Oscar De La Hoya says no to comeback bid at age 42

LOS ANGELES, USA – Oscar De La Hoya will not come out of retirement to fight again at age 42, the 6-division champion saying Monday on his Facebook page that he has hung up the gloves for good.

It was only a week ago when De La Hoya told ESPN he was 50-50 on the prospects of returning to the ring, and trying to talk up fights against Floyd Mayweather or Gennady Golovkin.

“As a professional athlete and someone who has spent almost his entire life in boxing, not a day goes by when I don’t think about coming back,” De La Hoya said.

“But I am retired, and after speaking to my family and following a great deal of introspection, I have decided to stay retired.”

De La Hoya, now a boxing promoter and the face of Golden Boy Promotions, went 39-6 in his pro boxing career, which ended with his 2009 retirement after being stopped in the eighth round by Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao in December 2008. De La Hoya lost a 2007 split decision to Mayweather.

“To the many thousands of fans who over the last couple of weeks encouraged me to come out of retirement and fight again, I thank you,” De La Hoya said. “You can rest assured that I will spend the rest of my days around this wonderful sport, even though those days won’t be spent inside the ropes.” – Rappler.com