After Donald Trump’s controversial comments about Mexican immigrants, Oscar De La Hoya isn’t sure what to think.
In 2009, De La Hoya co-promoted a mixed martial arts, or MMA, fight with Donald Trump. It was put on by Affliction Entertainment, a Trump-owned MMA promoter that had begun as a clothing line. For the fight, held on Jan. 24, 2009, former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski faced former UFC Pride world heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianeko.
During his visit last week, Fortune asked De La Hoya about working with Donald Trump on that event. “It was great,” he said. “He loves the fight game, he loves boxing, he loves MMA. Back then, it was actually great working with him and I had a great time collaborating. He’s a character. It was fun.”
What about now that he’s running for president, Fortune asked, what is De La Hoya’s impression of him? “I like taking the high road,” he responded, “I don’t like giving him attention. But it’s hurtful, because obviously, coming from relatives who were born in Mexico who are now established here in the U.S. and pay taxes, his comments are just not fair. And they are hurtful. I’ve known him for a while, he’s always been nice to me, but it is painful to hear the things coming from his mouth.”
De La Hoya continued: “After he came out with those comments, it’s now confusing to me. I don’t know what to believe. I’ve known Trump, the nice guy I’ve played golf with, and now I know this Trump. So it’s very confusing.”
It sounds as though De La Hoya and Trump aren’t likely to go golfing together again soon.
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