Oscar De La Hoya gave Manny Pacquiao a low blow despite being entirely dominated by the Filipino legend when they fought.
De La Hoya hit a new low even for his recent standards by claiming he wasn’t one hundred percent for his 2009 loss against Pacquiao.
“The Golden Boy” lost by a wide margin to Pacquiao when he dropped weight classes to meet the divisional master at welterweight. By his own admission, the eleven-time world champion thought he couldn’t lose to the smaller man.
But lose he did – in complete domination by Pacquiao, who won belts in eight divisions. The “Pac-Man” tore De La Hoya apart before taking him out in a one-sided destruction.
De La Hoya had been gracious in defeat in the years that followed. However, with the release of his new explosive tell-all documentary on the way, De La Hoya has unleashed the beast, with Manny Pacquiao’s win one of his first major targets.
Oscar De La Hoya on Pacquiao
In a shocking revelation, De La Hoya says he hit the bottle heavily during camp, the first time in his career he’d broken from abstention before a fight.
Speaking to etonline.com, De La Hoya admits to alcoholism after some of the early sessions in the gym went wrong.
“It starts in training camp. I’m training for Manny. Keep in mind [that it’s] three months before the fight, OK?” De La Hoya tells ET.
“I was getting beat up by sparring partners. At one point, I decided it was over for me during training camp- maybe midway. I can’t take this.
“I’m getting beat up so much. My body doesn’t feel right. So then I start drinking during camp. I start drinking and drinking. At this point, I’m not caring anymore.
“My whole career, I’m always focused. Always determined, one hundred percent. But this time, I just felt [like my ca was] over.”
Manny Pacquiao domination
During the upcoming documentary, De La Hoya stated he wished Pacquiao would hit him hard enough to kill him. When asked by ET if that was the case, he added: “Yeah.
“When I entered the ring for Pacquiao, I knew something was wrong. But when he was hitting me – I was in the corner, hoping he would land the perfect punch – to end it all.
“At that point, it was the peak of my depression. Or one of my depressions. It was the peak of it. So, I just wanted that fight to end,” concluded the Olympic champion.
Pacquiao, or his fans, certainly won’t be happy with De La Hoya’s attempts to diminish the victory. The former Philippines Senator beat up De La Hoya in Las Vegas and ended his career after Floyd Mayweather defeated him.
However, now there will be question marks over some bouts due to this startling admission.
