Oscar De La Hoya officially calls time on his career at the age of 49
- Joe Hewlett
- 23 February 2022
Oscar De La Hoya was planning a comeback to the ring and placed Floyd Mayweather on his shortlist.
Oscar De La Hoya has confirmed he will not fight again after initially hoping to return to the ring.
Last year, De La Hoya was set to face former MMA star Vitor Belfort at the age of 48. However, just eight days before the fight, the Golden Boy tested positive for Covid-19, forcing him to postpone the contest.
De La Hoya promised to make the greatest comeback of all-time, and even suggested a rematch with Floyd Mayweather could be on the cards alongside Canelo Alvarez.
Manny Pacquiao retired De La Hoya in 2008 with a brutal stoppage but 13 years on, De La Hoya claimed Mike Tyson had inspired him to fight again.
Tyson fought Roy Jones Jr in an eight-round exhibition in 2020 and it is believed to have generated more than one million pay-per-view sales on Triller.
Now 49, De La Hoya spoke to
BoxingScene.com and said: "I can't imagine myself in the ring anymore. I'm hanging up the gloves for sure and calling it a day.
"It's not likely [I will fight again]. I'm not feeling it. I went through so much in training. I was on it. When I trained, I left everything and my focus was 100%.
"It just drained me. I couldn't handle it. Once I got COVID, I still have problems breathing when I'm running."
"I feel complete now. I have six projects aside from boxing that I'm working on right now that are huge - mega. I've refocused. I have the energy. I have a woman by my side who makes me feel like King Kong," he explained.
"It's motivating. It really is. I can't wait to see what's going to happen with Golden Boy and my personal brand. Things are moving in the right direction. I'm really excited about it."
De La Hoya won world titles in six divisions and is most known for his fights with Julio Cesar Chavez, Shane Mosley, Fernando Vargas and Mayweather.
Before Mayweather fought Canelo, Pacquiao and Conor McGregor, his 2007 clash against 'Money' was the most lucrative fight in boxing history with $130million made in revenue.
De La Hoya is now focused on delivering Ryan Garcia a world title fight in an exciting lightweight division.
