Oscar De La Hoya confirms he will stay retired after Floyd Mayweather rumours

Oscar De La Hoya has confirmed that he will not reverse his decision to retire despite appearing very open to the prospect of stepping back into the ring with comments made earlier in June.

The former 10-times world champion, whose career record stands at 39 wins and six losses from 45 fights, initially quit the ring in 2009 four months after suffering a comprehensive defeat at the hands of Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

He has stayed involved in boxing as founder of Golden Boy Promotions and sparked rumours of a potential comeback bout against reigning pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather, to whom he lost in 2007, or big-hitting Kazakh middleweight Gennady Golovkin during an interview with ESPN.

"It's got to be worth my while but this is very serious," De La Hoya said. "I have to make sure I am fighting the very best. I don't have to come back for financial reasons or the lights or the glamour. The only reason I would come back is because I miss the competition of fighting the very best.

"I feel amazing. In my life right now, I have so much motivation. I am so hungry and so determined. My plan is long-term with Golden Boy, with me personally, my family, my business. I am young, I am healthy and I feel great – 42 is the new 32."

"I've gotten everything taken care of – my rotator cuffs, my left hand, everything. I'm pain-free. I just feel good and when I walk the streets, everyone tells me: 'You have to fight Floyd again, you have to fight GGG. You can do it, you can do it.' I just feel great physically. I've been taking care of myself. I've been doing the Bernard Hopkins lifestyle. You can turn the clock back to a certain time."

However, after lengthy deliberations with his family, the 1992 Olympic gold medalist has now announced that he will not fight again.

"Over the last six months I've had a front row seat as Golden Boy fighters including Canelo Alvarez, Bernard Hopkins, Lucas Matthysse, Jorge Linares and David Lemieux have stepped into the ring and shown what boxing should be all about – a commitment to fight the best, to respect the sport and to put the fans first," he said in a statement on his official Facebook page.

"As a professional athlete and someone who has spent almost his entire life in boxing, not a day goes by when I don't think about coming back — and the performances of these Golden Boy fighters has only added to my desire to return to the ring.

"But I am retired, and after speaking to my family and following a great deal of introspection, I have decided to stay retired.

"However, I do so with knowledge that many fighters today still pride themselves on the same principals that I adhered to throughout my career. It is now through boxers like those I mentioned and dozens of other Golden Boy Promotions fighters that those values live on.

"To the many thousands of fans who over the last couple of weeks encouraged me to come out of retirement and fight again, I thank you. You can rest assured that I will spend the rest of my days around this wonderful sport, even though those days won't be spent inside the ropes."

Mayweather, who eased past Pacquiao in a somewhat underwhelming 'Fight of the Century' last month, has one match remaining on his lucrative six-fight deal with Showtime and is scheduled to don his gloves again possibly for the final time in September against an as of yet unnamed opponent.

Unbeaten Golovkin, meanwhile, retained his IBO and WBA titles with a comfortable win over Willie Monroe Jr in California on 16 May and could face Carl Froch next provided the Cobra does not announce his own retirement.

Timothy Bradley, Miguel Cotto, Mayweather, Andre Ward and Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez are other possible candidates.