Former boxing champ Oscar de la Hoya admits drug addiction, suicidal thoughts

[News_Editor]

Former boxing champ Oscar de la Hoya admits drug addiction, suicidal thoughts

2011-08-31 22:20:41 GMT+7 (ICT)

LOS ANGELES (BNO NEWS) -- Former world boxing champ Oscar de la Hoya in a television interview aired on Tuesday admitted to having a drug addiction and suicidal thoughts. He also confessed being unfaithful to his wife.

U.S. Spanish-language TV network Univision broadcast the interview on Tuesday on its 'Aqui y Ahora' (Here and Now) Exclusive in which de la Hoya talks about his past problems, as he states being off of drugs for three months now.

"My life was a big mess," de la Hoya said during the interview. "Rock-bottom was recently within a couple of years just thinking if my life was even worth it. I don't have the strength or courage to take my own life, but I was thinking about it."

Regarding his drug addiction, de la Hoya said his "drug of choice" was cocaine and alcohol, admitting using cocaine during the last two and a half years although he "depended more on the alcohol than on the cocaine."

"It took me to a place where I felt safe, where nobody could say anything to me, where I could just reach out and grab my mom," he said. de la Hoya's mother, Cecilia, died of breast cancer in October 1990.

In addition to his drug problem and suicidal thoughts, de la Hoya also admits being unfaithful to his wife, singer and actress Millie Corretjer, on several occasions. He denied being addicted to sex.

"We're obviously not talking a Tiger Woods here, but I was unfaithful. It was filling the void of maybe not feeling loved to a certain point. It was filling the void of maybe not having... not feeling safe," he explained.

The former boxing champ said being high on alcohol and drugs causes emotions to "run through your head like there's no tomorrow" and "all these emotions just run through your head, and you do stupid, crazy things."

"But there's something behind every action," de la Hoya underlines. "There's consequences, obviously. We haven't had the best relationship these last few years, my wife and I. The substance abuse, the drinking, the being unfaithful, the partying, coming home late, not caring."

During the interview, de la Hoya also stated that he and his wife became separated, but since rehab, they have been taking it 'one day at a time.' "I don't want to explain to her anymore that I'm doing well, I want to show her. It's like they say. You have to walk the walk. That's what I'm doing. I'm walking the walk. And it's not an easy walk."

Last May, de la Hoya stated having a problem and was admitted to the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California for treatment although no details had been revealed regarding his issues. He continues to attend meetings at the center to continue the "biggest fight" of his life.

De la Hoya, 38, also known as 'the Golden Boy,' of East Los Angeles, California, won a gold medal in boxing at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics before winning six world boxing titles in six different weight classes. Considered as one of the world's best pound-for-pound boxers in the mid-90s, he officially announced his retirement on April 14, 2009.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-08-31