De La Hoya comes from a very conservative family where members do not express their emotions. Moreover, this led to him having a strained relationship with his father until recently after he himself approached him to share his feelings.
The former champion revealed how his father was emotionally closed in an episode of Mike Tyson’s podcast. Speaking in an interview, De La Hoya claimed that his father never used to tell him that he was proud of him or that he loved him.
“Two years ago, I never heard him tell me, ‘Son, I’m proud of you’ or ‘I love you’, never, okay, never. So one day, I decided to tell him. I thought, ‘I’m gonna fuc**ng go up to him and tell him that I love him because he’s not gonna tell me, maybe he doesn’t know how. I know he loves me, but he doesn’t know how.‘ said De La Hoya.
Although “Golden Boy” was motivated to express his love, he was also scared of his father. At the time he did not know how his father would react to such an emotionally heavy confession. However, to De La Hoya’s surprise, his reaction was unexpected.
De La Hoya was scared to talk to his father
Following this, he stated that he was scared to approach his father. Despite this, he mustered up the courage to talk to his father but was shocked at the reaction he got from him.
“I was fuc**ng scared as hell going up to my dad and telling him. And I said, ‘Dad, I love you. I love you.’ I patted him on the back, you know. And you know what he did? Fu**ing started crying. ‘I love you too,’ he said. And ever since then, I, I can’t stop telling him that I love him. You know what I’m saying somebody has to unlock.” he added
De La Hoya’s experience is not unique, as many people struggle to express their emotions, especially in a culture where men are not encouraged to show their emotions. However, his story shows that it is important to break the cycle and express love to those we care about.