Oscar De La Hoya reveals he was raped at age 13

Legendary boxer Oscar De La Hoya revealed that he was raped at age 13 ahead of his comeback to the boxing ring next weekend.

De La Hoya, who is now 48 years old, makes his return to the boxing ring next Saturday night when he takes on former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort in a highly-anticipated boxing match between two veterans of combat sports. For De La Hoya, this will be the first time that he has stepped into the ring since he lost to Manny Pacquiao in 2008. For the past 13 years, he has been the head of Golden Boy promotions, but with Triller Fight Club holding events featuring veterans of combat sports, De La Hoya will box again.

Ahead of his comeback fight, De La Hoya has been doing the media rounds, and one of the things that he spoke openly about for the first time was being sexually assaulted at the age of 13. Although it was 35 years ago, De La Hoya still remembers what happened vividly.

“I was raped at 13, from a woman, an older woman. Thirteen, lost my virginity over being, you know, being raped, basically,” De La Hoya told the LA Times. “I was in Hawaii, I think, at some tournament. She was over 35.”’

According to De La Hoya, he has been hurting inside for many years, but he finally felt compelled to speak openly about the rape incident that would have traumatized anyone.

“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.”

Oscar De La Hoya fights Vitor Belfort for Triller Fight Club on September 11.