Boxing News: Oscar De La Hoya Shuts Door On Any Potential Ring Return

KEY POINTS

Oscar De La Hoya shelves plans of making a return to the boxing ring
De La Hoya says his girlfriend has contributed to his decision to remain retired
"The Golden Boy" shares he is now focusing on several "huge" projects

During the COVID-19 pandemic, boxers who were at their prime came out of retirement to show the world that they could fight.

Among those who planned to prove that was boxer-turned-promoter Oscar De La Hoya.

The 49-year-old had a fight scheduled in September of last year where he would face Vitor Belfort in a crossover boxing match under the banner Triller.

But all that got scorned when“The Golden Boy” got hit by COVID-19 and ended up in the hospital.

Several months later, some critics continue to see if De La Hoya will pursue a comeback fight.

Unfortunately, it seems that all hopes of seeing De La Hoya back in the ring are no longer plausible with the Golden Boy Promotions head honcho saying that he is calling it a day.

“I can’t imagine myself in the ring anymore. I’m hanging up the gloves for sure and calling it a day,” De La Hoya stated as quoted by Boxing Scene.

Before saying this, De La Hoya was teasing a potential makeup fight.

But it appears the training needed for the 1992 Barcelona Olympic gold medalist was too much to endure.

“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,” he explained.

But the sudden change in plans was not solely because De La Hoya struggled to train properly for a potential boxing comeback.

It appears his new girlfriend, Holly Sonders, also played a huge role in the decision--a relationship the retired boxer has made him feel more complete.

“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,” ge shared.

De La Hoya last fought in 2008, a loss to fellow retired boxer Manny Pacquiao.

The fight was stopped at the end of the eighth round with "Pac-Man" ahead on all the scorecards of the three judges, the NY Daily News reported.

De La Hoya officially announced his retirement in April 2009.