Boxing Legend Oscar De La Hoya Plans to Run for President in 2020
Former boxing champion Oscar De La Hoya confirmed that he's serious about launching a bid for the United States presidency in 2020.
“It’s real … that’s the beauty of our nation,” De La Hoya told a small group of reporters Tuesday at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. “If Arnold [Schwarzenegger] can be governor, if [Donald] Trump can be president, then why can’t a Mexican-American who won an Olympic gold medal, who’s over 35 and a U.S. citizen run for president?"
De La Hoya is in Las Vegas to promote Saturday's middleweight rematch between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin.
The former six-weight world title holder and 1992 Olympic champion sparked questions about his potential bid for the 2020 presidency after addressing the possiblity with TMZ Sports on Monday. The 45-year-old said he would run as a Democrat during the next electoral cycle.
De La Hoya added that his promotional experience and personal wealth from a successful boxing career give him the means to consider a real run.
While the former boxer has taken on civic projects including funding a cancer wing named for his late mother at an East L.A. hospital, opening a charter school and hosting an annual charity golf tournament, he does not have experience holding public office.