Boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya dives deep into how insecurities prevented him from being a present father to his daughter Atiana when she was young.

“I basically ran away. I was scared. I was fearful,” he admitted on the “Allison Interviews” podcast. Ultimately, his absence left Atiana to be raised by her mother, Shanna Moakler and stepfather, Travis Barker, whom Moakler was married to from 2004 to 2008.

“I did try to be a father full-time for a few years, and it was beautiful,” he clarified before explaining how deep feelings of unworthiness led to distancing himself from Atiana. “It was amazing to raise a little girl, but there came a point where it’s like, you ask yourself, ‘Wait a minute, you’re not worthy of this.'”

De La Hoya, 50, believes that the lack of love he received from his parents as a child impacted his decision to remove himself from Atiana’s life.

“You try to convince yourself that you’re not worthy of this, that love is not possible in your life because of what I lived — of not receiving that love when I was a kid.

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“Like my father never told me he loved me. My mother never told me she loved me, she never really gave me a hug,” he elaborated. “When I would cry, she would start hitting me. That’s how bad it was.

“I know I am this nice guy and I know I can be a father but then there comes a point where it’s like then you try to convince yourself, ‘Wait a minute, no. This is not you. This is scary.'” he said. “‘You’re not worthy of this. You’re not worthy of giving love.’

“And then you start feeling sorry for yourself,” he continued. “Life just starts spiralling, and then you’re locked. Then all you do is wanna drink and do drugs and do this and that and escape. Luckily for me, when I was boxing, when I was fighting, all the way to the end, it kept me in line.”

The title holder said he “didn’t use drugs” and “didn’t drink, til the last fight with Manny Pacquiao, that’s when I knew it was over and I started drinking.”

Even though De La Hoya didn’t have a “typical” relationship with Atiana — now 24 — he still “worried” about her and checked in on her.

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“I was always there, but not there, you know? It wasn’t your typical relationship with the father and the mother and 24/7. It wasn’t like that, but obviously, she is my daughter and I love her,” the former pro boxer said, noting that “even though I was apart, I felt I was always close.”

De La Hoya’s current relationship with Atiana, and his three other children — Oscar, 17, Nina, 14, and Victoria, 9, whom he shares with estranged-wife, actress Milagros ‘Millie’ Corretjer — has since improved.

“I’m worthy of it. I’m right here. They’re older kids now, or young adults, and I let them know that I love them, every time I see them I hug them, I kiss them. I do whatever I can,” he said.

“The one thing that I’ve realize is life is all about balance now,” he added, explaining: “There was a point where it’s like, my kids would ask for something and I would be the first one to give them money. ‘Here you go. Do whatever you want. I’ll buy you a car, this, that.’ That was the guilt in me, of those years that I was absent. But now it’s all balance now. Now it’s about giving my kids information, knowledge.

“The fact that I’ve not given up on myself allows me today to be present and that’s what I’m very grateful for,” he said, “because if I didn’t take care of myself, who knows where I would be [or] what type of relationship I would have with my kids.

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“Who knows, maybe I would self-destruct? But I’m glad I got the bull by the horns.”

De La Hoya’s interview on the “Allison Interviews” podcast comes after he praised Barker for “stepping up to the plate” to raise Atiana when he couldn’t.

“Look, I didn’t raise my kids, you know? Their moms did. And I have to give credit where credit is due,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “I’m grateful that Barker was there, you know, as a father figure for my daughter. I have to be grateful that Shanna was a mother to Atiana, and just know my place, basically, you know?

“My place — I’m obviously a father, and I’m proud of it. But, again, I’m grateful for what they’ve done. Especially with Barker. He’s obviously stepped up to the plate.”

De La Hoya also fathered Jacob, 25, and Devon, 24, with former flames Toni Alvarado and Angelicque McQueen, respectively.