Wow! It has been two years since Oscar De La Hoya confessed of wearing those famous fishnets and today the Golden Boy continues to fight against alcoholism. Bill Dwyre from LA Times wrote an interesting piece on Oscar De La Hoya.
He is a walking ad for Alcoholics Anonymous. Oscar says he sometimes attends meetings six days a week, sometimes twice a day, sometimes as early as 5 a.m.
“I know where all the meetings are, all over the area,” Oscar De La Hoya tells Bill. “And usually, I’m the first one to raise my hand.”
He says he has found perspective and reality.
“The fight life, that was easy,” he says. “This is a battle I have every day. There I was, the Golden Boy [he puts his arms in the air in mockery of the unworthy adulation he accepted every day], and all the time, I felt like crap.”
Now, he is zealous, as an addict apparently must be to control that addiction. Examples:
–“I am very proud of myself,” he says. “Before, I may have talked tough, but I never had this kind of courage, strength, hope.”
–“My expectations are none. There is no giving up. If you do that, it is fatal.”
–“Now, things feel sincere.”
–“I’m a nice guy, but I did bad things, made bad decisions. I can’t go back.”
In De La Hoya’s case, the cliche is the perfect summary. He is in the fight of his life.
He says he has slipped a couple of times. Just admitting that is painful. Also vital. He says the key thing is, when that has happened, he has gone immediately to his wife. No denial. Just remorse and new resolve.
He says that one drink was never enough. In fact, 1,000 drinks weren’t enough.
“If anybody thinks this is easy,” he says, “I’ll tell them I’d rather get in the ring with Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, George Foreman and Manny Pacquiao — all at the same time. That would be easier.”
You can read the full story here.