Oscar-De-La-Hoya-Toys-Idea-Fighting-Again-Very-Intriguing

Oscar De La Hoya Toys With Idea of Fighting Again: ‘Very Intriguing’

There’s no better narrative in boxing than the comeback story. Oscar De La Hoya may be preparing to lace up his gloves for another round.

If it worked for Rocky Balboa, Mike Tyson, and Sugar Ray Leonard, then why not him? That seems to be De La Hoya’s train of thought about stepping into the ring again.

“It is a serious proposition. The main reason is because I love it and I miss it,” he told The Guardian.

There’s serious concern whether De La Hoya, whose 47, could compete against some of today’s competition. The boxer hasn’t fought in 12 years. And his last matchup, against Manny Pacquiao, led to a beating and a retirement. De La Hoya hasn’t been hurting for money. But the thrill of the fight may see him make a comeback.

“For the last maybe six, seven months I’ve been feeling great,” he continued. “My body fat is very low. I’m maybe 10 pounds [from] where I want to be. Right now I’m 170. I just want to make sure that when I start sparring I don’t get injured.”

De La Hoya is interested in fighting Gennady Golovkin, 38, who confessed he would kill De La Hoya if the two entered a bout together. But the retired boxer doesn’t appear to be concerned.

Oscar De La Hoya Was Inspired by Mike Tyson

De La Hoya felt inspired by Mike Tyson’s and Roy Jones Jr.’s recent match-up. Both boxing legends came out of retirement to enter the ring against each other.

“What Mike Tyson did was very inspirational. He looked great. He looked like the old Mike Tyson, against a fighter who at one point was the best on the planet,” De La Hoya said. However, he did admit that Tyson’s reflexes were slower though. “If you give your body, your mind, your soul enough time to prepare for a fight you can do it – if you’re injury-free.”

He also compared himself to Sugar Ray Leonard. Leonard trained by having sparring matches with no headgear.

“I would do [that]. I would stage some real fights in the gym, no headgear, smaller gloves – just to make sure everything is OK. It would be against a real fighter, an active fighter. I fought the very best in the prime of my career, so I wouldn’t do any different.”

Whether De La Hoya comes out of retirement for another fight remains to be seen.

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