Oscar De La Hoya Enters Rehab To Battle Substance Abuse

Oscar De La Hoya has entered a rehab facility in order to fight substance abuse.

In a statement released on Tuesday, De La Hoya said he was voluntarily admitting himself into an unnamed facility to deal with his addiction.

In his public statement, De La Hoya writes:

“Canelo Alvarez and I have big fights coming up this weekend. His is the ring and mine in treatment. I will not be at the fight to cheer Canelo to victory since I have voluntarily admitted myself into a treatment facility.”

The former boxer was making reference to Canelo Alvarez’s Saturday night fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. De La Hoya is a partner at Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes Alvarez and is promoting the fight against Mayweather.

De La Hoya says he explained the situation to Canelo and told the boxer that checking into rehab was the best thing for his long-term health and drug abuse recovery.

Two years ago Oscar De La Hoya admitted that he has a long history of alcohol and drug abuse. This is not the first time the former boxer is being treated for his vices. At one point De La Hoya was attending alcoholic anonymous meetings six times a week.

The 1992 Olympic gold medalist retired from boxing in December 2008 and officially announced his retirement in early 2009. De La Hoya lost his final fight to Manny Pacquiao.

In the past Oscar De La Hoya admitted that he has contemplated suicide after suffering through years of depression and substance abuse. De La Hoya also claimed that his womanizing was out of control and led to further problems in his life.

Here’s an interview in which the boxer explains hitting rock bottom and searching for answers:

No further details have been revealed at this time.