Oscar De La Hoya reiterated Wednesday that he is planning a comeback.

“The Golden Boy” told ESPN.com’s Steve Kim that he intends to start training “in the next few weeks” for what would be his first fight in nearly 12 years. The 47-year-old De La Hoya has teased a comeback numerous times since he retired, but the six-division champion has not fought since Manny Pacquiao stopped him after eight one-sided rounds in December 2008.

The rumors began last month when De La Hoya himself told Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix during Mannix’s weekly podcast that he is going to return to the ring. Canelo Alvarez’s promoter went as far as to state during that interview that he wouldn’t exclude Alvarez as a potential opponent for his first fight since Pacquiao beat him (https://www.boxingscene.com/de-la-hoya-on-fighting-canelo-i-never-back-down-from-anybody-well-wait-see--150331).

Regardless, the 1992 Olympic gold medalist assured ESPN.com that he isn’t considering returning for the type of exhibition in which Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. have agreed to participate.

“It’s a real fight,” said De La Hoya, who was 35 when he last fought. “I miss being in the ring. I love boxing. Boxing is what gave me everything I have today, and I just miss it.”

The International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee intends to compete either at the junior middleweight limit of 154 pounds or the middleweight maximum of 160 when he returns. He added that he is willing to fight “any top guy out there.”

The East Los Angeles native has remained a prominent figure in boxing since his retirement as the head of Golden Boy Promotions. De La Hoya is convinced, however, that he still can compete against championship-caliber opponents.

“Look, it’s been a long time, yes,” De La Hoya said. “But actually, my jab feels faster than ever. I have to make sure that my conditioning is perfect, my health is good. And that’s going to take place in the next few weeks. So, we’ll see.”

Pacquiao dominated De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs) throughout his last appearance, a welterweight title fight for which De La Hoya weighed in at 145 pounds, two below the division’s limit.

“Look, my last fight with Pacquiao,” De La Hoya said, “I weighed in at 145 and obviously that was a shell of myself.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.