Attorneys for Oscar De La Hoya have released a statement denying that it is the boxer featured in a series of crossdressing photos that hit the ‘Net on Wednesday.

“The photographs depicting Mr. De La Hoya’s image that were posted online today by an obscure paparazzi Web site are fake. Many of the Web site’s viewers (as reflected in postings on the site) identified the photos as ‘a really bad photoshop job.’ Unfortunately, with today’s technology, anyone can make any photo seem like something other than it is.”

“Mr. De La Hoya, through his attorneys, has demanded in writing that the images be removed from the Web site.”

“Mr. De La Hoya has become one of the most recognizable faces in America, not only for his achievements in the boxing ring, but also for his charitable work in developing hospital facilities and schools in the East Los Angeles neighborhood where he grew up. It is regrettable that the price of fame that comes to Mr. De La Hoya and others carries with it the possibility that outsiders will nevertheless seek to exploit that fame for their own profit.”