Boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya says the sport is slowly coming back

Oscar De La Hoya, the legendary boxer and 10-time world champion, reassured fans the sport of boxing will return to its heydays and will remain for generations to come.

“Boxing is slowly but surely coming back. It’s about making the best fights happen and that’s what we have here,” De La Hoya told FOX Business’ Charles Payne.

De La Hoya, who is promoting the second fight between Canelo Alvarez versus Gennady Golovkin as Golden Boy Promotions CEO, said the beauty of boxing is being able to witness a rematch of a great bout.

“These are the two best middle weights in the division and they’re knockout artists and I believe somebody is going to go down on May 5 and it’s going to be a great fight,” he said.

The National Football League has received backlash over the violence portrayed on the gridiron with some former players saying they wouldn't let their sons play the sport they love. The sport of boxing is doing everything it can to go the distance with the major professional sports leagues in the United States.

“You have two competitors inside the ring who are basically trying to knock each other’s heads off for 12 rounds in a championship fight. But the beautiful part about boxing is that, once the fight is over, you get to hug each other, you take each other out to dinner if you’re friends and you call it a night,” De La Hoya said.

The U.S. Olympic gold medalist says boxing has always been characterized as a gentleman’s sport.

“Yes it is a tough sport. Yes it’s a very violent sport, depends on how you look at it. But I think you know there’s a reason why they call it a gentleman’s sport,” De La Hoya said.