Last week, Oscar De La Hoya informed ESPN.com of his desire to return to the boxing scene after almost seven years in retirement. During that time he said that the possibility was 50-50. However,a few days after, he retracted his statement and decided against the comeback.
"Over the last six months I've had a front row seat as Golden Boy [Promotions] 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," the 1992 Olympics Gold medalist said in a statement.
"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 fighters 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 principles 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."
De La Hoya also spoke of his appreciation towards the encouragements he received since he talked about his possible return.
"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."
The 42-year-old American announced his retirement in early 2009 after a surprising eight-round knockout loss to Manny Pacquiao on December 2008.
De La Hoya consulted his family about his potential comeback and their discussion ended with, "My wife was all for it, but my kids didn't want to see old Papa get hurt."
0 comments:
Post a Comment