De La Hoya says has decided against making a comeback

"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," De La Hoya, 42, said in a statement.

De La Hoya says has decided against making a comeback

(Reuters)





"But I am retired, and after speaking to my family and following a great deal of introspection, I have decided to stay retired."

De La Hoya, who recently spent two spells in rehab to battle substance abuse, told ESPN last Monday that he was "50-50" about fighting again.

He had quit boxing soon after retiring on his stool at the end of the eighth round of a lopsided 2008 defeat against Manny Pacquiao, but told ESPN: "I am so hungry and so determined. I am young, I am healthy and I feel great... 42 is the new 32."

Nicknamed "Golden Boy", the 1992 Olympic champion won world professional titles at six different weights and founded Golden Boy Promotions in 2002.

He said he was only interested in either a rematch against undefeated welterweight Floyd Mayweather Jr. or a bout against hard-hitting Kazakh middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.

"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," said the Californian, who retired with a 39-6 (30 knockouts) record.

"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."





(Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Frank Pingue)


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world