OSCAR DE LA HOYA had toyed with the idea of making a comeback to competitive action at the venerable age of 42. HERE he suggested he could return to fight Floyd Mayweather or even Gennady Golovkin. But he issued a statement via social media to finally rule out the idea.
“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. ,” De La Hoya said.
“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.”
ON THIS WEEK’S PODCAST WE PONDERED WHY DE LA HOYA WAS TALKING ABOUT COMING BACK
