BOXING: Am Very Serious About Coming Back Says Oscar De La Hoya

Oscar managed 39 wins which included 30 knockouts and 6 career defeats before he retired. Now at 42 De La Hoya says he is serious to stage a come back. In sports come backs have been seen before but for a boxer at 42 you will probably think he needs to set a record in the Guiness book of records like a fellow boxer Bash Ali of Nigeria who thinks he can set a world record at an age fast approaching 60. Will Oscar come back to shock the world or will he suffer a massive regret for coming back? Time will certainly tell... Read the full story after the cut...

De La Hoya, a former six-weight world champion, retired in 2008 after losing to Manny Pacquiao in his last fight.

"The only reason I would come back is because I miss the competition of fighting the very best," De La Hoya told ESPN.

Welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather is expected to fight in September, with Amir Khan a possible opponent.

Since retiring, De La Hoya has become a boxing promoter but has also battled alcohol and drugs addictions.

He said after losing to Pacquiao: "I just don't have it any more. My heart still wants to fight, but when you physically can't respond, what can you do?"

However, the American has now described his chances of fighting again as "50-50" saying he "feels great".

"I don't have to come back for financial reasons or the lights or the glamour," he said.

"Right now I feel the best I have felt in my life physically, emotionally, mentally because I haven't touched alcohol for I don't know how long.

"I'm training. I feel great. But it has to be worth my while. Would I do it? I don't know but I wake up every morning thinking that I can."