After suggesting he'd come back to fight Floyd Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya says he will stay retired

Days after telling ESPN's Dan Rafael that there was "50-50" chance he'd come out of retirement, 42-year-old Oscar De La Hoya announced Monday that he will, in fact, remain retired.

Here's what he said in a Facebook post:

"As a professional athlete and someone who has spent almost his entire life in boxing, not a day goes by when I don't think about coming back - and the performances of these Golden Boy fighter has only added to my desire to return to the ring. But I am retired, and after speaking to my family and following a great deal of introspection, I have decided to stay retired."

De La Hoya's announcement comes after he told Rafael he was "very serious" about coming out of retirement for a possible rematch against Floyd Mayweather Jr., or for a chance at the feared Gennady Golovkin.

"I want to fight one of them because they are the best and I always fought the best," De La Hoya told ESPN. "That's what boxing is all about - fighting the best... I think my two front-runners are Floyd and triple G."

While he hasn't fought in more than seven years, De La Hoya, who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2014, told ESPN he still feels great physically, but didn't want to upset his children, who weren't supportive of the idea of their 42-year-old father getting back into the ring.

"My wife was all for it," De La Hoya told ESPN. "But my kids didn't want to see old papa get hurt."

Here's his full statement:

Over the last six months I've had a front row seat as Golden Boy fighters including Canelo Alvarez, Bernard Hopkins, Lucas Matthysse, Jorge Linares and David Lemieux have stepped into the ring and shown what boxing should be all about -- a commitment to fight the best, to respect the sport and to put the fans first.

As a professional athlete and someone who has spent almost his entire life in boxing, not a day goes by when I don't think about coming back - and the performances of these Golden Boy fighter has only added to my desire to return to the ring.

But I am retired, and after speaking to my family and following a great deal of introspection, I have decided to stay retired.

However, I do so with knowledge that many fighters today still pride themselves on the same principals that I adhered to throughout my career. It is now through boxers like those I mentioned and dozens of other Golden Boy Promotions fighters that those values live on.

To the many thousands of fans who over the last couple of weeks encouraged me to come out of retirement and fight again, I thank you. You can rest assured that I will spend the rest of my days around this wonderful sport, even though those days won't be spent inside the ropes.

- Oscar