Oscar De La Hoya is a retired American boxer. He is famously known as “The Golden Boy.” He has a net worth of $200 million. De La Hoya is of Mexican heritage. His career is celebrated for remarkable achievements. He won 11 world titles in six weight divisions. These ranged from super featherweight to middleweight.
He is known for his talent, speed, and power. His magnetic personality increased his appeal. He became one of the most iconic boxers of his era.
De La Hoya’s journey began as an amateur. He won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. That same year, he made his professional debut. He fought legendary boxers like Julio César Chávez. He also faced Pernell Whitaker and Floyd Mayweather Jr. His fights generated $700 million in pay-per-view revenue.
After retiring, De La Hoya became a boxing promoter. He founded Golden Boy Promotions. His company has shaped modern boxing.
Oscar De La Hoya: Early Life
Oscar De La Hoya was born on February 4, 1973. He was born in East Los Angeles, California. He became a pop culture icon. He was not a heavyweight boxer.
His family had a strong boxing background. De La Hoya won the national Junior Olympics at age 15. His mother, Cecilia Gonzales De La Hoya, was terminally ill. She passed away from breast cancer. She could not see her son win an Olympic gold medal.
De La Hoya graduated from James A. Garfield High School. He competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics. He won a gold medal in Barcelona.
Oscar started dating Shanna Moakler in 1997. Shanna won Miss USA in 1995. They got engaged in 1998. They had a daughter, Atiana de la Hoya, in 1999. Their relationship ended in 2000. Shanna saw Oscar with another woman at the Latin Grammy Awards. In December 2000, Shanna filed a $62.5 million palimony suit. She claimed Oscar was abusive and an alcoholic. They settled out of court in 2001.
Oscar is now dating Holly Saunders. Holly is 15 years younger than Oscar.
Professional Career
Here we will discuss the professional career, we will discuss his famous events that took place in his career.
Super Featherweight
De La Hoya made his professional debut on November 23, 1992. He defeated Lamar Williams by a first-round KO. The fight ended in 1 minute and 42 seconds.
De La Hoya vs. Concepción Cancellation
De La Hoya was set to fight Jesús Vidal Concepción on December 9, 1993. The bout was a ten-round junior lightweight match. It was scheduled to air on ESPN’s “Thursday Night Fights.” He pulled out due to a wrist injury.
Some people questioned the legitimacy of the injury. De La Hoya said he aggravated an old ligament issue. He claimed it happened while hitting the heavy bag. Later that month, he fired his co-managers, Mittleman and Nelson, over money disputes.
First Title Shot and Defense
De La Hoya won his first world title in his twelfth fight. He was 20 years old at the time. He stopped Jimmy Bredahl in the tenth round.
The victory earned him the WBO junior lightweight title. He defended the title against Giorgio Campanella. He stopped Campanella in three rounds.
Lightweight
On July 29, 1994, De La Hoya won the vacant WBO Lightweight title. He knocked out Jorge Páez in the second round. He defended the title twice that same year. He defeated Carl Griffith and John Avila by technical knockout. In February 1995, he faced John-John Molina. He won by unanimous decision.
De La Hoya vs. Ruelas Unification
On May 6, 1995, De La Hoya fought Rafael Ruelas. Ruelas was the IBF lightweight champion. De La Hoya knocked him down twice. The fight ended in the second round. This win unified the IBF and WBO lightweight titles.
De La Hoya vs. Hernández
De La Hoya relinquished the IBF lightweight title. He defended the WBO title against Genaro Hernández. Hernández gave up his WBA super featherweight title to fight De La Hoya.
De La Hoya vs. Leija
De La Hoya fought Jesse James Leija at Madison Square Garden. Hernandez retired after six rounds due to a broken nose. De La Hoya knocked out Leija in the second round. This was his sixth and final WBO lightweight title defense.
Fight No.
Opponent
Result
Type
Rounds/Time
Date
Notes
Location
1
Lamar Williams
Win
KO
1 (6), 2:12
Nov 23, 1992
Professional debut
Great Western Forum, Inglewood, CA
2
Clifford Hicks
Win
KO
1 (6), 1:17
Dec 12, 1992
America West Arena, Phoenix, AZ
3
Paris Alexander
Win
TKO
2 (6), 1:52
Jan 3, 1993
Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA
4
Curtis Strong
Win
TKO
4 (6), 1:40
Feb 6, 1993
Sports Arena, San Diego, CA
5
Jeff Mayweather
Win
TKO
4 (8), 1:35
Mar 13, 1993
Las Vegas Hilton, Winchester, NV
6
Mike Grable
Win
UD
8
Apr 6, 1993
Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, NY
7
Frank Avelar
Win
TKO
4 (10), 2:00
May 8, 1993
Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, NV
8
Troy Dorsey
Win
RTD
1 (10), 3:00
Jun 7, 1993
Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, NV
9
Renaldo Carter
Win
TKO
6 (10), 2:10
Aug 14, 1993
Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, MS
10
Angelo Nunez
Win
RTD
4 (10), 3:00
Aug 27, 1993
Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA
11
Narciso Valenzuela
Win
KO
1 (10), 2:25
Oct 30, 1993
America West Arena, Phoenix, AZ
12
Jimmi Bredahl
Win
RTD
10 (12), 3:00
Mar 5, 1994
Won WBO junior lightweight title
Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
13
Giorgio Campanella
Win
TKO
3 (12), 2:22
May 27, 1994
Retained WBO junior lightweight title
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, NV
14
Jorge Páez
Win
KO
2 (12), 0:39
Jul 29, 1994
Won vacant WBO lightweight title
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, NV
15
Carl Griffith
Win
TKO
3 (12), 1:02
Nov 18, 1994
Retained WBO lightweight title
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, NV
16
John Avila
Win
TKO
9 (12), 1:07
Dec 10, 1994
Retained WBO lightweight title
Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
17
John John Molina
Win
UD
12
Feb 18, 1995
Retained WBO lightweight title
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, NV
18
Rafael Ruelas
Win
TKO
2 (12), 1:43
May 6, 1995
Retained WBO lightweight title; Won IBF lightweight title
Caesars Palace, Paradise, NV
19
Genaro Hernández
Win
RTD
6 (12), 3:00
Sep 9, 1995
Retained WBO lightweight title
Caesars Palace, Paradise, NV
20
Jesse James Leija
Win
RTD
2 (12), 3:00
Dec 15, 1995
Retained WBO lightweight title
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
21
Darryl Tyson
Win
KO
2 (10), 2:38
Feb 9, 1996
Caesars Palace, Paradise, NV
22
Julio César Chávez
Win
TKO
4 (12), 2:37
Jun 7, 1996
Won WBC super lightweight title
Caesars Palace, Paradise, NV
23
Miguel Ángel González
Win
UD
12
Jan 18, 1997
Retained WBC super lightweight title
Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, NV
24
Pernell Whitaker
Win
UD
12
Apr 12, 1997
Won WBC welterweight title
Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, NV
25
David Kamau
Win
KO
2 (12), 2:54
Jun 14, 1997
Retained WBC welterweight title
Alamodome, San Antonio, TX
26
Héctor Camacho
Win
UD
12
Sep 13, 1997
Retained WBC welterweight title
Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, NV
27
Wilfredo Rivera
Win
TKO
8 (12), 2:48
Dec 6, 1997
Retained WBC welterweight title
Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ
28
Patrick Charpentier
Win
TKO
3 (12), 1:56
Jun 13, 1998
Retained WBC welterweight title
Sun Bowl, El Paso, TX
29
Julio César Chávez
Win
RTD
8 (12), 3:00
Sep 18, 1998
Retained WBC welterweight title
Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, NV
30
Ike Quartey
Win
SD
12
Feb 13, 1999
Retained WBC welterweight title
Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, NV
31
Oba Carr
Win
TKO
11 (12), 0:55
May 22, 1999
Retained WBC welterweight title
Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, NV
32
Félix Trinidad
Loss
MD
12
Sep 18, 1999
Lost WBC welterweight title; For IBF welterweight title
Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, NV
33
Derrell Coley
Win
KO
7 (12), 3:00
Feb 26, 2000
Won vacant IBA welterweight title
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
34
Shane Mosley
Loss
SD
12
Jun 17, 2000
Lost WBC and IBA welterweight titles
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
35
Arturo Gatti
Win
TKO
5 (12), 1:16
Mar 24, 2001
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, NV
36
Javier Castillejo
Win
UD
12
Jun 23, 2001
Won WBC light middleweight title
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, NV
37
Fernando Vargas
Win
TKO
11 (12), 1:48
Sep 14, 2002
Retained WBC light middleweight title; Won WBA (Unified), IBA, and The Ring light middleweight titles
Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, NV
38
Yori Boy Campas
Win
TKO
7 (12), 2:54
May 3, 2003
Retained WBA (Unified), WBC, IBA, and The Ring light middleweight titles
Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, NV
39
Shane Mosley
Loss
UD
12
Sep 13, 2003
Lost WBA (Unified), WBC, IBA, and The Ring light middleweight titles
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, NV
40
Felix Sturm
Win
UD
12
Jun 5, 2004
Won WBO middleweight title
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, NV
41
Bernard Hopkins
Loss
KO
9 (12), 1:38
Sep 18, 2004
Lost WBO middleweight title; For WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, and The Ring middleweight titles
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, NV
42
Ricardo Mayorga
Win
TKO
6 (12), 1:25
May 6, 2006
Won WBC light middleweight title
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, NV
43
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Loss
SD
12
May 5, 2007
Lost WBC light middleweight title
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, NV
44
Steve Forbes
Win
UD
12
May 3, 2008
Home Depot Center, Carson, CA
45
Manny Pacquiao
Loss
RTD
8 (12), 3:00
Dec 6, 2008
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, NV
Oscar De La Hoya: Philanthropy
De La Hoya and his siblings founded the Cecilia Gonzalez De La Hoya Cancer Center. The center is located at the White Memorial Medical Center. The family donated $350,000 to the center. De La Hoya also started a charity. The charity helps educate underprivileged youth. In 2008, he donated $3.5 million. The donation went to the De La Hoya Animo Charter High School.
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