Sports

Golden Boy Oscar De la Hoya retires from boxing at 36

by Amy Judd | April 14, 2009 at 04:59 pm

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Boxing great Oscar de la Hoya has announced that he is retiring from the world of boxing, at age 36. He is known as 'the Golden Boy' of boxing, and has held six different world title weights and ends his career with a record of 39 wins to 6 losses and 30 knockouts.

"I have come to the conclusion that it is over," said an emotional De la Hoya, who won 10 world titles.

"Knowing you are never going to fight again is a tough decision but I am looking forward to the future."

He also won a gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and won 10 titles as a super-featherweight, before he became a middleweight.
He says that his fight last December against Manny Pacquiao, was the fight that pushed him towards quitting the sport.

"This was a decision I was going back and forth with, thinking I can do it one more time," he said.

"Boxing is my passion, boxing is what I was born to do and when I can't do it anymore, when I can't compete at the highest level, it's not fair.

"But it's not fair to me, it's not fair to the fans, it's not fair to nobody. I've come to the conclusion that's over, it's over inside the ring for me."

He will now focus on his boxing promotion company, 'Golden Boy Promotions' and other business interests.
He will appear next on May 2 in Las Vegas, when Golden Boy Promotions sponsors Ricky Hatton's fight against Manny Pacquiao.