Oscar De La Hoya Says He Was Raped By an 'Older Woman' When He Was 13

Oscar De La Hoya told Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times that he was raped as a child by a woman in Hawai'i while he was there at a tournament. 

"I was raped at 13, from a woman, an older woman," he said. "Thirteen, lost my virginity over being, you know, being raped, basically. ... She was over 35."

The 48-year-old De La Hoya, who is returning to the ring to face former MMA star Vitor Belfort on Sept. 11 after a nearly 13-year hiatus from the sport, now sees boxing as being therapeutic. 

"Just scared," he said of not making a comeback sooner. "Scared of what's going to happen, scared of the outcome, scared of just pulling the trigger. I just finally said, 'You know what? I'm going [to] do it. I'm going to do it for myself.'"

His last fight came against Manny Pacquiao, who battered him for eight rounds before De La Hoya's corner stopped the fight. 

He said at that point he was using drugs and alcohol to cope with his childhood trauma and a complicated relationship with his mother and was regularly drinking in the lead-up to his fight with Pacquiao. 

"You suppress everything," he said. "You’re living this life, the Golden Boy, but, oh sh-t, wait, that's still there. Like I never, like, thought about it, I never processed it, I never really thought how my feelings are ... until one day it just comes out, and you don't know how to deal with it."

De La Hoya said about a year ago, he decided to make a change. Ultimately, he decided to return to boxing.

"I couldn't be drinking and doing drugs and this and that," he said. "I'm going to throw my life away, you know?"

Per Hernandez, "De La Hoya said he’s fighting again not to relive his past, but to find closure."

De La Hoya is 39-6 in his professional career, though he went just 3-4 in his final seven fights. He won 11 titles across six weight classes during his career, repeatedly earning his "The Golden Boy" nickname. 

Following his professional boxing career he founded Golden Boy Promotions, a boxing and MMA promotional company.