Who is Oscar de la Hoya? What makes him very popular as a boxer? Why is he considered as the best pound for pound boxer in the world by Ring Magazine?
Let’s take a look at his credentials, up close and personal.
Personal Circumstances
Place of Birth : Montebello, California
Date of Birth : February 2, 1973
Nationality : American
Nickname : Golden Boy
Height : 5’10.5”
Reach : 73”
Division : Super Welterweight
Stance : Orthodox
Trainer : Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain
Consultant/Trainer : Angelo Dundee
Promoter : Golden Boy Promotions
Family
Oscar de la Hoya was born in East Los Angeles on February 4, 1973 to Cecilia and Joel de la Hoya, Sr. Oscar grew up in the neighborhood of East Los Angeles, California. In his childhood, Oscar witnessed violence in his community having been a victim himself when he was held up by a gang in his own community. With a gun pointed on his head, he was forced to surrender his personal belongings to the gang. His sad experiences as a growing child in the neighborhood must have great influence on his personality, though he shunned violence itself by not indulging in it. His parents have shielded him from trouble that plagued their neighborhood.
Oscar has a brother, Joel, Jr. and a Sister Cecilia. They grew up together in the same neighborhood. His brother was into boxing ahead of Oscar and was a great influence in Oscar’s interest in the pursuit of boxing. He was in fact the first person to slip gloves into Oscar’s hand. His father was likewise a boxer.
Oscar de la Hoya has five children from four wives:
Shanna Moakler (Child: Atiana Cecilia de la Hoya)
Toni Alvarado (Child: Jacob)
Angelic McQueen (Child: Devon)
Millie Coretjer (Children: Oscar Gabriel, Nina Lauren Ninitte)
Fight Record
Amateur (Record-224-5)
1992 Gold Medalist Olympic Games
1992 Gold Medalist World Olympic Challenge
1991 Gold Medalist Olympic Festival
1991 Gold Medalist US National Championship
1990 Gold Medalist Goodwill Games
1990 Gold Medalist US National Championship
1989 Gold Medalist National Golden Gloves
Professional (Record-39-5)
WBO Super Featherweight
WBO Lightweight
IBF Lightweight
WBC Light Welterweight
WBC Welterweight
IBF Welterweight
WBO Middleweight
WBC Super Welterweight
Life outside the Ring
Aside from professional boxing, Oscar de la Hoya is involved in various businesses including the following:
Owner of Golden Boy Promotions
Modeling for a clothing line
Television program host
Released a Grammy-nominated CD in 2000
Produced boxing show on HBO
Owned through Golden Boy Promotions: Ring & KO Magazine, World Boxing
Magazine, Pro-Wrestling Illustrated
TV Commercial Modeling
Heads a charitable organization for the education of under privilege youth
Oscar de la Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao (The Dream Match)
The de la Hoya vs. Pacquiao Boxing fight dubbed as the “Dream Match” is scheduled to be staged at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 6, 2008.
Oscar de la Hoya’s choice of Manny Pacquiao as his next opponent was anchored on the fact that Pacquiao is the best fighter in boxing today. Being an astute businessman himself, de la Hoya knows that it is only Pacquiao who can generate so much interest and enthusiasm from fans all over the world. The promoters hope to generate over 100 million dollars in revenues from pay per view usage. The last fight of de la Hoya generated more than 120 million dollars in pay per view receipts.
Another reason why de la Hoya singled out Pacquiao for the December 6 boxing bout is the constant taunting from his former trainer Freddie Roach, saying that “Oscar can’t pull the trigger anymore” on account of his age. Oscar said that it is a challenge to him and it becomes personal especially when Pacquiao has fought almost all the legendary boxing fighters from Mexico and winning over them. Although Oscar is an American, he traces his roots from Mexico. His parents are Mexicans.
Still thousands of fans from the Philippines are worried about the possibility that de la Hoya will inflict so much damage on Pacquiao because of his physical superiority, particularly his advantage in height and reach. Pacquiao stands at 5’6 while de la Hoya is higher by four inches. He also has an advantage in reach.
Boxing enthusiasts believe that the promoters paid a little attention to the fact that the fight is an obvious mismatch, owing to the superior built of de la Hoya. They criticized the promoters for giving so much consideration on the amount of revenues that the fight will generate for their windfall profits, to the detriment of the Manny Pacquiao’s life. In the Philippines, the Chairman of the Games and Amusement Board has called for the cancellation of the fight for the reason that it is an obvious mismatch.
But the camp of de la Hoya believes otherwise. They think that Pacquiao is a very powerful boxer and his being inferior in built, is not a basis for judging the fight in favor of de la Hoya. The reason why Oscar is training very hard for this boxing bout is because he considered Pacquiao as a very worthy opponent notwithstanding his physical built.
Future Plans
Oscar de la Hoya will not retire after his boxing bout with Manny Pacquiao. He said that he may fight a couple times more and added: “I want to challenge myself by fighting the best”. And “I am taking it fight by fight and will decide how many more after this fight”