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"As a professional athlete and someone who has spent almost
his entire life in boxing, not a day goes by when I don't think
about coming back," De La Hoya, 42, said in a statement.
"But I am retired, and after speaking to my family and following
a great deal of introspection, I have decided to stay retired."
De La Hoya, who recently spent two spells in rehab to battle
substance abuse, told ESPN last Monday that he was "50-50" about
fighting again.
He had quit boxing soon after retiring on his stool at the end
of the eighth round of a lopsided 2008 defeat against Manny
Pacquiao, but told ESPN: "I am so hungry and so determined. I am
young, I am healthy and I feel great... 42 is the new 32."
Nicknamed "Golden Boy", the 1992 Olympic champion won world
professional titles at six different weights and founded Golden
Boy Promotions in 2002.
He said he was only interested in either a rematch against
undefeated welterweight Floyd Mayweather Jr. or a bout against
hard-hitting Kazakh middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.
"To the many thousands of fans who over the last couple of weeks
encouraged me to come out of retirement and fight again, I thank
you," said the Californian, who retired with a 39-6 (30
knockouts) record.
"You can rest assured that I will spend the rest of my days
around this wonderful sport, even though those days won't be
spent inside the ropes."
(Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Frank Pingue)
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