1992. Barcelona (Spain). Olympic final in weight up to 60 kg. Opponent: Marco Rudolf (Germany). Result: victory by decision.
“Back in the day, I won world titles left and right. Now I don’t even remember how many of them I had - ten or eleven. But gold medal The Olympics remains my most valuable achievement, which I am still proud of. Golden olympic medal means everything to me, and that experience was the start for my professional boxing career. I will never forget the wonderful feeling I had standing on top of the podium representing my country. I'm really very grateful," Oscar said.
March 5, 1996. Los Angeles (USA). Fight for the WBO world title in the second featherweight division. Opponent: Jimmy Bredahl (Denmark). Result: victory by technical decision in the 10th round.
“I wanted to tell the public the whole truth about how I achieved success. People don't know what it cost me. They see the result: Oscar is the “golden boy” who does everything easily. In fact, my life is a struggle. She knocked me out more than once. But I always managed to rise, that’s why I became a champion. I feel like an American son, because it was America that gave me the opportunity to become what I became. I think it's great to be an American today. And I explain why in the book. In it I talk about what happened in my life outside the ring, there are a lot of intimate details. For example, a chapter about how I turned to the help of psychological consultants to maintain relationships with my family and save my marriage. I wanted to show that athletes are smart enough to take control of their lives.”
June 7, 1996. Las Vegas (USA). Fight for the WBC junior welterweight title. Opponent: Julio Cesar Chavez (Mexico). Result: victory by technical knockout in the fourth round.
The fight against the Mexican legend could open the door to big fights for Oscar. And de la Hoya did not miss this chance. In 1996, he defeated Chavez by technical knockout in the fourth round, and a year later he celebrated success for the second time - after the Mexican refused to go to the ninth round due to the cuts he received.
April 12, 1997. Las Vegas (USA). Fight for the WBC junior welterweight title. Opponent: Pernell Whitaker (USA). Result: victory by unanimous decision.
De la Hoya fought the fight with Pernell Whitaker as a full-fledged WBC champion. Having won the title in a fight against Chavez and defended it in a fight with the undefeated Miguel Angel Gonzalez, Oscar had to pass another test in the person of the seasoned Whitaker. Pernell's age was not allowed to show best boxing in his career, and although de la Hoya did not defeat his older opponent (Whitaker is almost 10 years older than Oscar), he confidently won on the cards of all three judges. After this fight, Whitaker did not win any of his fights.
September 18, 1999. Las Vegas (USA). Fight for the WBC/IBF welterweight world titles. Opponent: Felix Trinidad (Puerto Rico). Result: defeat by majority of judges' votes.
In a duel with Trinidad, de la Hoya suffered his first defeat as a professional. The judge's decision was quite controversial, and was not in favor of the “golden boy” (113-115, 114-115, 114-114 - in favor of Trinidad). Tito later recalled: “Oscar did not want us to meet again in the ring. He turned down the offer of a rematch seven times! We discussed the re-fight seven times and never could come to a consensus because his team did not want it, and especially Oscar himself. I think he was afraid of me. Of all the Mexican fighters, only Julio Cesar Chavez was the greatest champion, and there is no doubt about that."
June 17, 2000. Los Angeles (USA). Fight for the WBC world title and the IBA welterweight title. Opponent: Shane Mosley (USA). Result: defeat by split decision.
The loss to Shane Mosley seriously damaged the already precarious position Oscar, who had barely rehabilitated himself in front of his fans, immediately received a second L in the “defeat” column. The fight, which claims to be one of the most controversial, ended in a split decision (112-116, 113-115, 115:113) in favor of Sakharny. Moseley himself had no illusions about this, saying that he deservedly won, and the greatness of Oscar was simply inflated so much that fans could not believe that he was capable of losing. Moseley confirmed these words in a rematch, which happened three years later. Shane won by unanimous decision.
September 18, 2004. Las Vegas (USA). Fight for the WBA Super/WBC/IBF/WBO middleweight world titles. Opponent: Bernard Hopkins (USA). Result: defeat by knockout in the ninth round.
The new weight category greeted De La Hoya with a big surprise in the person of Bernard Hopkins, who doesn’t waste words. B-Hop said on the eve of the fight: “Oscar - great boxer. And I am sure that in the new weight category he will be as good as he was in the welterweight division. I think that by becoming heavier he will be more durable. I'm glad to meet him. "Beating De La Hoya is a big achievement and I will definitely achieve my goal."
May 6, 2006. Las Vegas (USA). Fight for the WBC junior middleweight title. Opponent: Ricardo Mayorga (Nicaragua). Result: victory by technical knockout in the sixth round.
“I knew that he would pester me all this time, and this is exactly the motivation that I need now. It was just amazing to train in Puerto Rico, be there with my family and my baby, and it was one of the best training camps of my career,” Oscar said.
May 5, 2007. Las Vegas (USA). Fight for the WBC junior middleweight title. Opponent: Floyd Mayweather Jr. (USA). Result: defeat by split decision.
“Everyone has the right to their own opinion. Lately, everyone has a plan to beat Mayweather. My job is to execute my fight plan and do what I do best. Oscar also said that he was going to knock me out, but everyone saw what happened,” Floyd said. However, the fight was very close. In this fight, spectators could watch the same Oscar de la Hoya whom they were accustomed to seeing in his best years.
“Today he was better and deserves praise. He's a great fighter. “I’m not shocked because when you know you’re going to fight Pacquiao, you realize how difficult it will be,” Oscar said. Six months later, de la Hoya held a press conference at which he made an official statement about his retirement from boxing: “The last four months have been very difficult for me. I announce my retirement. I have been boxing since I was five years old. Boxing is the love of my life, it is my passion. I was born to box. But I came to the conclusion that it was all over for me in the ring. This decision is based on many factors. And now I understand why athletes have difficult times. I will continue to help develop the sport."
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Biography, life story of Oscar De La Hoya
WBO champion in the first lightweight (1994)
WBO lightweight champion (1994-95)
IBF Lightweight Champion (1995)
WBC junior welterweight champion (1996-97)
WBC welterweight champion (1997-99)
WBC junior middleweight champion (2001-2003)
WBA junior middleweight champion (2002-2003)
WBO middleweight champion (2004)
Date of birth: 02/04/1973
Place of birth: Los Angeles, USA
Height: 178 cm
Attack distance: 185 cm
Track record: 37 wins (29 knockouts), 4 losses
Oscar De La Hoya was born on February 4, 1973 in East Los Angeles. His parents immigrated to the United States from Mexico. Oskar's father Hoel worked in the warehouse of a company that produced climate control equipment, and his mother Cecilia was a seamstress. There were two more children in the family: older brother Hoel and younger sister Cecy.
Boxing was common in the De La Hoya family: his paternal grandfather Vincent was an amateur boxer, and his father competed for some time professional ring. In one of his interviews, Oscar De La Hoya said: “Boxing has always been in me, as long as I can remember. It fit easily into my life and I have enjoyed it ever since I started, at the age of six.” The family assumed that Hoel, as the older brother, would continue the family boxing tradition. Oscar himself noted that his candidacy was practically not considered. His brother Hoel also did not imagine then that Oskar would become a boxer: “Oskar did not like conflicts, he never fought in the street,” Hoel recalls. - He preferred to skateboard near the house and play baseball in the park. No aggression."
The beginning of a boxing career
De La Hoya first entered the ring, where his father took him, at the age of six in a fight against a neighbor boy and won. De La Hoya later recalled: “Every time I won a fight, my cousins, aunts and uncles gave me money. Now a dollar, then fifteen cents, then half a dollar.” At the age of 11, he was already winning tournaments. Soon De La Hoya began training at Resurrection Boy's Club Gym with trainer Al Stankey, who trained another Los Angeles boxer, Olympic gold medalist Paul Gonzales. De La Hoya's career began to develop rapidly. At the age of 15, he won the national championship among juniors in the weight up to 53.97 kg, and a year later, won the Golden Gloves tournament in the weight up to 56.7 kg.
CONTINUED BELOW
In 1990, when Oscar was seventeen years old, he won the US championship in the weight category up to 56.7 kg and won the Games Goodwill, where he was the youngest American boxer. At the end of this tournament, De La Hoya learned that his mother had cancer. She wanted to keep her illness a secret until after the Goodwill Games so her son could concentrate on competing. In October 1990, Cecilia died of breast cancer at the age of 38. She always hoped that her son would win the Olympic Games, and her untimely death gave De La Hoya a clear goal for the next two years.
Victory at the Olympic Games
De La Hoya continued to perform successfully in the amateur ring. In 1991, he won the national championship in the 59.87 kg division and was named boxer of the year. At this time, De La Hoya changed coaches as Stanky's problems with alcohol worsened. His new mentor was Robert Alcazar, former boxer, who worked with Joel De La Hoya Sr.
Although Oscar easily got into Olympic team USA, no one expected him to make it past the first round of the Olympic tournament. His first opponent was Cuban Julio Gonzalez, 27 years old four-time champion world first lightweight. De La Hoya won the fight 7-2, and the Cuban's loss was later called the biggest disappointment of the Olympics. His second fight with Korean Hong Sung Sik was equal - De La Hoya won by one point. De La Hoya then defeated Edilson Silva, Dimitro Tonchev and in the final defeated Marco Rudolph of Germany - the same boxer to whom he had lost in the World Championship final the year before. He controlled the course of the entire fight, and in the third round he knocked Rudolph down powerful blow left, and the referee was forced to stop the match. De La Hoya became very popular at the Olympics after the press spread his story about a son trying to fulfill a promise to his dying mother. However, his victory surprised everyone. After the victory, De La Hoya walked around the ring with the US and Mexican flags. He told Los Angeles Magazine: "The American flag was in honor of my country, and the Mexican flag was in honor of my ancestors." After this achievement, De La Hoya was nicknamed “The Golden Boy” and this nickname stuck with him for the rest of his life.
Beginning of a professional career
The Olympics was the last event of De La Hoya's amateur career. He finished performing in the amateur ring with track record, totaling 223 victories and 5 defeats, with an amazing number of knockouts - 153 (according to other sources - 163). After the Olympics, De La Hoya decided to turn professional. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, he said: “I won gold for my mom. The championship title will be for me." On September 4, 1992, he signed a contract for $1 million (at that time the largest amount paid to a debutant) with New York agents Robert Mittleman and Steve Nelson. The contract included the purchase of a home for his family in the Los Angeles suburb of Montebello, a nice step up from the Latino neighborhood in which he grew up.
De La Hoya's debut in the professional ring took place on November 23, 1992. His opponent Lamar Williams did not manage to last a round. The same fate awaited his next opponent, Cliff Hicks. In 1993, De La Hoya won nine fights, most of them by knockout. Unlike most young boxers who start their careers with weak opponents, De La Hoya immediately began meeting quite serious opponents, among whom, in particular, was the Mexican champion Narcisco Valenzuela. In December 1993, De La Hoya ended his contract with Mittleman and Nelson because he wanted more control over his career. Instead, he chose to use the help of his father, his cousin Gerardo Salas and Los Angeles consultant Reynaldo Garza. At the same time, De La Hoya signed a three-year contract with Bob Arum, one of the largest promoters working in the field of professional boxing.
In March 1993, in his twelfth fight, Oscar entered the ring against WBO junior lightweight champion Johnny Bredahl and beat him for ten rounds until the doctor called for a stoppage of the fight. After defending his title once, De La Hoya moved on to the next weight category and defeated former world champion Jorge Paez in a fight for the vacant WBO lightweight title. On May 6, 1995, he won the IBF lightweight title by defeating Rafael Ruelas. Oscar continued to win, but an earlier fight against Juan Molina made De La Hoya question his strategy. Although he won the fight by knocking down his opponent, De La Hoya was disarmed by Molina's style and felt he needed more experienced trainer. In February 1995, De La Hoya replaced family friend Robert Alcazar, who was his trainer, with Jesus "The Professor" Rivera. Rivera's doctrine was the development of the boxer as an individual, both in and out of the ring. He encouraged De La Hoya to develop himself by reading books and listening to classical music.
Image of the "Golden Boy"
De La Hoya's career was built not only through professional achievements, but also through popularity among journalists. His good looks, the story of a boy from a poor family who became famous, and his personal charm made him one of the most famous and popular boxers. He was confident, ambitious and successful. “I want to make history. I want to win seven world titles in seven weight classes: from 130 to 168 pounds,” he once told Sport magazine. In one of the issues of Sports Illustrated magazine, he told his secret formula for success: dedication, discipline and desire. De La Hoya capitalized on his Golden Boy image by securing lucrative deals with HBO to show his fights. He also made a lot of money from advertising sportswear and other goods.
However, De La Hoya's success did not make him popular among part of the Latin American diaspora. In fact, one of his greatest successes in the ring contributed to his decline in popularity. In 1996, De La Hoya defeated the famous Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez, his childhood idol, in a brutal fight for the WBC junior welterweight title (the fight was stopped due to a severe cut on Chavez). For Chavez, this was the hundredth fight in the professional ring, and many Latin Americans were upset by the defeat of their idol. On top of this, De La Hoya has been called a "traitor" for his wealth. He moved from a Latino neighborhood to a wealthy suburb and spent free time at country clubs or golf courses. They began to accuse him of forgetting his roots. A 1996 article in Esquire magazine wrote: “The contradictions that make up Oscar De La Hoya: nice guy in a dangerous business, a new star in a constellation of old ones, Mexican by blood, American by preference, born in a Latin American neighborhood but preferring country clubs.” De La Hoya’s personal life also caused a lot of negative feedback in the press. He was engaged several times, had two children out of wedlock, and was subpoenaed for alimony payments to his ex-fiancée, Shanna Maukler.
First defeat
Despite controversy outside the ring, De La Hoya continued to win in 1997 and 1998. He added another belt to his collection by defeating Pernell Whitaker for the WBC welterweight title on April 12, 1997. However, his victorious march was stopped at the end of 1999. On September 18, 1999, in a highly anticipated fight, De La Hoya lost his WBC welterweight title to Felix Trinidad. Instead of leading the usual power fight, De La Hoya circled around Trinidad, which did not impress the judges at all. "I've already proven that I can hold my own against anyone, but this time I wanted to do a boxing show," he told Sports Illustrated. “I think I learned a lesson for life.” In reality, De La Hoya simply gave away his title. Sports Illustrated commented: "Trinidad's victory was not his doing; De La Hoya himself stubbornly refused to take the fight into his own hands."
De La Hoya bounced back with a knockout win over Derrell Cowley in February 2000. However, in June of the same year, he suffered another defeat from his old acquaintance Shane Mosley. Disappointed by two defeats in important fights, De La Hoya decided to take a break and devote time to his other hobby - singing.
Other hobbies
De La Hoya's interest in singing was instilled in him by his mother, who often sang Latin American songs. On October 10, 2000, De La Hoya released his debut album on EMI Latin. It was a collection of love ballads in two languages and included the single "Ven a Mi" (Run to Me) written by the Bee Gees. "In some ways this album pays tribute to my Mexican and Latin American roots, but it also represents America and not just because I was born here," De La Hoya told Billboard magazine. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award.
In October 2001, an important event occurred in De La Hoya's life - he married Puerto Rican singer Milla Corretier. The wedding was secret and took place in Puerto Rico. Also in 2001, De La Hoya created his own promotion company, Golden Boy Promotions. In addition, he established a fund to support Olympic hopes and rebuilt gym in Los Angeles, where he once started boxing.
Return to the ring
In 2001, at the age of 28, De La Hoya returned to the ring. He defeated popular boxer Arturo Gatti and then won the WBC junior middleweight title against Javier Castillejo. With his victory over Castellejo, De La Hoya became the youngest boxer to become a world champion in five weight divisions and in this achievement joined famous boxers Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns.
His September 14 fight against WBA champion Fernando Vargas was undoubtedly one of the best of his entire career. It was known that these boxers did not have any sympathy for each other. This fact further fueled interest in the fight. The fight turned out to be tough. The denouement came in the 11th round. Oscar started quite aggressively and after the series strong blows knocked Vargas down with his signature left hook. The fight continued, but Vargas could no longer resist. And after De La Hoya drove him into the corner of the ring, referee Joe Cortez stopped the fight.
After this significant victory, the boxing world started talking about a rematch with Shane Mosley. And in fact, after having a “warm-up” fight with Mexican Ramon Campas, De La Hoya entered the ring against Mosley. The match took place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on September 13, 2003. Throughout the entire fight, Oscar fought a tactical fight, throwing out much more hits than his opponent. Before the announcement of the result, the boxing world literally froze and... victory for the second time was awarded to Shane Mosley. All judges recorded his advantage with a score of 115-113.
Considering himself the winner in this fight, De La Hoya did not take a long break to recover and set another goal for himself. He decides to move up another category to meet long-time absolute middleweight title holder Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins.
Seven months after losing to Shane Mosley, De La Hoya faced WBO middleweight champion Felix Sturm of Germany. In a rather tense battle, Oscar won by a controversial but unanimous decision.
On September 18, 2004, a fight took place with Hopkins. For six rounds, the "Golden Boy" fought against a much superior physical strength opponent on equal terms, but then Hopkins gradually began to increase his advantage. The fight was stopped 1 minute 38 seconds into the ninth round after Bernard Hopkins took a crushing blow to the liver. But this defeat can also be regarded as a victory. De La Hoya once again proved that he carries the heart of a champion in his chest, and that it is too early for his fans to “bury” him, since he is full of strength and is not going to hang up his gloves.
- Milky name:
- Date of birth: February 4, 1973
- Place of birth: Montebello (Los Angeles, California, USA)
- Resides: Los Angeles (California, USA)
- Height: 179 cm
- Speaker: in the second featherweight category (at 58.967), finished in the middle weight category (up to 69.85 kg)
- Stand: right-hand
Oscar De La Hoya's titles
WBO lightweight champion (1994) and lightweight champion (1994-95). IBF lightweight champion (1995). WBC champion in junior welterweight (1996-97), welterweight (1997-99) and junior middleweight (2001-2003). WBA junior middleweight champion (2002-2003), WBO middleweight champion (2004).
Biography
Oscar De La Hoya couldn't help but become a boxer. He clearly didn’t want this, but the fact that his grandfather Vincente, his father Hoel, and his older brother Hoel were engaged in this craft was to a certain extent decisive. Although the boy played baseball as a child and loved to ride a skateboard, he never took part in street fights; he had to become a boxer. Perhaps money attracted him to his unloved sport, since his parents, who were Mexican emigrants, encouraged Oscar for winning with either a few cents or a dollar. In short, after several victorious fights with peers, the guy sometimes accumulated quite a substantial amount. He got involved, began to pay more attention to his unloved sport, and over time, De La Hoya realized that he could not avoid a boxing career.
After victories at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, “Golden Boy”, which is how the fans nicknamed the young master, realized that his signature blow was the left hook, thanks to which he defeated not only his peers, but also defeated his opponent in the final at the Olympic Games - athlete from the GDR Marco Rudolf . On the one hand, that fight had an understandable desire to take revenge for the defeat from the German at the World Championships in Australia a year ago, and on the second, to win at all costs, because Oscar’s mother, who died of breast cancer during the Olympics, really wanted this. The third round became decisive, the German lay on the floor after a powerful hook performed by the American featherweight, and the Olympic champion himself sent heavenly kisses to the only woman who probably saw his confident victory from heaven.
By the way, the first moment when the Golden Boy decided to finish with boxing was Barcelona. Yes, he kept his promise to his mother to return victorious, but Oscar suffered greatly from his premature loss. It is unknown how the problem would have been resolved if one day the son had not made a vow to his deceased mother, who always wanted to see her son in the rank of champion, to win the battles that lay ahead of him. Surprisingly, as an amateur, Oscar fought 223 fights, knocking out his opponent 163 times!
By the way, the American champion ( and at the same time Mexican, as De La Hoya believed, being a Mexican by nationality) from a certain point in his career, who entered the ring in a robe made from the flags of two countries, plunged headlong into professional boxing.
Career
The Golden Boy's career was so amazing and successful that he was soon called a four-time professional world champion. Moreover, this thin and frail-looking boy with the face of an actor defeated such serious ones who had seen everything in a fist fight, like Wilfred Riveira, Hector Camacho, the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez. But the bitterness of defeat still visited the invincible De La Hoya in the 31st fight. On September 18, 1999, in 12 rounds, he lost in a stubborn fight, and the WBC champion belt moved to the Mexican Felix Trinidad.
Most likely, after a confrontation with a fellow Mexican, the Golden Boy suffered a psychological breakdown. Oscar tried to regain the WBC champion title, and in a fight on February 26, 2000 with Darrell Colley, he succeeded, but a few months later, he was unable to defend the title in a confrontation with Shane Mosley.
Oscar considered singing to be the best remedy for failure, which he practiced for 10 months while recovering from defeat. But his new arrival in boxing with a new coach, Floyd Mayweather Sr., was remembered by everyone and, above all, by Oscar himself: it was fifth championship title! The victim is super welterweight champion Spaniard Javier Castillejo. Before this victory, only two people managed to celebrate triumph at this age - the famous Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns.
2001 The golden boy is only 29 years old. There is still strength to knock out opponents, there is a desire to take revenge for an offensive defeat, in the end, there is a desire to earn even more (by the way, only in the first 6 years of a career in professional boxing Oscar De La Hoya received about 100 million dollars). And above all, there is a hunger to beat Shane Mosley. And this fight took place. Let’s not once again rub salt into the wounds of fans of the American Mexican, or maybe, on the contrary, only that duel, although there is plenty of evidence of a radically different ending to the meeting; Oscar De La Hoya lost on points.
It would seem that the hour had come when boxing had to be finished once and for all: there were plenty of titles won, but the fighter’s honor was hurt... And Oscar makes a knight’s move, moving to the next weight category. Then winning the WBO belt in a fight with Felix Sturm, and Oscar De La Hoya - the one the only one to “champion” in six weights: from second featherweight to - to middle weight category!
However, outstanding professional career The Golden Boy (45-39-6) did not end as well as he himself wanted. The first fortress fell in 2004, and absolute champion Bernard Hopkins became the IBF and WBO middleweight, the second - four years later, when on December 6, 2008, the fight multiple champion Filipino won the world Manny Pacquiao. This defeat was a blow, after which Oscar was unable to recover, finding himself in a final knockout, and ended his performances forever.
One of the most famous boxers in the world turned 41 years old. "SE" recalls the five most significant fights of the Golden Boy.
In 1992, a new star lit up on the boxing horizon. A 19-year-old American with a Hollywood appearance and a sonorous name, Oscar De La Hoya, became Olympic champion in the weight category up to 60 kg. Immediately after this, he turned professional and won championship titles in all six weight categories in which he competed - from featherweight to middleweight. “SE” on the birthday of the “Golden Boy”, who turned 41 on February 4, remembered his five best fights.
Opponent: Miguel Angel Gonzalez
At stake in this fight was the WBC junior welterweight championship belt, which was owned by De La Hoya. His opponent was the Mexican Miguel Angel Gonzalez, who had never lost before. In a tough fight, De La Hoya won by unanimous decision.
Opponent: Arturo Gatti
The fight against the popular Canadian middleweight Arturo Gatti was Oscar De La Hoya's first after a temporary break that the American arranged for himself. De La Hoya was upset by his loss to longtime rival Shane Mosley and decided to take up singing. But after vocal exercises he returned to the ring and literally tore Gatti to pieces. The judge stopped the fight in the fifth round.
Opponent: Fernando Vargas
This fight pitted the WBC (De La Hoya) and WBA (Vargas) world champions in junior middleweight. The fight took place with a slight advantage for De La Hoya, who was tactically more prepared for a fight with an opponent who relied on strength. In the 11th round, Oscar De La Hoya sent his opponent to the canvas with a left hook, after which he brought the fight to a technical knockout.
Opponent: Ricardo Mayorga
De La Hoya returned to boxing after a year and a half break. Prior to this, “Golden Boy” lost by knockout in a middleweight unification bout to Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins, being noticeably outsized. By the time of the fight with the Nicaraguan Mayorga, who held the WBC junior middleweight title, De La Hoya had noticeably dried out, and eventually knocked out his opponent in a spectacular fight.
Opponent: Floyd Mayweather
It is a rare case when a fight that ended in defeat is included in the list of the best. But 34-year-old De La Hoya, who had not entered the ring for a whole year, at least in the opinion of the fans, defeated the best boxer in the world, regardless of weight category, Floyd Mayweather. The fight lasted all 12 rounds and ended with Mayweather trying to somehow hide from De La Hoya's blows.
Junior welterweight (1996-97)
Welterweight Champion (1997-99)
Junior middleweight champion (2001-2003)
Junior middleweight champion (2002-2003)
Middleweight Champion (2004)
Date of birth: 02/04/1973
Place of birth: Los Angeles, USA
Height: 178 cm
Attack distance: 185 cm
Track record: 37 wins (29 knockouts), 4 losses
Born February 4, 1973 in East Los Angeles. His parents
immigrated to the United States from Mexico. Father Hoel worked in the warehouse of a company that produced climate control equipment, and mother Cecilia was a seamstress. There were two more children in the family: older brother Hoel and younger sister Cecy.
Boxing was common in the De La Hoya family: his paternal grandfather Vincent was an amateur boxer, and his father spent some time in the professional ring. In one of his interviews he said: “Boxing has always been in me, as long as I can remember. It fit easily into my life and I have enjoyed it ever since I started, at the age of six.” The family assumed that Hoel, as the older brother, would continue the family boxing tradition. He himself noted that his candidacy was practically not considered. His brother Hoel also did not imagine then that Oskar would become a boxer: “Oskar did not like conflicts, he never fought in the street,” Hoel recalls. — He preferred to skateboard near the house and play baseball in the park. No aggression."
The beginning of a boxing career
De La Hoya first entered the ring, where his father took him, at the age of six in a fight against a neighbor boy and won. De La Hoya later recalled: “Every time I won a fight, my cousins, aunts and uncles gave me money. Now a dollar, then fifteen cents, then half a dollar.” At the age of 11, he was already winning tournaments. Soon De La Hoya began training at Resurrection Boy's Club Gym with trainer Al Stankey, who trained another Los Angeles boxer, Olympic gold medalist Paul Gonzales. De La Hoya's career began to develop rapidly. At the age of 15, he won the national championship among juniors in the weight up to 53.97 kg, and a year later, won the Golden Gloves tournament in the weight up to 56.7 kg.
In 1990, at age seventeen, he won the US 56.7 kg championship and won the Goodwill Games, where he was the youngest American boxer. At the end of this tournament, De La Hoya learned that his mother had cancer. She wanted to keep her illness a secret until after the Goodwill Games so her son could concentrate on competing. In October 1990, Cecilia died of breast cancer at the age of 38. She had always hoped that her son would win the Olympics, and her untimely death gave De La Hoya a clear goal for the next two years.
Victory at the Olympic Games
De La Hoya continued to perform successfully in the amateur ring. In 1991, he won the national championship in the 59.87 kg division and was named boxer of the year. At this time, De La Hoya changed coaches as Stanky's problems with alcohol worsened. His new one was Robert Alcazar, a former boxer who worked with Joel De La Hoya Sr.
Although he easily made the US Olympic team, no one expected him to make it past the first round of the Olympic tournament. His first opponent was Cuban Julio Gonzalez, a 27-year-old four-time world super lightweight champion. De La Hoya won the fight 7-2, and the Cuban's loss was later called the biggest disappointment of the Olympics. His second fight with Korean Hong Sung Sik was equal - De La Hoya won by one point. De La Hoya then defeated Edilson Silva, Dimitro Tonchev and in the final defeated Marco Rudolph of Germany - the same boxer to whom he lost in the World Championship final the year before. He controlled the course of the entire fight, and in the third round he knocked Rudolf down with a powerful left blow, and the referee was forced to stop the match. De La Hoya became very popular at the Olympics after the press spread his story about a son trying to fulfill a promise to his dying mother. However, his victory surprised everyone. After the victory, De La Hoya walked around the ring with the US and Mexican flags. He told Los Angeles Magazine: "The American flag was in honor of my country, and the Mexican flag was in honor of my ancestors." After this achievement, De La Hoya was nicknamed “The Golden Boy” and this nickname stuck with him for the rest of his life.
Beginning of a professional career
The Olympics was the last event of De La Hoya's amateur career. He finished as an amateur with a record of 223 wins and 5 losses, with an astonishing 153 knockouts (other sources say 163). After the Olympics, De La Hoya decided to turn professional. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, he said: “I won gold for my mom. The championship title will be for me." On September 4, 1992, he signed a contract for $1 million (at that time the largest amount paid to a debutant) with New York agents Robert Mittleman and Steve Nelson. The contract included a home for his family in the Los Angeles suburb of Montebello, a nice step up from the Latino neighborhood in which he grew up.
De La Hoya's debut in the professional ring took place on November 23, 1992. His opponent Lamar Williams did not manage to last a round. The same fate awaited his next opponent, Cliff Hicks. In 1993, he won nine fights, most of them by knockout. Unlike most young boxers who start their careers with weak opponents, De La Hoya immediately began meeting quite serious opponents, among whom, in particular, was the Mexican champion Narcisco Valenzuela. In December 1993, he ended his contract with Mittleman and Nelson because he wanted more control over his career. Instead, he chose to use the help of his father, his cousin Gerardo Salas and Los Angeles consultant Reynaldo Garza. At the same time, De La Hoya signed a three-year contract with Bob Arum, one of the largest promoters working in the field of professional boxing.
In March 1993, in his twelfth fight, he entered the ring against junior lightweight champion Johnny Bredahl and beat him for ten rounds until the doctor ordered the fight to be stopped. After defending his title once, De La Hoya moved up to the next weight class and defeated former world champion Jorge Paez in a fight for the vacant lightweight title. On May 6, 1995, he won the lightweight title by defeating Rafael Ruelas. Oscar continued to win, but an earlier fight against Juan Molina made De La Hoya question his strategy. Although he won the fight by knocking down his opponent, De La Hoya was disarmed by Molina's style and felt he needed a more experienced trainer. In February 1995, De La Hoya replaced family friend Robert Alcazar, who was his trainer, with Jesus "The Professor" Rivera. Rivera's doctrine was the development of the boxer both in and outside the ring. He encouraged De La Hoya to develop himself by reading books and listening to classical music.
Image of the "Golden Boy"
However, De La Hoya's success did not make him popular among part of the Latin American diaspora. In fact, one of his greatest successes in the ring contributed to his decline in popularity. In 1996, De La Hoya defeated the famous Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez, his childhood idol, in a brutal fight for the junior welterweight title (the fight was stopped due to a severe cut on Chavez). For Chavez, this was the hundredth fight in the ring, and many Latin Americans were upset by the defeat of their idol. On top of this, De La Hoya has been called a "traitor" for his wealth. He moved from a Latino neighborhood to a wealthy suburb and spent his free time at country clubs and golf courses. They began to accuse him of forgetting his roots. A 1996 article in Esquire magazine wrote: "The contradictions that make up: a good guy in a dangerous business, a new star in a constellation of old ones, Mexican by blood, American by preference, born in a Latino neighborhood but prefers country clubs." De La Hoya’s personal life also caused a lot of negative feedback in the press. He was engaged several times, had two children out of wedlock, and was subpoenaed for alimony payments to his ex-fiancée, Shanna Maukler.
First defeat
Despite controversy outside the ring, De La Hoya continued to win in 1997 and 1998. He added another belt to his collection by defeating Pernell Whitaker for the welterweight title on April 12, 1997. However, his victorious march was stopped at the end of 1999. On September 18, 1999, in a highly anticipated fight, De La Hoya lost his welterweight title to Felix Trinidad. Instead of fighting the usual power fight, De La Hoya circled Trinidad, which did not impress the judges at all. "I've already proven that I can hold my own against anyone, but this time I wanted to do a boxing show," he told Sports Illustrated. “I think I learned a lesson for life.” In fact, I just gave away my title. Sports Illustrated gave
