Oscar De La Hoya - De La Hoya Considered Suicide During Drug Battle

The retired fighter, nicknamed The Golden Boy, checked himself into a rehabilitation centre in California in May (11) to seek help for a substance abuse problem.

At the time, he refused to divulge details about the exact cause of his addictions, but he has now come clean about the extent of his personal troubles in a candid interview with Spanish-language TV network Univision.

He says, "There were drugs, my drug of choice was cocaine and alcohol. Cocaine was recent. The last two years, last two-and-a-half years... I depended more on the alcohol than the cocaine."

De La Hoya admits the addictions were the start of a downward spiral and he found himself contemplating suicide during his darkest days.

He continues, "Rock bottom was recently. Within a couple of years, just thinking if my life was even worth it. I don't have the strength, I don't have the courage to take my own life but I was thinking about it."

De La Hoya's marriage to Puerto Rican singer/actress Millie Corretjer was also unravelling and he admits to cheating on his wife of 10 years - but the couple reunited after a brief separation.

The former boxing champ claims the rehab stint helped him turn his life around and he is now three months sober, thanks to the help of Alcoholics Anonymous support meetings.

De La Hoya was among the most revered boxers in the late 1990s. He quit the ring in 2009.