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Steve KimESPN
Oscar De La Hoya told ESPN on Wednesday that he will return to the ring at the age of 47.
Twelve years after his last fight, the 11-time titlist confirmed he is ready to end his retirement.
“The rumors are true, and I will start saving in the next few weeks,” De La Hoya said.
De La Hoya (39-6 30 KOs) added that he will not be participating in an exhibition fight like fellow retired champions Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr.
“It’s a real fight,” he said. “I miss being in the ring, I love boxing. Boxing is what gave me everything I have today, and I just miss it.”
After winning a gold medal for the United States at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, De La Hoya had a meteoric rise in the professional ranks, winning the WBO junior lightweight title by stopping Jimmi Bredahl in 1994 in 10 rounds , in only his 12th professional match. The La Hoya would eventually win major world titles in six different weight classes.
During this stretch, “The Golden Boy” was considered one of the best fighters in boxing and its biggest pay-per-view and gate attraction. He was just as noticeable outside the ring because he was good at it. There are very few fighters who can appear on the cover of Ring Magazine and Newsweek.
De La Hoya’s career came to an unknowing conclusion when he stepped into his chair after the eighth round of a fight against Manny Pacquiao in December 2008. A few months later at the age of 36, De la Hoya announced his retirement. .
“Look, my last fight with Pacquiao, I was waiting in 145 and that was apparently a shell of mine,” said De La Hoya of his tough decision to move to welterweight to Pacquiao after seven years of campaigning at junior middleweight.
Now that he is set to return, De La Hoya understands that many will question this decision.
“Look, it’s a long time, yes,” he said. “But actually my jab feels faster than ever. I have to make sure my conditioning is perfect, my health is good. And that will happen in the coming weeks. We’ll see.”
De La Hoya, who has been battling drug and alcohol addiction in the past, said he started to get in shape again a few months ago, and as he began to feel better and better, the old itch returned.
De La Hoya said he saw the current landscape of boxing and did not like what he saw.
“All these fighters are not from the level that was 15, 20 years ago [ago]”All these fighters demand so much money, all these fighters demand the moon,” said De La Hoya. And they forget that you have to train hard, you have to work hard. That’s a huge advantage for me, because I know what it costs to train hard, I know how to train smart. I know how to fight smart in the ring.
“These guys are just there for the money – that’s going to be the big difference. I’ll fight for the glory, and these guys are only fighting for the money. And think what? The glory will always win.”
For now, the plan is to compete between 154-160 pounds. As for whom he will judge?
“Every top man, every top man there is,” De La Hoya said.
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