Hate him or love him but theres no denying he is a great boxer and definately one of the best in the world right now. You can compare him to the greats of the 80s for as long as you like but he can only fight the best around now and in moving up to take on De La Hoya I believe hes doing that. I think he'll put on a great show against Oscar but its a fight I dont see him winning. I see De La Hoya not only handing the pretty boy his first loss but maybe even knocking him out.
As for Hatton, thats a fight that'll never happen because Mayweather is intent on keep moving up through the weights and Hatton didnt look comfortable above light welter. If they'd fought a 140 pounds Id give it to Ricky but not above that. At welter I reckon Cotto would have a better chance than anyone else.