Norwalk, CT (BoxingGurus.com) - With only days to go before the scheduled match up between Oscar De La Hoya (33-2, 27 KO) and Javier Castillejo (50-4, 32 KO) it appears that more is on the line than just the WBC Junior Middleweight Championship. In a bold statement made Wednesday, De La Hoya said that he will either go home with the title or retire from boxing. "A loss would mean that's it, it's over," De La Hoya explained, "I would have no reason to be inside the ring anymore."

Odds makers view this statement as an idle threat, something that De La Hoya did to build up some last minute hype for the fight. After all De La Hoya is currently a 9 to 1 favorite. Castillejo, who has fought outside of Europe only once, has limited experience against high caliber opponents and is regarded as little threat to the ultra talented De La Hoya.

Despite these odds, Castillejo remains highly confident. "Oscar thinks I'm easy but he's making a big mistake," Castillejo said, "I came here to fight."

Those close to De La Hoya feel that he had become disgruntled after losing his WBC Welterweight Title twice, once to Felix Trinidad and again to reigning Welterweight champion Shane Mosley. De La Hoya's best publicized this discontent with extended lay off (9 months) and the move into the recording industry. On Wednesday De La Hoya conceded that he missed the mega-fights associated with being a world champion. He momentarily lost the urge to be a boxer.

After his brief hiatus it appears like De La Hoya is now back on track. In March, armed with a new promoter and trainer, he took out Arturo Gatti in five rounds and in now focused on capturing a title in his 4th weight division (5th if you consider the WBO title a legitimate championship). Regarding his mind set, De La Hoya offered, "In the past I used to look forward to future fights. This time I'm focusing on this fight."

It will be interesting to see how De La Hoya, who will be getting $5 million for the bout, will deal with the increase in weight. It was reported that while in training camp De La Hoya was having difficulty keeping his weight up. On the other hand, Castillejo, who is getting paid $800,000, has never faced an opponent as talented as De La Hoya. Many question his ability to deal with De La Hoya's superior punching speed and quickness.

The fight, which could potentially be De La Hoya's curtain call, can be seen live on Pay Per View Saturday June 23, 2001.