
Terez, thanks for all your support throughout the years homie...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Oscar De La Hoya, the “Golden Boy” who has held world titles in six different weight classes, announced his retirement from the ring on Tuesday.
The 36-year-old Los Angeles native, arguably the biggest name in contemporary boxing, ended a glittering career four months after his final bout with a win-loss record of 39-6 including 30 knockouts.
”Boxing is my passion, boxing is what I was born to do,” a visibly emotional De La Hoya told a news conference in downtown Los Angeles.
”And when I can’t do it any more, when I can’t compete at the highest level, it’s not fair. It’s not fair to me, it’s not fair to the fans. I’ve come to the conclusion that’s over, it’s over inside the ring for me.
”When you’re an athlete who has competed on the highest level for a lot of years, it’s not fair to step inside the ring and not give my best.”
De La Hoya, who has lost four of his last seven fights, struggled to choke back the tears while paying tribute to the support of his wife, Millie, and his father, Joel Sr., a former boxer.
”I promise to myself, I promise to my family and I promise to everyone that this is it,” he added. “This is the end of the road for me inside the ring.”
De La Hoya, a gold medal winner at the 1992 Olympic Games, has not fought since being stunned by Filipino Manny Pacquiao with an eighth-round TKO in their non-title fight in Las Vegas in December.
Oscar hasn’t been the “golden boy” in a long time. His last several fights he looked completely overmatched. Its a shame to see a big name in boxing retire, because there are so few left. Now who wants to bet Oscar will come out of retirement to fight? 100% Its all about the greens. -TO