Golden Boy winning the battle with the bottle
Oscar De La Hoya reveals that throughout his glittering career in the ring and beyond, he has been waging a struggle with alcoholism
The day after winning the only gold medal for the US boxing team in the 1992 Olympics, Oscar De La Hoya was pulled out of bed to sit next to swimmer Janet Evans and talk about the success of American athletes in the Barcelona Games.
Little did US Olympic officials know the 19-year-old had got so drunk the night before while celebrating his win that his family had to carry him back to his room.
Now he sat wearing dark sunglasses in front of a room full of journalists, so hungover he couldn't stay awake long enough to answer the simplest of questions.
I was there being the Golden Boy but I was emotionally disconnected. I've been disconnected emotionally ever since I was a teenager
"I'm sitting at this little table and Janet Evans is next to me with I don't know how many golds," De La Hoya said, "And I just fall asleep. They're asking me questions and I don't know what was happening. I just kept hearing 'Oscar, Oscar'."
The drinking didn't stop even as he became the Golden Boy and embarked on a spectacular pro career where he pocketed, by his own estimates, US$300 million.
When it finally ended in December 2008 with a beating at the hands of Manny Pacquiao, De La Hoya's toughest opponent hadn't changed.
