Oscar De La Hoya Announced His Boxing Return

Oscar De La Hoya resumes his career after 13 years. He was one of the best boxers of the 90s and a successful promoter. He became a world champion in six divisions, won lots of money, and became the richest boxer in history. Former six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs) shared his thoughts on the upcoming fight with former UFC fighter Vitor Belfort.

“I don’t know what I got myself into because he’s a big guy. We will see. I have a good chin, so I have to work on my body, use my speed. I have a good fight plan. I have to look the way I was before I fought Manny Pacquiao in 2008. I have achieved everything that needs to be done in boxing. I want to make the biggest comeback in the history of this sport,” De La Hoya said.

Is It True?

Despite the fact that De La Hoya gave up boxing ingloriously, losing to Manny Pacquiao in December 2008, and having serious problems with drugs and alcohol, the boxer became one of the main promoters of our time. He was responsible for the organization of epoch-making fights. Now, De La Hoya has found the motivation to put on the gloves again, so his devoted fans can try in NZ to check their luck and support their favorite athlete. On September 11, he will fight Vitor Belfort. And we should definitely expect something extraordinary from the 47-year-old legend.

Oscar is not the kind of person who needs money. We can only say that for the first fight in the professional ring, he received a fee of 200 thousand dollars. And today, this is a decent amount for top boxers. However, in 1992 many champions could only dream of such money for a fight. Throughout his career, De La Hoya has earned more than $700 million, so it's silly to think that Oscar would risk his health for money.

The head of Golden Boy Promotions has been supporting rumors of a possible return steadily over the past five years, but he has been talking about it thoroughly since August last year, saying that he wants to fight one of the toughest punchers in boxing, Gennady Golovkin.

Oscar De La Hoya - Career Milestones

● March 5, 1996. Los Angeles, (USA). Fight for the WBO World Featherweight Championship. Opponent: Jimmy Bredal (Denmark). Result: Victory by technical decision in the 10th round.

● June 7, 1996. Las Vegas (USA). Fight for the WBC world light welterweight title. Opponent: Julio Cesar Chavez (Mexico). Result: victory by TKO in the fourth round.

● April 12, 1997. Las Vegas (USA). Fight for the WBC world light welterweight title. Opponent: Pernell Whitaker (USA). Result: Victory by unanimous decision.

● September 18, 1999. Las Vegas (USA). Fight for the WBC / IBF world welterweight titles. Opponent: Felix Trinidad (Puerto Rico). Result: defeat by majority vote.

● June 17, 2000. Los Angeles, USA). Fight for the WBC World Title and IBA Welterweight Title. Opponent: Shane Moseley (USA). Result: Lost by split decision.

● September 18, 2004. Las Vegas (USA). Fight for the WBA Super / WBC / IBF / WBO Middleweight Championship. Opponent: Bernard Hopkins (USA). Result: defeat by knockout in the ninth round.

Let’s Wait for the Fight

Now, it is obvious that a real fight against the division leader does not have any sports component. But an exhibition duel with an aging legend like him is another matter. Let’s see what will happen this year. It is symbolic that De La Hoya announced his return to the public during a press conference of a boxing match between ex-UFC fighter Ben Askren and YouTuber Logan Paul. It is unclear how the rapper Snoop Dogg who was at the event said that he would like to see the legend in the ring. Oscar did not keep him waiting with an answer.