Oscar De La Hoya Says Drinking, Drugs, and Womanizing Nearly Led to Suicide

Oscar De La Hoya may have a “golden boy” image, but the former boxing champion admitted in a TV interview recently that he suffered from addiction, was unfaithful to his wife, and recently considered suicide.

De La Hoya, who was interviewed on the Spanish-language network Univision, said:

“Rock bottom was recently. Within couple of years, just thinking if my life was even worth it. I don’t have the strength, I don’t have the courage to take my own life but I was thinking about it.”

De La Hoya retired in 2009 after 16-years in the ring. In his last match, he lost badly to Manny Pacquiao. De La Hoya said that after his fighting days were over, he began to rely more heavily on drugs and alcohol.

De La Hoya said:

“There were drugs, my drug of choice was cocaine and alcohol. Cocaine was recent. The last 2 years I depended more on the alcohol than the cocaine. It took me to a place where I felt safe, it took me to a place where I felt as if nobody can say anything to me.”

According to the Associated Press, De La Hoya has been sober for three months now. The former champ has been undergoing treatment and recently joined Alcoholics Anonymous.

De La Hoya also admitted in the interview that he was unfaithful to his wife, but not to the degree of other sport icons.

“We are obviously not talking a Tiger Woods here, but I was unfaithful.”

Oscar De La Hoya won ten world titles in 6 different divisions. He also won a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics Games.

De La Hoya didn’t say what triggered his depression, but there have been numerous studies that have linked head trauma to anger and depression. Was De La Hoya beaten into addiction? Or as the New York Post puts it, is Oscar De La Hoya the only person to blame?