Here's a 2014 interview with Oscar De La Hoya addressing his alcoholism head-on -- saying the daily battle was a "monster" that he was constantly trying to control.
De La Hoya opened up to Graham Bensinger ... saying he started drinking at 8-years-old and things became a problem in his early teens.
At the time, Oscar -- who had been to rehab twice before -- said he had a grip on his drinking but admitted it was a day-to-day struggle.
Oscar relapsed this week and was arrested for DUI in Pasadena.