Oscar De La Hoya is one of the most well known boxers of all time. Throughout his career, Oscar De La Hoya had some wonderful fights that cemented his position as one of the greats of the sport.
Here Are Some Shiny Facts About Oscar De La Hoya
Oscar De La Hoya was born in a boxing family
Oscar was born on February 4, 1973 in the Californian town of Montebello into a family of boxers. His nationality is Mexican. Grandfather Vicente, father Joel and older brother De La Hoya were boxers. Diego’s cousin achieved the title of Mexican champion. At the age of 6, Oscar got into an impromptu ring set up by his cousin in the courtyard of the house.
Oscar De La Hoya won an Olympic Gold in 1992
At the age of 15, Oscar received the title of US junior boxing champion, and a year later he won the Golden Gloves tournament. After his initial success, a crucial period of preparation for the 1992 Olympics, held in Barcelona, began.
Oscar reached the finals of the competition and met his opponent Marco Rudolf, whom he lost to in 1991 at the World Championships in Australia. At the Olympics, De La Hoya managed to climb to the top step of the podium. It was then that the nickname Golden Boy, which has survived to this day, appeared.
Oscar De La Hoya turned pro after his Olympic Gold
Oscar dedicated his victory to his mother, who died in 1990 from breast cancer. The woman dreamed that one day her son would become an Olympic champion, and the young man lived up to his parents’ hopes. Subsequently, De La Hoya opened a cancer center in memory of the deceased.
The boxer’s successful performance at the Olympics brought an end to his amateur career, in which Oscar achieved excellent results. Out of 240 fights, De La Hoya won 234 victories, knocking out opponents in 163 of them.
Oscar De La Hoya started in the featherweight category
In the first years of his professional career, Oscar showed brilliant statistics. Starting from the second featherweight, the athlete moved to the lightweight and then to the first welterweight category. In 1994, De La Hoya fought against WBO lightweight champion Jorge Paez, and a year later he defeated Rafael Ruelas.
Oscar De La Hoya earned an emotional victory against Julio Cesar Chavez
In 1996, Oscar was awarded a technical victory over Julio Cesar Chavez. Without exaggeration, we can say that De La Hoya crushed his opponent, although even before the start of the fight he faced several problems. Firstly, Chavez is Oscar’s childhood idol, and secondly, Julio Cesar was supported not only in Mexico but also in the USA. The press praised his opponent in every possible way and made fun of the native of California.
In 1997, De La Hoya moved up to welterweight and immediately won on points against Pernell Whitaker in a 12-round fight. After that, he defeated Hector Camacho in the fight for the WBC champion belt. Later, the boxer confirmed his title in a fight against Ike Quartey.
Oscar De La Hoya lost to Felix Trinidad in 1999
The 1999 fight received wide publicity in the world media, breaking the record for ticket sales and gaining the title of “fight of the millennium.” On September 18, two undefeated world champions WBC and IBF met in Las Vegas – De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad. The competition lasted 12 rounds; Oscar, who was in the lead at the beginning of the battle, lost to Felix on points. He redeemed himself in a fight against Derrell Coley, which ended in a knockout.
De La Hoya had a hard time in his fight against Shane Mosley. Until the 8th round, it seemed that victory was about to fall into the Golden Boy’s pocket, but then the initiative passed to Mosley’s side. But the fans, seeing the passionate fight in the 12th round, experienced genuine delight. Unfortunately for Oscar, Shane won.
Oscar De La Hoya won the championship belt in six different weight categories
In 2003, the Golden Boy, trying to take revenge, met with his undefeated opponent Shane Mosley, who again beat the American. Failure only strengthened the athlete, and Oscar, having raised the weight category to medium, entered the ring against Felix Sturm. Having defeated his opponent from Germany on points, De La Hoya turned out to be the only one who was a champion in six weight categories.
Oscar De La Hoya had a famous feud against Floyd Mayweather
In early May 2007, De La Hoya entered the ring for the first time against Floyd Mayweather in a fight for the WBC championship. In a tense fight that lasted 12 rounds, none of the competitors wanted to give in to each other.
The controversial situation was resolved by a vote of the judges, who gave the majority of points to Mayweather. Oscar was dissatisfied with the decision, but even such professionals like Kostya Tszyu spoke in favor of his young opponent after watching the video of the fight. De La Hoya’s $52 million fee served as consolation.
Oscar De La Hoya retired from boxing after losing against Manny Pacquiao
In 2008, the fight between De La Hoya and the Filipino Manny Pacquiao took place. Contrary to the expectations of fans of the Golden Boy, in the 8th round, the technical and dexterous Manny achieved victory over his opponent. After the defeat, Oscar announced his retirement from professional sports. The boxer switched his attention to business, to the development of a promotion agency.
Oscar De La Hoya fought against Shaquille O’Neal
Nevertheless, sometimes the champion continues to delight fans with his appearance in the ring. In 2009, De La Hoya appeared in an exhibition fight against NBA player and Hollywood actor Shaquille O’Neal. The basketball player created his show, Shaq Vs, to which he invites sports stars and competes with them in their categories. Shaquille O’Neal organized a 5-round match with Oscar, in which De La Hoya won, beating his opponent on points.
Oscar De La Hoya created Golden Boy Promotions
In 2002, Oscar created his own company, Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes boxing matches. De La Hoya was the first Mexican-American to own such a business.
Golden Boy Promotions also dealt with mixed martial arts. However, MMA fights organized by the company were often cancelled.
Oscar De La Hoya has six children with various women
The talented fighter has a bright and eventful personal life. Long-term and not-so-long-term romances gave Oscar six children. In 1998, different girls gave birth to the athlete’s sons Jacob and Devon. A year later, a relationship with fashion model Shanna Moukler brought De La Hoya a daughter, Ariana. Illegitimate offspring bear the father’s surname.
In 2000, Oscar met Puerto Rican singer Millie Corretcher. The boxer at that time was fond of singing and even took vocal lessons. A year later, the young couple got married. The wedding ceremony took place in a closed format. According to rumors, to hide from journalists, the newlyweds even covered themselves with a sheet while walking to the wedding venue.
In 2005, his son Oscar Gabriel was born; in 2007, his wife gave the boxer a daughter, Nina Lauren Nenitt. Despite the tension between the couple, in 2014 a girl, Victoria Lauren Rose, appeared in the family.
Oscar De La Hoya suffered from alcoholism
The couple’s problems began due to the athlete’s alcohol addiction. After finishing his career, Oscar began to spend more time outside the home and made dubious connections on the side. De La Hoya managed to pull himself together and, after receiving treatment at the clinic, returned to his wife. But the peace did not last long, and in 2016 the former lovers broke up, maintaining friendly relations.
Oscar De La Hoya was snapped wearing women’s clothes
De La Hoya has repeatedly found himself in questionable situations and even faced accusations of rape. But the most notorious scandal involving a celebrity is considered to be the case when, in 2007, photos of a boxer in women’s underwear and stiletto heels appeared on the Internet. At first, Oscar denied involvement in the photographs and insisted that the footage was fake. However, he later admitted that he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and that the images were genuine.
Oscar De La Hoya was arrested for DUI
Bad habits more than once pushed Oscar De La Hoy towards crime. In 2017, information appeared in the media that the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions was arrested in the Californian city of Pasadena for driving while intoxicated. Soon the misunderstanding was settled, and the offender was sent home.
