He Once Accused Trump Of Cheating At Golf. Now, He May Run For President

An instantly recognizable sports figure who has accused President Donald Trump of cheating at golf is considering whether to throw his hat into what is likely to be a very crowded ring of challengers when the president is up for re-election in 2020.

Oscar De La Hoya, the boxing Hall of Famer and Olympic gold medalist turned boxing promoter, is considering whether to make a run for the nation's highest office. His interest is preliminary but serious, he told reporters Tuesday in Las Vegas, where he is promoting the middleweight title rematch between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin on Saturday night.

"It's real," De La Hoya said (via the Los Angeles Times) of his aspiration. "That's the beauty of our nation. If Arnold [Schwarzenegger] can be governor, if [Donald] Trump can be president, then why can't a Mexican American who won an Olympic gold medal, who's over 35 and a U.S. citizen, run for [the] presidency?"

De La Hoya, 45, would run as a Democrat and he realizes a past that includes issues with addiction and fidelity would come into play.

"As I got older, I get wiser," he said. "And as I get wiser, I get smarter. And as I get smarter, I start to realize the millions and millions of people who've told me, 'Oscar, why don't you run for some kind of office? Because you can make a difference.'"

De La Hoya vs. Trump would have some history of its own. Two years ago, he accused Trump of cheating in a round of golf in 2014 and questioned how someone who would break rules in golf could run the country. Trump, who had not yet received the Republican nomination, told The Associated Press at the time that he "respect[s] the game too much to cheat and is good enough to have won a number of club championships." He went on to accuse De La Hoya of using the story to sell tickets for a boxing match he was promoting. According to the AP, Eric Trump told his father not to respond to the allegations, but Trump did and denied playing with De La Hoya. "He's absolutely lying," Trump said. "Golf is an important thing and I felt I had to say something."