Floyd Mayweather got lucky he didn't run into Oscar De La Hoya a couple years earlier, 'cause if he had, he'd have gotten his ass KNOCKED OUT ... so says Oscar himself.
The two men fought in 2007, when Oscar was 34 and Floyd was 30, and the fight ended in a hotly contested split decision ... although most thought Mayweather was the clear winner.
When we spoke with "Sugar" Shane Mosely -- who fought both guys -- he told us Oscar was clearly the better fighter in his prime and would have beaten Floyd if they fought a few years earlier.
So, when we saw Oscar in L.A. promoting the Canelo vs. GGG fight, we had to ask how he felt about Mosely's claim.
"It's no secret that I fought Floyd when I was over the hill, past my prime." ODLH said ... "If I was about 28 or 29 years old, I would have knocked that ass out easy."
The fight is widely considered the event that made Mayweather an international star ... Floyd was never the B side again after beating De La Hoya, going on to set box office records as a fighter.
Here's the thing ... Oscar is 45, Floyd is 41. Now EVERYONE is over the hill, so might as well get it popping again right? We'd watch.