De la Hoya: 'I didn't reach my full potential'

Premiere of two-part HBO documentary The Golden Boy about Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs) was held at the end of last month in the USA, and we present you some statements of an American and his father.

Olympic gold medal, champion titles in six weight categories, nineteen defeated world champions (including Pernell Whitaker, Julio Cesar Chavez, Fernando Vargas, Ike Quarti and Arturo Gatti), membership in the Boxing Hall of Fame. Literally a few boxers can boast of such achievements, but despite this, the Golden Boy feels a little dissatisfied.

“It's like climbing a mountain. You want to get to the top, this is your goal, your dream. There is no way back. Once I got to the top, I was not satisfied. I won 11 championship titles in six weight classes. Who the hell wouldn't be happy with that? However, I did not use my potential in the ring. I could show much more."

“All the pressure was too much. The pressure that I had felt since childhood, causing all this anger, was mounting. I knew it would come back to me. I don't think any boxer can say that he felt the way I did when I entered the ring. I didn't fight the enemy, I fought myself. I was my worst enemy, I was ready to explode. As a Golden Boy, I couldn't do anything wrong, I couldn't. I was always in a straitjacket, I couldn't be myself. It made me lead a double life."

Alcohol, drugs, and partying was that constant element of the "second life" that De La Hoya talks about. His father, Joel Sr., thinks that Oscar would have been even better if not for his penchant for parties.

“If Oscar focused 100 percent on his fights, he would be even better. If his buddies had not bothered him with their parties where he destroyed himself, everything would have turned out differently for him, ”summed up the father of the head of Golden Boy Promotions.