47-year-old Oscar De La Hoya will be returning to the ring, according to ESPN.
What We Know:
- “The rumors are true, and I’m going to start sparring in the next few weeks. It’s a real fight. I miss being in the ring, I love boxing. Boxing is what gave me everything I have today, and I just miss it,” said De La Hoya, who last entered the ring 12 years ago. He also added that he would not be fighting in an exhibition match like Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr.
- De La Hoya is unquestionably an all-time great in the sport of boxing. His career record is 39-6 with 30 knockouts and he won a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics. He has won major world titles in six different weight classes, including the WBO junior lightweight title in 1994. His last fight was against Manny Pacquiao in 2008, where he quit on his stool after round 8.
- De La Hoya says that he plans to fight at 154-160 pounds. For his last fight with Pacquiao, he lost weight to drop down to welterweight from junior middleweight. “Look, my last fight with Pacquiao, I weighed in at 145 and obviously that was a shell of myself,” he acknowledged.
- De La Hoya started training a couple of months ago and told ESPN’s Chris Mannix in July that he was running six miles a day and could make it through six rounds of “heavy sparring”. De La Hoya also had some words for the current boxers out there: “These guys are in it just for the money – that’ll be the big difference. I will fight for the glory, and these guys only fight for the money. And guess what? The glory will always win.”
De La Hoya was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2014. He didn’t reveal any specific opponents he wanted to fight, just telling ESPN: “any top guy out there”. Fans can expect his return to the ring in early 2021.
