Oscar De La Hoya is an Olympic gold winner and a 10-time world champion in six different weight classes, a feat no other American boxer has accomplished. He was named The Ring magazine's fighter of the year in 1995, and he once earned more money from pay-per-view events than any other athlete in history. De La Hoya has also been involved in several controversies during his career, including allegations of fixed fights and attempts at union busting.
Oscar De La Hoya was born on January 4th, 1970 in San Pedro, California. His father was a Mexican immigrant who worked as a gardener and his mother was an American citizen. When he was young, his family moved to Southern California where he grew up in Lakewood. He started boxing when he was 8 years old and decided he would be an Olympic gold medalist. By the time he was 11 years old, he had won a national championship. In 1987, at the age of 19, he competed in his first Olympics; he went on to win a gold medal in the light-heavyweight division. After his success at the Olympics, many major companies offered him contracts, but he turned them all down because he wanted to fight the best in the world. This made him unpopular with some members of the American boxing community who felt he didn't deserve all the attention he was getting. In 1992, De La Hoya fought his first world title match and lost by knockout to Tony Lopez.
Oscar De La Hoya was dubbed the "Golden Boy" of boxing after winning a gold medal in the 1992 Olympics. Since then, he has won five boxing titles in five different weight classes, elevating him to the ranks of boxing's best. He is widely regarded as the finest modern American boxer.
De La Hoya grew up in East Los Angeles, one of eight children of a Mexican immigrant bus driver. He began boxing at age 14 because there were no sports available for young Latinos in South Central Los Angeles. His father wanted him to be an engineer or doctor, but De La Hoya felt drawn to the sport of boxing. He says that it is his family who have supported his career choice throughout its many ups and downs.
After winning the gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Games, De La Hoya turned down a chance to compete in the Atlanta Olympics so that he could focus on his professional boxing career. He has not returned to the Olympics since.
During his career, De La Hoya has fought some of the most notable boxers in history including Floyd Mayweather Jr., Shane Mosley, John Ruiz, Marco Antonio Barrera, and Erik Morales. He has also had two fights with UFC champion Manny Pacquiao. His first encounter with Pacman ended in a split decision win for the Filipino fighter.
39 victories Oscar De La Hoya, a professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008, had a memorable career, winning world titles in a variety of weight divisions. He retired with a record of 39 victories (including 30 knockouts) and only six defeats, and he was a part of some of the biggest pay-per-view bonanzas of his period. His reign as WBC light middleweight champion from 1997 to 1999 was especially successful - he defeated all nine opponents he faced for that title.
De La Hoya started out at light welterweight, but after two years he moved up to light middleweight. This decision made him eligible to compete for world championships at both middleweights and super middleweights. He successfully defended his light middleweight title four times before moving down in weight to challenge Sergio Martinez for the wbc middleweight crown. That fight took place in December 2002 and De La Hoya lost by unanimous decision. After this defeat he decided to retire from boxing.
During his career, De La Hoya won the WBA light middleweight championship, the WBC light middleweight championship, the WBO super middleweight championship, and the WBA super middleweight championship. He also earned a draw against great rival Roy Jones Jr. The only belt he never held was the lineal championship, which is currently owned by Miguel Cotto. However, many consider him to be the greatest light middleweight of all time because of his successful title defenses against top fighters like Thomas Hearns, Felix Trinidad, and Martinez.
In 2007, he was the subject of a picture controversy when Serbian stripper Milana Dravnel leaked photographs of him wearing fishnet stockings and high heels. In an interview with Univision, he revealed details about his marital problems, including his drug and alcohol addiction.
Oscar De La Hoya was born on February 4, 1973, in Montebello, Los Angeles, California, to parents who had moved to the United States from Mexico before he was born. Boxing was a family tradition for De La Hoya.
De La Hoya won the national junior Olympic 119-pound title when he was 15 years old, and the 125-pound title the following year. In 1990, he won the national Golden Gloves title in the 125-pound class and was the youngest U.S. boxer to earn a gold medal in that year's Goodwill Games.
Oscar De La Hoya (/deIl@'hoI.@/; born February 4, 1973) is a Mexican-American former professional boxer who became a boxing promoter in 2002 and an MMA promoter in 2018.
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