously I was hoping for this outcome. I knew it was going to be a tough fight but I wanted to work on some things. I am going to fight 12 hard rounds come September."

De La Hoya, a Los Angeles native, especially relished fighting in front of his hometown fans on Saturday.

"It just felt really nice to be home, even though I was a bit distracted, in between rounds or during a few rounds," he said.

"I would see the crowd and think: 'Wow, this is something special. It's amazing. It really is. You can hold a boxing event at the Home Depot and fill it up in Los Angeles.

"That's why I feel I can still do this. My fans in LA are the best and without the fans there is no career."

(Editing by Ed Osmond)