De La Hoya Is Firm=No Comeback For Me

Published

10 years ago

June 29, 2015

He’s apparently been flirting with the prospect, and went public with it a couple weeks ago, leaving the door open to fight again, for the first time since December 2008. But after pondering, and discussions with loved and trusted ones, Oscar De La Hoya has decided to stay retired.The 43-in-February-year-old promoter last scrapped in 2008, in a holiday-season disaster; the outing, against Manny Pacquiao, didn’t go well. Pacman handled a drained De La Hoya easily and Oscar read the writing on the ring post: no more.

He hung up the gloves, and entered the Hall of Fame five years later.

But the urge to compete remains in his blood.

The passage of time insures no transfusion of feelings which can remove the urge to test oneself…time passed, but the urge remains in “the Golden Boy,” who we guess often feels boyish in his mind, then has his body or graying hairs remind him his boyhood has passed.

Here is the message Oscar sent out on social media to explain his flirtation with the idea and his decision to let the sleeping dog lay:

Over the last six months I’ve had a front row seat as Golden Boy fighters including Canelo Alvarez, Bernard Hopkins, Lucas Matthysse, Jorge Linares and David Lemieux have stepped into the ring and shown what boxing should be all about — a commitment to fight the best, to respect the sport and to put the fans first.
As a professional athlete and someone who has spent almost his entire life in boxing, not a day goes by when I don’t think about coming back — and the performances of these Golden Boy fighter has only added to my desire to return to the ring.
But I am retired, and after speaking to my family and following a great deal of introspection, I have decided to stay retired.
However, I do so with knowledge that many fighters today still pride themselves on the same principals that I adhered to throughout my career. It is now through boxers like those I mentioned and dozens of other Golden Boy Promotions fighters that those values live on.
To the many thousands of fans who over the last couple of weeks encouraged me to come out of retirement and fight again, I thank you. You can rest assured that I will spend the rest of my days around this wonderful sport, even though those days won’t be spent inside the ropes.
– Oscar

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