Oscar De La Hoya insists he's returning to the ring at 47
The last time we saw Oscar De La Hoya in the ring, in 2008, Manny Pacquiao had rearranged his pretty face. Twelve years later The Golden Boy insists he’s coming back for more at 47.
De La Hoya, who has hinted at a comeback for months, told ESPN that he’s ending his retirement. And he reiterated that he isn’t talking about an exhibition, a la Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. The CEO of Golden Boy Promotions plans to take part in a sanctioned professional bout.
He also swears he’s not looking to face a pushover. Asked who he wants to fight, he said, “Any top guy, any top guy out there.”
“The rumors are true, and I’m going to start sparring in the next few weeks,” De La Hoya said. “It’s a real fight. I miss being in the ring, I love boxing. Boxing is what gave me everything I have today, and I just miss it.”
De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs) seems to be serious, saying he plans to fight between 154 and 160 pounds, but the idea of him exchanging punches with a young, prime opponent is difficult to fathom.
The 1992 Olympic gold medalist — the source of his nickname — became one of the best and most-popular professional fighters of his generation, winning titles in seven weight divisions and breaking pay-per-view records along the way.
However, by 2008, De La Hoya, who has battled drug and alcohol addiction, had begun to decline.
He gave a strong performance against a young Floyd Mayweather in a split-decision loss in May 2007, took a one-year break from boxing and returned to face fringe contender Steve Forbes in May 2008. He won a unanimous decision but didn’t look like the fighter who had dominated the sport for so long.
Then came the Pacquiao fight on Dec. 6 of that year in Las Vegas. Most observers believed the rising Filipino star with too small to compete with an opponent of De La Hoya’s size and track record even though the 35-year-old Mexican-American would be fighting at 147 pounds for the first time in seven years.
In the end, De La Hoya, a tick slower than he had been, couldn’t cope with Pacquiao’s unusual speed and work rate and suffered a horrible, even embarrassing beating. He quit on his stool after eight rounds and never fought again.
De La Hoya implied to ESPN this week that the weight loss was as much to blame as Pacquiao for the setback.
“Look, my last fight with Pacquiao, I weighed in at 145 and obviously that was a shell of myself,” he said. “… It’s been a long time, yes. But actually my jab feels faster than ever. I have to make sure that my conditioning is perfect, my health is good.
“And that’s going to take place in the next few weeks. So we’ll see.”
Oscar De La Hoya, inspired by Mike Tyson’s comeback, has said he plans to fight again and believes he can still be competitive. Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
So why come back now?
De La Hoya could still make money even if it turns out he can no longer fight. And, yes, he undoubtedly misses the competition. He wept when he announced his retirement in April 2009. However, he said he’s motivated by another factor.
“All these fighters are not of the level that was 15, 20 years ,” he said. “All these fighters are demanding so much money, all these fighters are demanding the moon. And they’re forgetting that you must train hard, you must work hard. So that’s a huge advantage for me because I know what it takes to train hard, I know how to train smart. I know how to fight smart in the ring.
“These guys are in it just for the money. That’ll be the big difference. I will fight for the glory, and these guys only fight for the money. And guess what? The glory will always win.”
De La Hoya formally announced his retirement at a news conference in front of Staples Center in Los Angeles, not far from where a bronze statue of him stood (and still does). That process was as difficult for him as the beating he took from Pacquiao, saying good bye to a sport that consumed his life for three decades.
However, he knew the time was right. He knew he had declined. That’s the perfect time get out.
Here is a portion of what he said at the news conference more than 11 years ago: “Now I understand why athletes have such a tough time retiring from something that you feel so passionate about, from your sport that you’re always thinking you can try one more time.
“I can still train hard and I can still compete, but when you’re an athlete that has competed on the highest level for a lot of years, it’s not fair. It’s not fair to step inside the ring and not give my best.”
He was right. Athletes are always thinking they can try one more time.