The former champion insisted that his head had been super-imposed onto another cross-dressing man's body when his one-time Siberian mistress shopped around the photos in a bid to prove she had romanced the cheating star in 2007.

The scandal quickly disappeared amid reports the boxer paid for the escort's silence, but now De La Hoya has admitted the shots were of him - at the height of his battle with drink and drugs, which drove him into rehab in May (11).

The retired welterweight champ recently opened up about his problems on Spanish language TV network Univision and now he has addressed questions about the candid snapshots Milana Dravnel insisted were of De La Hoya.

He says, ""It was me. I am tired of lying, of lying to the public and of lying to myself.

""Being honest with myself has set me free. I no longer have to feel sorry for myself... I can live an honest life.""