Former six-division boxing champion Oscar De La Hoya has reacted to the recent rise in the number of fighters pulling out of fights due to mental health issues.
This comes after Adrien Broner announced that he is extraction from his planned August 20 comeback fight with Omar Figueroa Jr to focus on his mental health.
Broner called off his comeback fight due to mental health concerns
The excuse did not sit well with his opponent, but Broner has received support from ryan garciawho also took a time away from the sport due to mental health issues last year.
‘Golden Boy’, who has publicly battled addiction and depression issues since retiring from boxing, says he used the sport as a form of therapy at a time when mental health issues were rarely discussed.
“I was raised differently,” De La Hoya said. Inner struggle.
“When I was fighting in the 1990s and 2000s, you couldn’t talk about mental health. You couldn’t talk about therapists or anything like that. All we had to do was fight.
“That was our therapy. Our therapy was training and fighting. Who knows if it worked or not, but it did. They are different times, different days. I can’t really talk about that for fighters today.”
De La Hoya later claimed that boxing legend Mike Tyson, who has been to ten different mental health facilities, also used fighting as therapy.
De La Hoya and Garcia have both struggled with mental health issues.
De La Hoya says he and Tyson used boxing as therapy
“When Mike Tyson and I were kids, our therapy was in the ring,” he added.
“It was for me and Mike Tyson, yeah, that was our therapy. That was the way we dealt with things, but we are living in different times.
“For us wrestlers, believe it or not, training, being in the gym, staying active, fighting and winning championships, that’s the best therapy you can get, when you’re doing something you love.
“This is how Mike Tyson and I grew up.”
The 49-year-old sent a direct message to Broner, who was at one point considered by many to be the heir to Floyd Mayweather before a losing streak saw him win just one fight since 2017.
“I hope it gets better. I hope you feel positive. You have to look inside yourself and fix that inside and then go out there and take on the world. All the best, bro.
Fury has become a beacon of hope for people dealing with mental health issues.
Pimblett recently used her platform to send a powerful mental health message.
Times have certainly changed since De La Hoya and Tyson fought, for the better. Now, we have a lot of high-profile advocates speaking out about mental health in an attempt to break down the stigma.
WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has been a huge advocate for mental health since his battle against addiction and depression brought him to the brink of suicide before turning his life around.
In MMA, UFC star Paddy Pimblett recently gave a powerful post fight speech on the subject after their fight at London’s O2 Arena.
‘The Baddy’ implored struggling men to seek help after learning his friend committed suicide the day before his last fight, in a speech that went viral.
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