Reuters

WASHINGTON - Oscar De La Hoya will not underestimate Steve Forbes when he returns to the ring next week for the first time since his defeat by Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The multiple world champion lost his WBC super welterweight title to Mayweather in the highest-grossing contest in boxing last May and is preparing for a rematch in September.

First the 35-year-old faces former IBF super featherweight champion Forbes in Los Angeles on May 3 in his first hometown bout since a split decision loss to Shane Mosley in 2000.

"There's no looking past Steve Forbes," De La Hoya said in a conference call on Wednesday. "I've been training so hard for this, as if it's the most important fight of my life."

De La Hoya said he had overlooked an opponent before, when he fought little-known German middleweight Felix Sturm in June 2004 before a clash with middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins.

De La Hoya came to the fight out of shape and escaped with a narrow win many observers felt should have gone the other way.

"That's never going to happen again," De La Hoya (38-5, 30 KOs) said. "That's the last thing I want at this stage of my career."

He acknowledged that Forbes "is coming to fight. It's his dream fight. But for him to beat me it's going to take something special because I'm going to put on a spectacular show."

The fight will take place at 150 pounds, 20 above the weight at which Forbes (33-5, 9 KOs) held the IBF super featherweight title from 2000 to 2002.

Final opponent

De La Hoya, who plans to retire this year, said an opponent had still to be agreed for his farewell fight in December but WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto was being considered.

"You can never count anybody out. You can never scratch anybody off the list. Obviously, there's Miguel Cotto, who's considered one of the best. But it's too far ahead."

The 1992 Olympic gold medalist restated his plan to retire, although he said his passion for boxing kept him motivated.

"There's not going to be any (fight in) 2009, no fights past December. I want to have these three fights and go out like a champion," the former world champion said.

"It's the passion and love I have for boxing. I love fighting. I love training. I'm always looking for something new. In this training camp, I finally learned how to relax in the ring and not fight tense."

He suggested that new discovery would "keep me around for another five years," before adding, "that's a joke."