Oscar De La Hoya Looks to "Knock Out" Substance Abuse in Rehab

By Sharmaine Jones

Former six-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist Oscar de la Hoya is battling a new opponent: substance abuse. According to TMZ.com, the "Golden Boy" checked into a rehabilitation clinic at an undisclosed substance abuse facility in California.

News broke that De La Hoya voluntarily sought treatment sometime within the last few weeks.

"After doing an honest evaluation of myself, I recognize that there are certain issues that I need to work on," De La Hoya said in a statement issued to TMZ. "Like everyone, I have my flaws, and I do not want to be one of those people that is afraid to admit and address those flaws."

This explains why De La Hoya was a no-show at the historic Bernard Hopkins vs Jean Pascal fight, promoted by his "Golden Boy Promotions" company, Saturday May 21. He may not have been in the arena but he was well aware of the fight's significance and continued to promote via Twitter:

"Bernard winning will make him the oldest world champion In sports history not just boxing...And it's live on HBO championship boxing tonight. Ohh I forgot it's presented by goldenboy."

We're glad to see that this battle isn't putting a damper on his spirits. De La Hoya has been posting inspirational tweets:

"Stop finding excuses not to live.life is controlled by what you make of it and not of what it makes of you."He goes on to say, "I'm sincerely humbled by the support I've been receiving and promise you that I will knock out this disease I have. There is no doubt in my mind that I will become a stronger and more humble with this experience."

We just hope that the "Golden Boy" posting a picture of Tres Generaciones, the tequila company in which he is brand ambassador, as well as a retweet from a fan singing its praise, "@OscarDeLaHoya without a doubt, the best #tequila I've ever tried. So smooth. http://yfrog.com/hsckighj" isn't an indication that he's losing focus.

We wish him a full recovery.

Do you think that Twitter serves as a distraction in rehab?

Tags Bernard Hopkins, boxing, Golden Boy Promotions, Jean Pascal, Oscar de la Hoya, Substance Abuse