|
|
|
|
Oscar de la Hoya
|
| |
|
| |
Oscar De La Hoya (born February 4, 1973) — nicknamed "The Golden Boy" — is an American boxer and promoter who won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games. 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 Ring Magazine's "Fighter of the Year" in 1995 and Ring Magazine's top-rated Pound for Pound fighter in the world in 1997.
De La Hoya has defeated 17 world champions and has won 10 world titles in six different weight classes.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Oscar de la Hoya' Start a new discussion about 'Oscar de la Hoya' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
Oscar De La Hoya (born February 4, 1973) — nicknamed "The Golden Boy" — is an American boxer and promoter who won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games. 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 Ring Magazine's "Fighter of the Year" in 1995 and Ring Magazine's top-rated Pound for Pound fighter in the world in 1997.
De La Hoya has defeated 17 world champions and has won 10 world titles in six different weight classes. He has also generated more money than any other boxer in the history of the sport.
De La Hoya's amateur career included 223 wins, 163 by knockout, with only 5 losses. He won the United States' only boxing gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics, a win which he dedicated to his deceased mother. De La Hoya founded Golden Boy Promotions, a combat sport promotional firm. He is the first American of Hispanic descent to own a national boxing promotional firm and one of the few boxers to take on promotional responsibilities while still active.
Julio Cesar Chavez, Pernell Whitaker and Felix Trinidad
On June 7, 1996, Oscar de la Hoya fought Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez for the WBC Light Welterweight championship. De la Hoya, the underdog with a record of 21-0 with 20 KO's, beat Chavez by TKO (Referee Stoppage) after the 3rd round. A rematch took place two years later, seeing the aging Chavez once again stopped in the eighth.
On March 12, 1997, De La Hoya fought the man regarded as the best pound for pound fighter in the world, Pernell Whitaker and by winning a 12 round decision, became regarded as the best pound for pound fighter in the world and the WBC welterweight champion.
De La Hoya, then the WBC welterweight champion, fought rival and IBF champion Felix Trinidad on September 18, 1999, in one of the biggest pay-per-view events in history, setting a record for a non-heavyweight fight. Trinidad was ultimately awarded a majority decision. Fans and boxing analysts called for a rematch, which never happened.
Moving up to Junior Middleweight
De La Hoya fought as a welterweight three more times after the Trinidad fight, including a controversial decision loss to Shane Mosley, and a TKO of Arturo Gatti in round five. He then moved up to junior middleweight, challenging the Spanish WBC junior middleweight champion Javier Castillejo. De La Hoya dominated the fight, winning almost every round and knocking him down with ten seconds to go to win the title.
Rivalry with Vargas
De La Hoya did not fight for the 15 months, and in this time the rivalry between him and WBA junior middleweight champion "Ferocious" Fernando Vargas 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 September 14, 2002, at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. 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 stanozolol after the fight.
De La Hoya defended his unified title against Yori Boy Campas (KO 6), before facing Shane Mosley 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. Nevertheless, Mosley won a close unanimous decision, with all judges scoring the bout 115-113 in his favor, even though Compubox showed that De La Hoya had landed more punches. Mosley would later admit to using performance-enhancing drugs from Balco for this bout, saying he thought they were legal supplements.
Moving up to Middleweight
De la Hoya next challenged Felix Sturm for the WBO world middleweight title on June 5, 2004. Although it was a controversial decision, he was awarded a unanimous decision and became 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. 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 challenged for the WBC, WBA, and IBF middleweight championship and unsuccessfully defended his WBO title against Bernard Hopkins, then universally considered the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world, on September 18, 2004 in Las Vegas. Although the fight was at a catchweight of 158 pounds, many thought De La Hoya was too small for the weight class, and Hopkins was considered a heavy favorite.
Despite the fact that he was fighting with a cut on his left palm, De La Hoya fought a smart fight and was actually ahead 77-75 on one scorecard in the ninth round when Hopkins hit him a left hook to the liver, knocking De La Hoya down and resulting in the first knockout of De La Hoya's career. De la Hoya later said that he wasn't dizzy at all, but that 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.
The Comeback Against Mayorga
De La Hoya took a layoff of twenty months, before signing to fight WBC junior middleweight champion Ricardo Mayorga. 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 May 6, 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., the man considered to be the best fighter in the world. Tickets sold out within three hours. De la Hoya was a two to one favorite in the fight.
The fight took place on May 5, 2007. De La Hoya pressed through out all the rounds, doing his best when he used his lead left jab. De La Hoya rallied in the final round, but Mayweather was awarded the split decision.
On May 3, 2008, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, De La Hoya fought Steve Forbes 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 June 6, 2008, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. announced his retirement from boxing, effectively ending talk of a rematch.
The Dream Match
De La Hoya was scheduled to face Manny Pacquiao on December 6, 2008 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank, Inc., the bout was a 12-round, non-title fight at the 147-pound welterweight limit. Although Manny Pacquiao 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 Freddy Roach was confident of a victory as he stated that De La Hoya could no longer "pull the trigger" at that stage in 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 and De La Hoya 145 at the official weigh-in on Friday, De La Hoya entered the ring at 147 pounds to Pacquiao's 148.5 .
De La Hoya lost the fight by way of TKO after 8 rounds in a dominant performance by Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao was ahead on all three judges' scorecards before the stoppage, with two judges scoring the fight at 80-71 and one scoring it at 79-72. After the bout 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."
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 record
| 2008-12-06 | Manny Pacquiao | 47-3-2 | MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, United States | L TKO 8 | Carson, California, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W UD 12>Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=FF9999 |L SD 12>Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 6>Bernard Hopkins
|44-2-1
|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=FF9999|L KO 9>Felix Sturm
|20-0-0
|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor= ccffcc|W UD 12>Shane Mosley
|38-2-0
|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=FF9999 |L UD 12>Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 7>Fernando Vargas
|22-1-0
|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 11>Javier Castillejo
|51-4-0
|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W UD 12>Arturo Gatti
|33-4-0
|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 5>Shane Mosley
|34-0-0
|Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| bgcolor=FF9999 |L SD 12>New York, New York, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 7>Felix Trinidad
|35-0-0
|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=FF9999 |L MD 12>Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 11>Ike Quartey
|34-0-1
|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W SD 12>Julio César Chávez
|101-2-2
|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 8>Patrick Charpentier
|27-4-1
|El Paso, Texas, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 3>Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 8>Hector Camacho
|64-3-1
|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W UD 12>San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W KO 2>Pernell Whitaker
|40-1-1
|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W UD 12>Miguel Angel Gonzalez
|41-0-0
|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W UD 12>Julio César Chávez
|97-1-1
|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 4>Darryl Tyson
|47-8-1
|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W KO 2>Jesse James Leija
|30-1-2
|New York, New York, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 2>Genaro Hernandez
|32-0-1
|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 6>Rafael Ruelas
|43-1-0
|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 2>Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W UD 12>John Avila
|20-1-1
|Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 9>Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 3>Jorge Paez
|53-6-4
|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W KO 2>Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 3>Jimmi Bredahl
|16-0-0
|Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 10>Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W KO 1>Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 4>Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 6>Troy Dorsey
|15-7-4
|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 1>Primm, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 4>Rochester, New York, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W UD 8>Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 4>San Diego, California, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 4>Hollywood, California, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W TKO 2>Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W KO 1>Inglewood, California, U.S.
| bgcolor=CCFFCC |W KO 1>
Pay-per-view history
- Rafael Ruelas (5/95) 330,000 buys = $17.5million
- Genaro Hernandez (9/95) 220,000 buys = $9.6 million
- M.A. Gonzalez (1/97) 345,000 buys = $12.1 million
- Pernell Whitaker (4/97) 720,000 buys = $28.8 million
- Hector Camacho (9/97) 560,000 buys = $22.4 million
- Wilfredo Rivera (12/97) 240,000 buys = $9.6 million
- J.C. Chavez II (9/98) 525,000 buys = $23.6 million
- Ike Quartey (2/99) 570,000 buys =$25.7 million
- Felix Trinidad (9/99) 1.4 million buys = $71.4 million
- Shane Mosley (6/00) 590,000 buys = $29.5 million
- Javier Castillejo (6/01) 400,000 buys = $16.0 million
- Fernando Vargas (9/02) 935,000 buys = $47.8 million
- Yory Boy Campas (5/03) 350,000 buys = $10.0 million
- Shane Mosley II (9/03) 950,000 buys = $48.4 million
- Felix Sturm (6/04) 380,000 buys = $19.0 million
- Bernard Hopkins (9/04) 1 million buys = $56.0 million
- Ricardo Mayorga (5/06) 945,000 buys = $53.8 million
- Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (5/07) 2.4 million buys = $134.4 million
- Manny Pacquiao (12/06) 1.4 million buys = $75 million
The wealthiest boxer of all time earning $0.7 billion in PPVs.
Totals: 13,000,000 buys, generating $714.0 million.
Wives and children
De la Hoya has five children:
- Shanna Moakler
- Atiana Cecilia De La Hoya (b. March 29, 1999)
- Toni Alvarado
- Angelique McQueen- 8th generation to Abiah Folger (mother of Benjamin Franklin) Ben Franklin is McQueen's grandfather seven generations back.
- Devon De La Hoya Nov 30 1998... 8th generation grandson of Benjamin Franklin.
- Millie Corretjer
- Oscar Gabriel (b. December 29, 2005)
- Nina Lauren Nenitte (b. December 29, 2007)
Life outside the ring
In 2000 he released a Grammy-nominated CD, entitled Oscar De La Hoya. Released through EMI International. The self-titled CD is a Latin Pop album with thirteen tracks in both English and Spanish written by Diane Warren and the Bee-Gees.
On October 5, 2001, De La Hoya married Millie Corretjer. They have two children: son Oscar Gabriel (b. December 29, 2005) and daughter Nina Lauren Nenitte (b. December 29, 2007 in San Juan, Puerto Rico).
In 2002 De la Hoya produced a boxing show on American cable channel HBO: a Spanish-language boxing show called Boxeo de Oro.
In 2004 he debuted a clothing line of casual, and active-inspired apparel through Mervyns department stores. In the summer of 2004, De La Hoya starred in and hosted a boxing reality television series on Fox and Fox Sports Net titled The Next Great Champ.
In 2005, Golden Boy Enterprises announced the formation of Golden Boy Partners, a company focused on urban development in Latino communities.
In September 2007, De La Hoya's company Golden Boy Enterprises acquired The Ring Magazine, KO Magazine, World Boxing Magazine and Pro Wrestling Illustrated from Kappa Publishing Group.
In late 2007, photographs featuring De La Hoya cross-dressed in company of a woman not his wife were posted on a tabloid 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.
On May 1, 2007, the Staples Center sports arena announced that a seven-foot-tall bronze statue of Oscar De La Hoya will join similar tributes to Los Angeles sports stars Magic Johnson and Wayne Gretzky at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.
In February 2008, Golden Boy acquired a 25% stake of Major League Soccer side Houston Dynamo, 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 Fame.
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 lottery in Mexico. The 300 film inspired commercial featured the Mexican champions battling giants and other large creatures.
A seven-foot-tall bronze statue of Oscar De La Hoya was unveiled outside Staples Center on Monday December 2, 2008.
See also
External links
|
| |
|
|
