Former six-weight world champion Oscar De La Hoya has ended speculation that he will come out of boxing retirement.

The 42-year-old, now a promoter as the head of his own boxing company Golden Boy, has not fought since suffering a one-sided eight-round loss to Manny Pacquiao in December 2008.

Over recent weeks, De La Hoya has himself done much to stoke talk of an improbably ring return, telling ESPN.com that the chances of him lacing on gloves once more were "50-50".

He ambitiously spoke of taking on pound-for-pound superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr or undefeated middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin - both prospective bouts that De La Hoya would have entered as a substantial underdog.

But the 1992 Olympic gold medalist posted a message on his Facebook page on Monday to announce that, following talks with his family, he would remain retired.

"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," he said.

"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."

De La Hoya ended his career with a professional record of 39 wins and six losses, having collected world titles from super-featherweight up to middleweight. Last year he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.