Oscar De La Hoya, a legendary boxer and Hall of Famer, suffered a one-sided defeat at the hands of Manny Pacquiao in 2008, marking the final fight of his illustrious career. After eight rounds of taking a beating from Pacquiao, De La Hoya called it quits, acknowledging his defeat and retirement in his corner.
In a new two-part HBO documentary titled “The Golden Boy,” De La Hoya revealed the struggles he faced leading up to the fight against Pacquiao. He admitted that he was already feeling like a defeated fighter with one foot out the door before the bout. De La Hoya recounted how he had always been dedicated and disciplined throughout his career, but at this point, he was struggling and needed motivation to continue.
The toll of years of taking punches had begun to catch up to him, and he knew that this fight would be his last, even though he couldn’t share this secret with anyone. His team was relying on him to win, adding to the pressure and loneliness he felt. De La Hoya opened up about the difficult truth that he was drunk during training camp, which illustrates the mental and emotional challenges he faced during this period.
During the fight itself, Pacquiao dominated De La Hoya, landing a total of 224 punches in just 24 minutes, while De La Hoya connected with only 83 of his own punches. Despite knowing that he was going to lose, De La Hoya felt a strong pull back into the ring, hoping for one last chance to prove himself.
“I was always the first one to wake up and go running. I was always the last one at the gym. At this point, I’m struggling and I had to be pushed. I needed to find a way to win,” De La Hoya recounted on the second episode of the documentary.
“I was starting to feel all the years of taking punches. I knew this was my last fight, but I couldn’t tell anybody. My team was relying on me to win. It was my secret. I felt alone. And for the first time, I was drunk during camp.
Being inside that ring, it was a strange relationship I had with boxing. It was my love, my pain, my drug – everything. I wasn’t ready to let it go,” he said. “Telling myself, ‘Man, if I get hit with one punch and never wake up, it’s going to be okay.’ As long as I was inside the ring, it was going to be okay. I was hoping for that. Hit me with one shot. I want to get knocked out.”
Pacquiao pummelled De La Hoya with a total of 224 punches in 24 minutes. De La Hoya failed to leverage his size advantage and connected with just 83 punches of his own.
“I knew right there and then it was just over. I knew I was going to get beat up. I was going to lose, but something called me back. Just give me that one last time,” said De La Hoya
The Pacquiao fight did offer De La Hoya one last substantial payday, generating significant revenue from pay-per-view buys and live gate sales. However, for De La Hoya, boxing was more than just a sport; it was a love, a pain, and a drug. He was not ready to let go of the sport that had been such a central part of his life.
After the Pacquiao fight, De La Hoya retired from professional boxing at the age of 36 with an impressive record of 39 wins and six losses. In 2021, at the age of 50, he contemplated a comeback and even announced a fight against Vitor Belfort, but the fight never materialized.
