Boxing
Oscar De La Hoya says he's ending retirement to 'fight for the glory' in return to boxing
Oscar De La Hoya is well aware of the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones exhibition bout slated for Nov. 28.
But unlike those boxing legends, De La Hoya says he's aiming to return to the ring for a "real fight."
The 47-year-old 11-time titlist and founder of Golden Boy Promotions told ESPN on Wednesday that he's ending his retirement.
"The rumors are true and I'm going to start sparring in the next few weeks," De La Hoya said. "It's a real fight. I miss being in the ring, I love boxing. Boxing is what gave me everything I have today, and I just miss it."
De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs)Â hasn't fought since December 2008, when he lost to Manny Pacquiao after his corner decided he was taking too much punishment and stopped the fight following the eighth round.
In retrospect, De La Hoya told ESPN that he wasn't himself at 145 pounds for that fight and that currently his "jab feels faster than ever."
He added that as long as his "conditioning is perfect," he'll be back in the ring to "fight for the glory" — not for the money.
"All these fighters are not of the level that was 15, 20 years [ago], all these fighters are demanding so much money, all these fighters are demanding the moon," De La Hoya said. "And they're forgetting that you must train hard, you must work hard. So that's a huge advantage for me because I know what it takes to train hard, I know how to train smart. I know how to fight smart in the ring.
"These guys are in it just for the money — that'll be the big difference," he continued. "I will fight for the glory, and these guys only fight for the money. And guess what? The glory will always win."
