By Dave Sholler 

“There are only two options regarding commitment; you're either in or you're out. There's no such thing as life in-between.” – Legendary NBA coach Pat Riley

For much of the past few years, Oscar De La Hoya has been living life in-between. Some days, he’s a professional fighter who has built a fruitful business empire. On other days, he’s a businessman who dabbles as a professional fighter. For the most part, both scenarios have worked out for “The Golden Boy.”

After all, De La Hoya is a future boxing Hall of Famer. With wins over the Camachos, Whitakers, Vargas’, and Chavez’s of the world, there will almost certainly be a spot in the International Boxing Hall of Fame for the California native. Outside the ring, De La Hoya may one day be considered a power broker in the world of business, too. Leading the charge at Golden Boy Promotions, De La Hoya has carved out a billion dollar enterprise in relatively no time. No too shabby, right?

Right. However, if you have followed Oscar’s 16-year career in the ring, you might just play the “Do You Think” game.

Like, do you think Oscar has lived up to his full potential as a fighter?

Or, do you think De La Hoya’s business ventures have negatively impacted his in-ring success?

How about, do you think Oscar has been fully committed to life as a prizefighter over the course of the past five years?

If you think like this writer, you’d probably answer “No” to question one, “Absolutely” to question two, and “hell no” to question three. You see, when it comes down to it, Oscar has left a lot to be desired when it comes to his in-ring career.

For starters, take a look at his five professional losses. Aside from the lopsided loss to Bernard Hopkins and his second defeat at the hands of Shane Mosley, it appears as if Oscar beat himself in the other three fights. In one fight, he simply stopped fighting (see Felix Trinidad fight, 1999). In another, he stopped jabbing (see Floyd Mayweather bout, 2007). And in the third (see De La Hoya-Mosley I, 2000) Oscar just didn’t seem to be able to muster the fortitude to outlast “Sugar” Shane. In essence, Oscar gave many a mega fight away.

If examining his losses isn’t enough to raise eyebrows, how about dissecting some of his recent wins? Did Oscar look like a ring general against Steve Forbes in May? Yes, he came away with a unanimous decision victory, but damn, how many punches did Oscar unnecessarily eat? Likewise, judging by a raise of hands, how many of you truly believe that Oscar deserved a victory over Felix Sturm four years ago? Without seeing many hands in the air, one must assume that Oscar’s inconsistency wasn’t a flash in the pan.

With all of that being said, let’s make one thing clear. When De La Hoya enters the ring at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night, he needs to realize that anything but a knockout of Manny Pacquiao is a failure. That’s right, a failure.

If De La Hoya cannot register a knockout against Pacquiao, it’s because he played it safe. Not taking anything away from the Filipino star, but Oscar should be able to stop Pac-Man. Owning a four-inch height advantage, a six-inch reach surplus, and a presumable rehydration weight advantage, De La Hoya should be able to sit on his punches enough to flatten Pacquiao. There should be no reason for Oscar to abandon his jab like he did against Mayweather, no cause to dance around for rounds like he did against Trinidad. To be brutally, painfully, almost unnecessarily blunt, Oscar must show that he is still a killer.

Why a killer, you might ask? Because we are tired of seeing “The Golden Girl.” We are fed up with Mr. Softy. We want to see the fighter who pummeled Mayorga, the machine who destroyed Gatti. We want to see the relentless madman who piledrove Julio Cesar Chavez with fist after fist of punching ecstasy. Quite simply, we want to remember why Oscar’s record is dotted with 30 knockout victories.

Plus, if De La Hoya wants to continue fighting, a knockout of a superstar in Pacquiao also builds intrigue for future fights. It would be a nice storyline to see if Oscar could knock out Ricky Hatton like Mayweather did, don’t you say? It may even help in one day luring “Money” Mayweather out of retirement for a return bout. If not for a return match with the former pound-for-pound king, wouldn’t a knockout help build Oscar’s confidence at welterweight, so much so that he may even consider fighting Antonio Margarito? It may seem crazy now, but confidence can do so much for a fighter.

Come Saturday night, De La Hoya should be thinking one thing and one thing only. Knockout. If that means taking a few chances in the ring, then so be it. If that means stepping inside Pacquiao’s comfort zone a couple of times, then it’s a risk worth taking. On December 6, Oscar De La Hoya should prove to the world that he is still a full-time fighter with full-time abilities. Being a businessman is nice, but there is no reward in living life in-between.

Dave Sholler is a columnist for newspapers across the country. Reach him at shollerholla4@hotmail.com .