Oscar De La Hoya released from hospital, says Covid 'hit me really hard'

Hall of Fame boxer Oscar De La Hoya said Wednesday that he is home after having been hospitalized with Covid-19.

"I was in there for 3 days. Covid hit me really hard," De La Hoya, 48, said on Twitter. "I was in the best shape of my life, and I really can't wait to get back in the ring."

Covid-19 derailed De La Hoya's planned return to the boxing ring on Saturday, when he was scheduled to fight Vitor Belfort in Los Angeles after 13 years away.

"I mean, what are the chances of me getting Covid?" De La Hoya said in a video from his hospital bed Friday. "I've been taking care of myself, and this really, really kicked my a—."

Belfort will now fight Evander Holyfield in the main event of the Triller Fight Club, which has been moved from Los Angeles to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida. Former President Donald Trump will serve as host and commentator for the matchup, Variety reported.

De La Hoya, known as "The Golden Boy," won 10 world titles in six weight classes, according to the International Boxing Hall of Fame, which inducted him in 2014. He was one of the most popular boxers in the history of the sport, generating hundreds of millions of dollars from his pay-per-view matches, biography.com reported.

His last professional fight was a loss to Manny Pacquiao in 2008. He retired the following year.