Oscar Hoya Quotes on Success (2 Quotes)

I don't know if I'm going to fight again or not, ... I have an odd relationship with boxing. Boxing took me to a better life, and I love being in the ring. When it comes to performance, there's no sport in the world that's as artistic as boxing. It takes genius to win a championship fight at the highest level. Boxing is a love I have that will never go away. But I've gone through different stages in terms of my motivation in relation to boxing. At first, I was fighting to please my father. Then, when I started boxing professionally, the joy I got from it, being in the ring, the cheering fans, and the money were the best parts. After that, there was a time when I did it for the belts. Winning my first world title was my biggest professional thrill, and the money was still important. Now I'm doing it for history. The money doesn't matter anymore.

The only reason I would fight again, ... is to erase the memory of losing my last fight. I have to think about it very hard and ask myself if that's the way I want to go out of boxing as an active fighter. My last two fights were at 160 pounds, and I'm not happy with either of them. Fighters are like cars. At some point, the gas tank is empty. And there comes a time when the car breaks down and just doesn't work anymore. I can't be a boxer for my entire life. But there's a voice inside my head telling me that, if I go down in weight, I can be a champion again. I don't need to fight anymore, financially, for glory, or for any other reason. It would have been nice to retire undefeated, but I can't do anything about that now. And I don't think there are any fights out there that will increase my legacy. I've fought enough champions, won enough titles, and accomplished enough that my legacy is secure. And I hate getting hit. Getting hit hurts it damages you. I have no fear of boxing. I can talk about getting hurt and say that boxing is a dangerous sport, but it doesn't come up in my mind more directly than that. When a fighter trains his body and mind to fight, there's no room for fear. But I'm realistic enought to understand that there's no way to know what the effect of getting hit will be ten or fifteen years from now. I've been asking myself for years, 'How much longer will I box' And the answer is, I don't know.