Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya is confident that he would have beaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. - if the two of them had fought a few years earlier.

They collided in 2007, when De La Hoya was 34-years-old and Mayweather was 30, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Mayweather, moving up for the first time to the junior middleweight limit of 154-pounds, won a close twelve round split decision.

Their bout broke all sorts of financial records - including a record breaking pay-per-view buyrate - that was eventually broken by Mayweather's fight with Manny Pacquiao in 2015.

A rematch was planned, but never happened when Mayweather unexpectedly announced a very brief retirement.

Despite their animosity, De La Hoya's company would go on to co-promote Mayweather's fights until 2014.

According to De La Hoya, he was way past his best when they finally met in the ring. He feels strongly that we would have seen a much different outcome had they collided years earlier.

"It's no secret that I fought Floyd when I was over the hill, past my prime," De La Hoya told TMZ ... "If I was about 28 or 29 years old, I would have knocked that ass out easy."

And De La Hoya may have been past his best when he met Mayweather. He retired the following year, when he was battered and stopped by Manny Pacquiao - who was a massive underdog when he entered the ring.

Former three division world champion Shane Mosley, who split two fights with a prime De La Hoya and then lost a twelve round decision to Mayweather several years later, says De La Hoya was the better fighter and would have beaten Mayweather if they had fought in their primes.

“In his prime, definitely I would say Oscar was better,” Mosley said to Yahoo Sports. “He was more physical and faster, and he had more punching power.”