Oscar De La Hoya is a retired American
boxerBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
of Mexican descent. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy", De La Hoya won a
gold medalBoxing at the 1992 Summer Olympics took place in the old Pavelló Club Joventut de Badalona in Barcelona. The boxing schedule began on July 26 and ended on August 9...
at the
Barcelona Olympic GamesThe 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
shortly after graduating from
Garfield High SchoolJames A. Garfield High School is a public, year-round high school founded in 1925 in East Los Angeles, an unincorporated section of Los Angeles County, California. The school was made famous by the film Stand and Deliver about a teacher named Jaime Escalante...
. De La Hoya comes from a boxing family. His grandfather Vicente, father Joel Sr., and brother Joel Jr. were all boxers. De La Hoya was
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
's "Fighter of the Year" in 1995 and Ring Magazine's top-rated Pound for Pound fighter in the world in 1997 & 1998. De La Hoya officially announced his retirement from the sport at a press conference held in Los Angeles on April 14, 2009.
De La Hoya has defeated 17 world champions and has won ten world titles in six different weight classes. He has also generated more money than any other boxer in the history of the sport, an estimated $696 million
pay-per-viewPay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
income.
De La Hoya founded
Golden Boy PromotionsGolden Boy Promotions, Inc. is a combat sport promotional firm started by former boxer six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya...
, a
combat sportA Combat sport, also known as a Fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport where two combatants fight against each other using certain rules of engagement , typically with the aim of simulating parts of real hand to hand combat...
promotional firm. He is the first American of
HispanicHispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
descent to own a national boxing promotional firm and one of the few boxers to take on promotional responsibilities while still active.
Amateur career
De La Hoya's amateur career included 234 wins, 163 by knockout, with only six losses. Of those six losses, one came at the hands of
Shane Mosley“Sugar” Shane Mosley is an American professional boxer from Pomona, California who has held world titles in three weight divisions.-Amateur career:Mosley was an amateur standout, capturing various amateur titles, including:...
. In 1989, he won the National
Golden GlovesThe Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States. The Golden Gloves is often the term used to refer to the National Golden Gloves competition, but it also can represent several other amateur tournaments, including regional golden gloves...
title in the bantamweight division. In 1990, at the age of 17, he won the U.S. National Championship at featherweight and was the youngest U.S. boxer at that year’s
Goodwill GamesThe Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s...
, winning a gold medal. The joy of victory was tempered by the news that his mother, Cecilia, was terminally ill with
breast cancerBreast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
. She died in October 1990, expressing the hope that her son would one day become an Olympic gold medalist.
With the
1992 Summer OlympicsThe 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
in Barcelona, Spain, approaching, De La Hoya turned his mother’s dream into a strong focus for his training. After an upset victory in the first round over the
CubanCubans or Cuban people are the inhabitants or citizens of Cuba. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
boxer
Julio GonzalezJulio González may refer to:* Julio César González , Mexican light-heavyweight boxer* Julio González , Cuban responsible for the 1990 Happy Land Fire...
, De La Hoya defeated
Marco RudolphMarco Rudolph was a German boxer, who won the Lightweight Silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics.- Professional career :...
of
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to win gold and become the only U.S. boxer to take home a medal from Barcelona. The U.S. media publicized his quest to fulfill his mother's dying wish and dubbed him with the nickname "The Golden Boy", which has remained with him throughout his career.
Junior Lightweight title
On 23 November 1992, De La Hoya made his professional debut by scoring a first round TKO victory. In his twelfth professional fight, he won his first world title at age 20, stopping Jimmy Bredahl (16-0) in the tenth round to win the
WBOThe World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...
junior lightweight title. He defended the title once, stopping Giorgio Campanella (20-0) in three rounds.
Lightweight title
On 29 July 1994, he knocked out
Jorge PáezJorge Adolfo Febles Páez is a Mexican boxer, actor and circus performer. Páez is the former WBO and IBF Featherweight champion. Paez is nicknamed " El Maromero", in honor of the acts he performs at the circus. Paez has been a circus performer in his northwest Mexico hometown since he was very young...
(53-6-4) in the second round to win the WBO
lightweightLight-weight is a class of athletes in a particular sport, based on their weight.-Professional boxing:The lightweight division is over 130 pounds and up to 135 pounds weight class in the sport of boxing....
title. In his first title defense, he defeated John-John Molina (36-3), who had recently vacated his IBF junior lightweight title, by unanimous decision. On 6 May 1995, De La Hoya defeated IBF lightweight champion
Rafael RuelasRafael Ruelas is a former professional boxer. Ruelas was a very popular Mexican fighter, best known for his devastating knockout loss to Oscar De La Hoya; a loss which left Oscar somewhat scorned by the Mexican community due to his ruthless destruction of a hero.Shortly after a TKO in 10 over the...
(43-1-0) in a unification bout. De La Hoya knocked Ruelas down twice before the fight was stopped in the second round. The IBF then ordered De La Hoya to defend against Miguel Julio. He relinquished the IBF title, and defended the WBO title against undefeated
Genaro HernandezGenaro Hernández was a Mexican-American boxer from South Central Los Angeles. Hernández was the former WBC, WBA, & Lineal super featherweight champion.-Pro career:...
(32-0-1), who relinquished the WBA junior lightweight title to fight De La Hoya. Hernandez quit after six rounds because of a broken nose. In his sixth and final defense of the WBO lightweight title, he knocked out
Jesse James LeijaJames Leija , is a retired professional boxer from Texas.-Amateur career:Leija had an amateur career that spanned three years, going 23-5 during this time. He won the San Antonio Golden Gloves in 1988...
(30-1-2) in two rounds.
Light Welterweight title
On June 7, 1996, Oscar De La Hoya fought Mexican legend
Julio César ChávezJulio César Chávez is a retired Mexican professional boxer.He is a six-time world champion in three weight divisions, and for several years he was considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world...
(96-1-1) for the
Lineal & WBC super lightweight championships. De la Hoya, with a record of 21-0 with 19 K.Os, defeated Chavez by a fourth round TKO. The fight was stopped due to a bad cut suffered by Chavez. Until their rematch in 1998, Chávez stated that De La Hoya did not defeat him since the fight was stopped. De La Hoya successfully defended his titles with a twelve round unanimous decision against undefeated former WBC lightweight champion and number one super lightweight contender Miguel Ángel González (41-0-0).
Welterweight title
On 12 March 1997, De La Hoya moved up to the welterweight division and fought
Pernell WhitakerPernell Whitaker , nicknamed "Sweet Pea", is a professional boxing trainer and retired American professional boxer...
(40-1-1). The fight proved to be a difficult one. De La Hoya won a disputed twelve round unanimous decision to capture the
LinealIn professional boxing, the lineal championship of a weight class is a notional world championship title. It is initially held at some moment in time by a boxer universally acclaimed as the best in the class. Another boxer can win the lineal championship only by defeating the reigning lineal...
and
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
titles. He also became the Ring Magazine's number one ranked pound-for-pound fighter.
On 13 September 1997, he defeated
Héctor CamachoHéctor Camacho , nicknamed "Macho Camacho", is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. His son, Héctor Camacho Jr., is also a boxer.- Early life and amateur career :...
(63-3-1) by unanimous decision. On 8 September 1998, he fought a rematch with Julio César Chávez (100-2-2) and defeated him by eighth round TKO. In his next bout, he faced undefeated former WBA welterweight champion
Ike QuarteyIke "Bazooka" Quartey is a former WBA Welterweight champion boxer. He has fought numerous world champion boxers including Oscar De La Hoya, Fernando Vargas, Vernon Forrest and Ronald "Winky" Wright.-Biography:...
(34-0-1) and won by split decision. He then defeated
Oba CarrOba Diallo Carr is a former American boxer in the welterweight division.-WBC Welterweight Championship:On May 22, 1999 Carr lost to the Mexican American Superstar Oscar De La Hoya by T.K.O....
(48-2-1) by eleventh round TKO.
After seven defenses of his
Lineal and WBC welterweight titles, De La Hoya fought rival and
IBFIBF may refer to:*International Boxing Federation is one of several boxing organisations* International Bandy Federation former name of Federation of International Bandy , an international governing body for bandy...
champion
Félix TrinidadFélix 'Tito' Trinidad, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional boxer, considered one of the best in Puerto Rico's history. After winning five National Amateur Championships in Puerto Rico, he debuted as a professional when he was 17. He won his first world championship when he defeated Maurice Blocker...
(35-0) on 18 September 1999, in one of the biggest pay-per-view events in history, setting a record for a non-heavyweight fight. Oscar handily won the early rounds but faded down the stretch and especially in the championship rounds. DeLaHoya virtually gave away the last four rounds of the fight attempting to avoid a late Trinidad rush. Trinidad was ultimately awarded a majority decision. The judges scorecards came under question after the decision. Fans and boxing analysts called for a rematch, which never happened.
On 26 February 2000, De La Hoya knocked out Derrell Coley (34-1-2). The WBC awarded De La Hoya the welterweight title, which he lost to
Shane Mosley“Sugar” Shane Mosley is an American professional boxer from Pomona, California who has held world titles in three weight divisions.-Amateur career:Mosley was an amateur standout, capturing various amateur titles, including:...
(34-0) by a split decision on 17 June 2000, given De La Hoya ther first sound defeat of his pro career.
De La Hoya took promoter Bob Arum to court in the fall of 2000, trying to break his contract with the promoter. The courts ruled in favor of the Golden Boy in February 2001. Tempers flared during the battle and reached a low in March 2001, when De La Hoya called Arum racist in a newspaper interview, and then apologized for the remarks.
“I don't have blue eyes and I am not white, but a Mexican arriving on the cusp of fame, and that is what they do not support,” De La Hoya told La Opinion in 2001. “Bob Arum's people hope I lose because they can't see a Mexican above them, and also that he defeated one of the biggest Jews to come out of Harvard.”
De La Hoya defeated
Arturo GattiArturo "Thunder" Gatti was a Canadian professional boxer. Born in Cassino, Italy, and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Gatti relocated to Jersey City, United States as a teenager...
(33-4) by fifth round TKO on 24 March 2001. He then moved up to super welterweight, challenging the
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
WBC super welterweight champion
Javier CastillejoFrancisco Javier Castillejo is a professional boxer from Spain. He is the former WBC light middleweight champion and former WBA middleweight champion. He has fought against stars Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Sturm, Fernando Vargas, Julio Cesar Vasquez, Michael Rask, and Mariano Natalio Carrera...
. De La Hoya dominated the fight, winning almost every round and knocking Castillejo (51-4) down with ten seconds to go to win the title by a unanimous decision.
Rivalry with Vargas
De La Hoya did fight for the 15 months, and in this time the rivalry between him and WBA junior middleweight champion "Ferocious"
Fernando VargasFernando Vargas is a retired Mexican American boxer and two-time world champion, who won a bronze medal as an amateur at the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata. His nicknames include "Ferocious", "The Aztec Warrior" and "El Feroz"...
(22-1) grew. They knew each other as amateurs and it is said the rivalry began when Vargas was angered by De La Hoya laughing at him after he fell into a snowbank. De La Hoya said he would never fight him. Eventually, however, De La Hoya accepted a match. The fight was scheduled for early 2002, but De La Hoya had to withdraw because of a hand injury.
The unification bout, labeled "Bad Blood", finally took place on 14 September 2002, at the Mandalay Bay in
Las VegasThe Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
. The fight was even for the first six rounds, with Vargas landing punches on the ropes in the odd rounds, while De La Hoya outboxed him in the even rounds. De La Hoya took over the fight in the seventh round, and hurt Vargas with a left hook in the tenth. In the next round, De La Hoya knocked Vargas down with a left hook, and stopped him moments later. The win is widely considered to be the biggest of De La Hoya's career. Vargas tested positive for
stanozololStanozolol, commonly sold under the name Winstrol , Tenabol and Winstrol Depot , was developed by Winthrop Laboratories in 1962...
after the fight.
De La Hoya defended his unified title against
Yori Boy CampasLuis Ramón Campas is a Mexican boxer who was the IBF light middleweight champion. He is better known as Yory Boy Campas.-Background:...
(80-5) with a sixth round knockout and then faced
Shane Mosley“Sugar” Shane Mosley is an American professional boxer from Pomona, California who has held world titles in three weight divisions.-Amateur career:Mosley was an amateur standout, capturing various amateur titles, including:...
(38-2) in a rematch. The fight, billed as "Retribution" and staged at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, was more of a boxing match than their first encounter, and many rounds were close. The fight was close and in keeping with past DeLaHoya big fights, Oscar would fade late into the fight and Mosley was able to edge out a points win. Mosley was later connected to the
BALCO LabsThe Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative was an American company led by founder and owner Victor Conte, a former bass player for the soul band Tower of Power. In 2003, journalists Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada investigated the company's role in a drug sports scandal later referred to as the...
steroid scandalThe BALCO scandal is a scandal involving the use of banned, performance-enhancing substances by professional athletes. The Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative was a San Francisco Bay Area business accused of supplying steroids to Major League Baseball players...
.
Jeff NovitzkyJeff Novitzky is an agent for the Food and Drug Administration investigating the use of steroids in professional sports. Before April 2008 he was a special agent for the Internal Revenue Service who investigated the use of steroids for over five years...
, a lead investigator on the BALCO case, reported that documents seized from the lab show that Mosley received "
the clearTetrahydrogestrinone is an anabolic steroid developed by Patrick Arnold. It has affinity to the androgen receptor and the progesterone receptor, but not to the estrogen receptor...
" and "
the cream"The cream" is a testosterone-based ointment that is used in conjunction with anabolic steroids such as tetrahydrogestrinone in order to mask doping in professional athletes....
", both designer
steroidsAnabolic steroids, technically known as anabolic-androgen steroids or colloquially simply as "steroids", are drugs that mimic the effects of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in the body. They increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in the buildup of cellular tissue ,...
. Mosley reportedly began his doping regimen prior to his rematch with Oscar De La Hoya. Mosley would later admit to using performance-enhancing drugs from
BALCOThe Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative was an American company led by founder and owner Victor Conte, a former bass player for the soul band Tower of Power. In 2003, journalists Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada investigated the company's role in a drug sports scandal later referred to as the...
for this bout, saying he thought they were legal supplements.
Moving up to Middleweight
De la Hoya next challenged
Felix SturmFelix Sturm is a German boxer and current WBA middleweight Super champion of Bosniak descent. Sturm was born and raised in Leverkusen, Germany, but both of his parents were immigrants from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.- Professional career :On 27 January 2001, Sturm made his debut as a...
(20-0) for the WBO
middleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title on 5 June 2004. De La Hoya was awarded a unanimous decision, becoming the first boxer in history to win world titles in six different weight divisions. All three judges scored the bout 115-113 in favor of De La Hoya. The decision was controversial. Compubox counted Sturm as landing 234 of 541 punches, while counting De La Hoya as landing 188 of 792.
De La Hoya–Hopkins
De la Hoya fought
Bernard HopkinsBernard Hopkins Jr, known as The Executioner is an American boxer and the current Ring Magazine and WBC light heavyweight champion...
(44-2-1) in a unification match on 18 September 2004 in Las Vegas. Hopkins held the WBC, WBA, and IBF middleweight titles and was considered by many to be the number one pound for pound fighter in the world. Although the fight was at a catchweight of 158 pounds (71.7 kg), many thought De La Hoya was too small for the weight class, and Hopkins was considered a heavy favorite.
Several days before the fight, De la Hoya's hand was cut when his hand wraps were being cut off after training. The cut required eleven stitches.
De La Hoya fought a tactical fight. After eight rounds, De La Hoya was ahead 77-75 on one scorecard. He was behind 78-74 and 79-73 on the other two scorecards. In the ninth round, Hopkins knocked out De La Hoya with a left hook to the body. It was the first time in De La Hoya's career that he was knocked out.
De la Hoya later said he couldn't get up because the pain of a well placed livershot is unbearable. Despite losing, De La Hoya made over $30 million from the fight.
Bob Arum claimed De La Hoya took a dive. It didn't matter because Hopkins was going to win this bout one way or another. Like Mosley, Hopkins would get a job with Golden Boy Promotions.
De La Hoya responded, "So now he's going to attack me left and right. He's going to keep saying that I took a dive against Hopkins and that I'm in this only for the money. I can't stop him from saying those things. I think he's hurt. He's hurt because I chose not to stay with him until the end of my career.
The Comeback Against Mayorga
De La Hoya took a layoff of 20 months, before signing to fight WBC super welterweight champion
Ricardo MayorgaRicardo Mayorga , is a Nicaraguan professional boxer. He is the former WBA/WBC Welterweight champion and the former WBC light middleweight champion. He holds a record of 29-8 with 23 knockouts and 1 draw 1 no contest. He was featured for the first time on the cover of Ring Magazine on the December...
(27-5-1). In the buildup to the fight, Mayorga insulted everything from De La Hoya's sexuality to his wife and child, but when they fought on 6 May 2006, De La Hoya knocked Mayorga down in the first minute of the fight with a left hook. He knocked him out in the sixth round to take his tenth world title.
"The World Awaits"
In early 2007, De La Hoya signed to defend his title against WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (37-0). De la Hoya was a two to one underdog in the fight.
The fight took place on 5 May 2007. De La Hoya pressed throughout all the rounds, doing his best when he used his left jab. Mayweather controlled the later rounds and was ultimately rewarded with a split decision victory in front of a sold-out arena at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Chuck Giampi saw the fight 116-112 for Mayweather, while Jerry Roth also scored it for Mayweather at 115-113. Tom Kaczmarcek ruled for De La Hoya 115-113, but it was apparent to most observers that Mayweather largely controlled the fight. The Associated Press had Mayweather winning 116-112.
Mayweather dominated the stats, connecting on 207 of his 481 total punches thrown. De La Hoya threw more punches—587—but landed only 122.
On 3 May 2008, at the Home Depot Center in
Carson, CaliforniaCarson is a city in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, Carson had a total population of 91,714. Located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately 14 miles away from the Los Angeles International Airport, it is known as a suburb of the city....
, De La Hoya fought Steve Forbes (33-5) in a tuneup for a possible rematch with Mayweather. De La Hoya showed a more relaxed style, throwing a constant jab and always staying on his toes. He opened a cut near Forbes' eye in the sixth round.
On 6 June 2008, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. announced his retirement from boxing, effectively ending talk of a rematch.
The Dream Match
De La Hoya faced
Manny PacquiaoEmmanuel "Manny" Dapidran Pacquiao, PLH is a Filipino professional boxer and politician. He is the first eight-division world champion; having won six world titles, as well as the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. He was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the...
(47-3-2) on 6 December 2008 at the
MGM GrandThe MGM Grand Las Vegas is a hotel casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The MGM Grand is the third largest hotel in the world and largest hotel resort complex in the United States in front of The Venetian. The MGM Grand was the largest hotel in the world when it opened in...
in
Las VegasLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. Presented by
Golden Boy PromotionsGolden Boy Promotions, Inc. is a combat sport promotional firm started by former boxer six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya...
and
Top Rank, Inc.Top Rank, Inc. is a Las Vegas based boxing promotion company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973. Since its founding, the company has promoted several world class fighters, such as Muhammad Ali, JI Penalver, Oscar De La Hoya, Roberto Durán, Joe Frazier,...
, the bout was a twelve round non-title fight at the 147 pounds (66.7 kg)
welterweightWelterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
limit. Although
Manny PacquiaoEmmanuel "Manny" Dapidran Pacquiao, PLH is a Filipino professional boxer and politician. He is the first eight-division world champion; having won six world titles, as well as the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. He was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the...
went into the fight recognized as the leading pound for pound boxer in the world, some pundits speculated that 147 pounds could have been too far above his natural weight against the larger De La Hoya. However, Pacquiao's trainer Roach was confident of a victory as he stated that De La Hoya could no longer "pull the trigger" at that stage of his career. De La Hoya, who was favored to win the bout due to his size advantage, was expected to be the heavier of the two on fight night. However, though Pacquiao weighed 142 pounds (64.4 kg) and De La Hoya 145 pounds (65.8 kg) at the official weigh-in on Friday, De La Hoya entered the ring at 147 pounds to Pacquiao's 148.5 pounds (67.4 kg).
De La Hoya took a beating and his corner stopped the fight after the eighth round. Pacquiao was ahead on all three judges' scorecards before the stoppage, with two judges scoring the fight 80–71 and the other judge scoring it at 79–72. After the bout Pacquiao's trainer Freddy Roach stated, "We knew we had him after the first round. He had no legs, he was hesitant and he was shot." Confirming Roach's pre-fight predictions that he'd grown too old, De La Hoya crossed the ring to Pacquiao's corner after the bout was stopped and told Roach, "You're right, Freddie. I don't have it anymore." When asked by reporters whether he would continue fighting, De La Hoya responded, "My heart still wants to fight, that's for sure", De La Hoya said. "But when your physical doesn't respond, what can you do? I have to be smart and make sure I think about my future plans." During the first episode of the HBO 24/7
Pacquiao–HattonRicky Hatton vs. Manny Pacquiao, billed as The Battle of East and West, was a boxing light welterweight superfight for the International Boxing Organization and The Ring light welterweight championship...
series, Roach had said he saw
IVIntravenous therapy or IV therapy is the infusion of liquid substances directly into a vein. The word intravenous simply means "within a vein". Therapies administered intravenously are often called specialty pharmaceuticals...
marks on De La Hoya's arm, pointing out that he needed to be rehydrated surgically as a last resort.
Retirement
De La Hoya announced his retirement on April 14, 2009, ending any speculation about a potential fight with undefeated junior middleweight Julio César Chávez Jr.
Life outside the ring
De La Hoya was accused in a lawsuit of rape in 1998. The lawsuit, filed in San Bernardino (Calif.) County Superior Court, alleged that De La Hoya raped a woman, who was 15 at the time, in a hotel room in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in June 1996. The case was settled out of court in 2001.
In 2000, he released a
GrammyA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-nominated CD, entitled
Oscar De La Hoya. Released through
EMI InternationalThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
. The self-titled CD is a
Latin popLatin pop generally refers to pop music that has what may be perceived a Latin American influence...
album with 13 tracks in both English and Spanish written by
Diane WarrenDiane Eve Warren , is a US songwriter. Her songs have received six Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, including one win and seven Grammy Award nominations, including one win. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001...
and the
Bee GeesThe Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
.
On 5 October 2001, De La Hoya married
Millie CorretjerMilagros Ninnete Corretjer Maldonado, known as, Millie CorretjerMilagros Ninnete Corretjer Maldonado, known as, Millie CorretjerMilagros Ninnete Corretjer Maldonado, known as, Millie Corretjer(b. April 18, 1974, is a Puerto Rican singer and actress. She is married to boxer Oscar De La Hoya.-Early...
. They have two children together. He also has a daughter, Atiana Cecilia, with
Shanna MoaklerShanna Lynn Moakler is an American model, actress, reality television star and a former beauty queen. She was the winner of the Miss New York USA pageant in 1995 and was originally the first runner-up at Miss USA 1995. She was later crowned Miss USA after Chelsi Smith won Miss Universe...
.
In 2004, he debuted a clothing line of casual, and active-inspired apparel through
MervynsMervyns was an American middle scale department store chain based in Hayward, California. It carried national brands of clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, and housewares. Many of the company's stores were in shopping malls...
department stores. In the summer of 2004, De La Hoya starred in and hosted a boxing reality television series on Fox and
Fox SportsFox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
Net titled
The Next Great ChampThe Next Great Champ was a reality television series on Fox that aired in early 2005. It followed a group of boxers as they compete with one another in an elimination-style competition, while their lives and relationships with each other and their families are depicted...
.
In 2005, Golden Boy Enterprises announced the formation of Golden Boy Partners, a company focused on urban development in Latino communities.
In 2006, De La Hoya authorized a children's
picture bookA picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. The images in picture books use a range of media such as oil paints, acrylics, watercolor and pencil.Two of the earliest books with something like the format picture books still retain now...
titled
Super Oscar published by Simon and Schuster and released in his name. The book was written by noted
children's author Mark ShulmanMark Shulman was born April 2, 1962 in Rochester, New York. He is an American children's author of over 100 books. He is the founder of Oomf, Inc....
and illustrated by children's illustrator Lisa Kopelke. The book tells the story of young Oscar as a daydreamer, who uses his great physical ability to prepare an elaborate picnic for his entire neighborhood in just fifteen minutes. Written in English and Spanish, the book received unanimously positive reviews from the publishing review journals.
Super Oscar was selected as the winner of the 2007 Latino Book Awards Best Bilingual Children's Picture Book of the year.
In September, 2007, De La Hoya's company Golden Boy Enterprises acquired
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
,
KO MagazineKO Magazine is a popular United States boxing magazine. It was first published in 1979, to compete with The Ring.During the 1980s, KO Magazine, nicknamed "The knockout boxing magazine", ran some popular features, such as a round-by-round section where the most important fights were described punch...
,
World Boxing Magazine and
Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
from
Kappa Publishing GroupKappa Publishing Group, Inc. is a Blue Bell, Pennsylvania based publishing company concentrating on adult puzzle books and magazines as well as children's magazines and maps. It is a private company founded in 1955 with $11.5 million in annual sales....
.
In late 2007, photographs featuring De La Hoya cross-dressed in company of a woman not his wife were posted on a
tabloidTabloid journalism tends to emphasize topics such as sensational crime stories, astrology, gossip columns about the personal lives of celebrities and sports stars, and junk food news...
website and received extensive publicity across the internet. De la Hoya has denied the authenticity of the photos. His lawyer stated, "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." In September 2007, Mila Dravnel, the woman who sold the photographs, recanted her allegations against De La Hoya and denied the authenticity of the photographs. However, in May 2008, Dravnel sued De La Hoya for slander, but she dropped the lawsuit after experts determined the photographs had been digitally doctored. However, in De La Hoya's August 2011 interview with
UnivisionUnivision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
, he confirmed that it was indeed him in the leaked 2007 photos.
On 1 May 2007, the
Staples CenterStaples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Los Angeles...
sports arena announced that a 7 feet (2.1 m)
bronzeBronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
statue of Oscar De La Hoya would join similar tributes to Los Angeles sports stars
Magic JohnsonEarvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers...
and
Wayne GretzkyWayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. The statue was unveiled on 2 December 2008.
In February, 2008, Golden Boy acquired a 25% stake of
Major League SoccerMajor League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
side
Houston DynamoThe Houston Dynamo is an American professional soccer club, based in Houston, Texas, that plays in Major League Soccer, the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Founded in 2005 as Houston 1836, the team name was renamed to Houston Dynamo following protests from Hispanic...
, along with Brener International Group.
De La Hoya started a charitable foundation to help underprivileged youth to education. In 2008, he donated $3.5 million to the De La Hoya Animo Charter High School.
In June, 2008, De La Hoya published his autobiography entitled
"American Son".
He is a member of the 2008
United States Olympic Hall of FameThe United States Olympic Hall of Fame is an honor roll of the top American Olympic athletes.The Hall of Fame was established by the United States Olympic Committee in 1979; the first members were inducted in 1983. Between 1992 and 2003, the Hall of Fame went dormant, with no induction of new...
.
Oscar De La Hoya is on the front covers of the PS3, Xbox 360, and PSP versions of EASports'
Fight Night Round 3.
In 2008, De La Hoya starred in a commercial alongside several Mexican boxing champions for Pronosticos
lotteryA lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize.Lottery is outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments...
in Mexico. The
300 film inspired commercial featured the Mexican champions battling giants and other large creatures.
In early 2011, De La Hoya visited U.S. military personnel in
KuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
and
IraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
under the auspices of the USO, holding boxing clinics and greeting the troops.
In May, 2011, De La Hoya acknowledged he has a problem, but the nature of the issue was not revealed. "After doing an honest evaluation of myself, I recognize that there are certain issues that I need to work on. Like everyone, I have my flaws, and I do not want to be one of those people that is afraid to admit and address those flaws." He currently is undergoing treatment at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California.
Amateur highlights
- 1989 Gold Medalist National Golden Gloves
- 1990 Gold Medalist US National Championships
- 1990 Gold Medalist Goodwill Games
- 1991 Gold Medalist US National Championships
- 1991 Gold Medalist US Olympic Festival
- 1992 Gold Medalist World Championships Challenge
- 1992 Gold Medalist Olympic Games
Amateur record: 224-5
Professional boxing record
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|
39 Wins (30 knockouts),
6 Losses, 0 Draws
|-
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|
Result
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|
Record
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|
Opponnent
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|
Type
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|
Round
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|
Date
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|
Location
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|
Notes
|-align=center
|Loss||39–6||align=left|
Philippines Manny PacquiaoEmmanuel "Manny" Dapidran Pacquiao, PLH is a Filipino professional boxer and politician. He is the first eight-division world champion; having won six world titles, as well as the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. He was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the...
|TKO||8 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||39–5||align=left|
United States Stevie Forbes
|UD||12||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Loss||38–5||align=left|
United States Floyd Mayweather Jr.
|SD||12||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||38–4||align=left|
Nicaragua Ricardo MayorgaRicardo Mayorga , is a Nicaraguan professional boxer. He is the former WBA/WBC Welterweight champion and the former WBC light middleweight champion. He holds a record of 29-8 with 23 knockouts and 1 draw 1 no contest. He was featured for the first time on the cover of Ring Magazine on the December...
|TKO||6 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Loss||37–4||align=left|
United States Bernard HopkinsBernard Hopkins Jr, known as The Executioner is an American boxer and the current Ring Magazine and WBC light heavyweight champion...
|small|KO||9 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||37–3||align=left|
Germany Felix SturmFelix Sturm is a German boxer and current WBA middleweight Super champion of Bosniak descent. Sturm was born and raised in Leverkusen, Germany, but both of his parents were immigrants from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.- Professional career :On 27 January 2001, Sturm made his debut as a...
|UD||12||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Loss||36–3||align=left|
United States Shane Mosley“Sugar” Shane Mosley is an American professional boxer from Pomona, California who has held world titles in three weight divisions.-Amateur career:Mosley was an amateur standout, capturing various amateur titles, including:...
|UD||12||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||36–2||align=left|
Mexico Luis Ramon Campas
|TKO||7 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||35–2||align=left|
United States Fernando VargasFernando Vargas is a retired Mexican American boxer and two-time world champion, who won a bronze medal as an amateur at the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata. His nicknames include "Ferocious", "The Aztec Warrior" and "El Feroz"...
|TKO||11 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||34–2||align=left|
Spain Javier CastillejoFrancisco Javier Castillejo is a professional boxer from Spain. He is the former WBC light middleweight champion and former WBA middleweight champion. He has fought against stars Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Sturm, Fernando Vargas, Julio Cesar Vasquez, Michael Rask, and Mariano Natalio Carrera...
|UD||12||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||33–2
|align=left|
Canada Arturo GattiArturo "Thunder" Gatti was a Canadian professional boxer. Born in Cassino, Italy, and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Gatti relocated to Jersey City, United States as a teenager...
|TKO||5 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Loss||32–2||align=left|
United States Shane Mosley“Sugar” Shane Mosley is an American professional boxer from Pomona, California who has held world titles in three weight divisions.-Amateur career:Mosley was an amateur standout, capturing various amateur titles, including:...
|SD||12||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|colspan=8|De La Hoya was awarded vacant
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
welterweightWelterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
title on 4 March 2000.
|-align=center
|Win||32–1||align=left|
United States Derrell Coley
|KO||7 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Loss||31–1||align=left|
Puerto Rico Felix TrinidadFélix 'Tito' Trinidad, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional boxer, considered one of the best in Puerto Rico's history. After winning five National Amateur Championships in Puerto Rico, he debuted as a professional when he was 17. He won his first world championship when he defeated Maurice Blocker...
|
MDThe Fight Of The Millennium was a boxing match held in Las Vegas, Nevada, on September 18, 1999, to unify the WBC and IBF's world Welterweight championships....
||12||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||31–0||align=left|
United States Oba CarrOba Diallo Carr is a former American boxer in the welterweight division.-WBC Welterweight Championship:On May 22, 1999 Carr lost to the Mexican American Superstar Oscar De La Hoya by T.K.O....
|TKO||11 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||30–0||align=left|
Ghana Ike QuarteyIke "Bazooka" Quartey is a former WBA Welterweight champion boxer. He has fought numerous world champion boxers including Oscar De La Hoya, Fernando Vargas, Vernon Forrest and Ronald "Winky" Wright.-Biography:...
|SD||12||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||29–0
|align=left|
Mexico Julio César ChávezJulio César Chávez is a retired Mexican professional boxer.He is a six-time world champion in three weight divisions, and for several years he was considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world...
|RTD||8 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||28–0
|align=left|
Early Modern France Patrick CharpentierPatrick Charpentier is a French boxer who had a boxing record of 27 wins, five losses, and one draw. He had 23 knockouts.Charpentier began boxing in 1989 and held two titles: the French welterweight title and the European Boxing Union welterweight title.His biggest fight of his career fight came...
|TKO||3 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||27–0
|align=left|
Puerto Rico Wilfredo Rivera
|TKO||8 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||26–0||align=left|
Puerto Rico Héctor CamachoHéctor Camacho , nicknamed "Macho Camacho", is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. His son, Héctor Camacho Jr., is also a boxer.- Early life and amateur career :...
|UD||12||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||25–0
|align=left|
Kenya David Kamau
|KO|||2 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||24–0
|align=left|
United States Pernell WhitakerPernell Whitaker , nicknamed "Sweet Pea", is a professional boxing trainer and retired American professional boxer...
|UD||12||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||23–0
|align=left|
Mexico Miguel Ángel González
|UD||12||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||22–0
|align=left|
Mexico Julio César ChávezJulio César Chávez is a retired Mexican professional boxer.He is a six-time world champion in three weight divisions, and for several years he was considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world...
|TKO||4 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||21–0
|align=left|
United States Darryl TysonDarryl Tyson is a former American professional boxer. He is a former WBC Continental Americas lightweight champion and former USBA and NABF champion in the lightweight and junior welterweight divisions.-Professional career:...
|KO||2 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||20–0
|align=left|
United States Jesse James LeijaJames Leija , is a retired professional boxer from Texas.-Amateur career:Leija had an amateur career that spanned three years, going 23-5 during this time. He won the San Antonio Golden Gloves in 1988...
|TKO||2 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||19–0
|align=left|
United States Genaro HernandezGenaro Hernández was a Mexican-American boxer from South Central Los Angeles. Hernández was the former WBC, WBA, & Lineal super featherweight champion.-Pro career:...
|RTD||6 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||18–0
|align=left|
United States Rafael RuelasRafael Ruelas is a former professional boxer. Ruelas was a very popular Mexican fighter, best known for his devastating knockout loss to Oscar De La Hoya; a loss which left Oscar somewhat scorned by the Mexican community due to his ruthless destruction of a hero.Shortly after a TKO in 10 over the...
|TKO||2 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||17–0
|align=left|
Puerto Rico John John MolinaJuan Molina , better known as John John Molina in the world of boxing, is a former boxer whose career transcended boxing in Puerto Rico. A multiple time world champion, this boxer was also known as quite a socialite...
|UD||12||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||16–0
|align=left|
United States John Avila
|TKO||9 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||15–0
|align=left|
United States Carl Griffith
|TKO||3 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||14–0
|align=left|
Mexico Jorge PáezJorge Adolfo Febles Páez is a Mexican boxer, actor and circus performer. Páez is the former WBO and IBF Featherweight champion. Paez is nicknamed " El Maromero", in honor of the acts he performs at the circus. Paez has been a circus performer in his northwest Mexico hometown since he was very young...
|KO||2 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||13–0
|align=left|
Italy Giorgio Campanella
|TKO||3 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||12–0
|align=left|
Denmark Jimmy BredahlJimmi Bredahl , aka Jimmy Bredahl, is a professional boxer in the super featherweight division...
|RTD||10 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||11–0
|align=left|
Mexico Narciso Valenzuela
|KO||1 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||10–0
|align=left|
United States Angelo Nunez
|RTD||4 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||9–0
|align=left|
United States Renaldo Carter
|TKO||6 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||8–0
|align=left|
United States Troy DorseyTroy Glenn Dorsey is a former professional boxer and martial arts fighter. He is the only man in history to hold world titles in both karate and boxing.-Martial arts career:...
|RTD||1 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||7–0
|align=left|
El Salvador Frank Avelar
|TKO||4 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||6–0
|align=left|
United States Mike Grable
|UD||8||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||5–0
|align=left|
United States Jeff MayweatherJeff Mayweather was a boxer who fought in the 1990s.- Pro career :"Jazzy Jeff" had a career boxing record of 32-10-5...
|TKO||4 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||4–0
|align=left|
United States Curtis Strong
|TKO||4 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||3–0
|align=left|
United States Paris Alexander
|TKO||2 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||2–0
|align=left|
United States Clifford Hicks
|KO||1 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||1–0||align=left|
United States Lamar Williams
|KO||1 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
See also
External links
|-