Oscar De La Hoya Steve Springer Popular Books

Oscar De La Hoya Steve Springer Biography & Facts

Oscar De La Hoya ( DAY lə HOY-ə, Spanish: [ˈoskaɾ ðe la ˈoʝa]; born February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championship in three weight classes. De La Hoya was nicknamed "The Golden Boy of boxing" by the media when he represented the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics where, shortly after having graduated from James A. Garfield High School, he won a gold medal in the lightweight division, and reportedly "set a sport back on its feet." De La Hoya was named The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year in 1995, and was its top-rated fighter in the world, pound for pound, in 1997 and 1998. De La Hoya generated approximately $700 million in pay-per-view income, making him the top pay-per-view earner before being surpassed by Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. He announced his retirement as a fighter in 2009, following a professional career spanning 16 years. In 2002, De La Hoya founded Golden Boy Promotions, a combat sport promotional firm that also owns a 25% stake in the Houston Dynamo. He is the first American of Mexican descent to own a national boxing promotional firm, and one of the few boxers to take on promotional responsibilities while still active. In 2018, he began promoting MMA matches as well, beginning with a 2018 trilogy bout between long-time rivals Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, with the inaugural Golden Boy MMA event taking place on November 24, 2018. De La Hoya has held dual American and Mexican citizenship since 2002, when the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles granted him Mexican citizenship, reflecting his heritage. Early life His parents immigrated from Mexico to the United States prior to his birth. He was born in East Los Angeles, California into a boxing family; his grandfather, Vicente, was an amateur fighter during the 1940s, and his father, Joel Sr., had been a professional boxer during the 1960s. His brother, Joel Jr., was also a boxer. De La Hoya graduated from Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, California in 1991. Amateur career De La Hoya won the national Junior Olympics 119-pound title at age 15, After he lost a tournament in Whittier to Leon Hernandez from Santa Monica he won the 125-pound title the following year. His amateur career included 234 wins — 163 by knockout, and six losses. Of those six losses, two were to Shane Mosley. In 1989, he won the National Golden Gloves title in the bantamweight division. In 1990, at age 17, he won the U.S. National Championship at featherweight and was the youngest U.S. boxer at that year's Goodwill Games, winning a gold medal. The joy of victory was tempered by the news that his mother, Cecilia Gonzales De La Hoya (November 22, 1950 – October 28, 1990), was terminally ill with breast cancer. She died that October, expressing the hope that her son would one day become an Olympic gold medalist. As the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona approached, De La Hoya turned his mother's dream into a strong focus for his training. After an upset victory in the first round over the Cuban boxer Julio Gonzalez; De La Hoya defeated German boxer Marco Rudolph to win the gold medal. Rudolph had been the only fighter to defeat him in the years leading up to the fight, adding drama. The U.S. media publicized his quest to fulfill his mother's dying wish and nicknamed him "The Golden Boy", which has remained with him throughout his career. In 2000, the Cecilia Gonzalez De La Hoya Cancer Center was formally opened by De La Hoya and his siblings at the White Memorial Medical Center (WMMC), with a $350,000 donation from De La Hoya, in honor of their mother. Highlights Amateur record: 223–5 (unofficial) 2008 — United States Olympic Hall of Fame inductee. Professional career Super featherweight On November 23, 1992, De La Hoya made his professional debut by scoring a first-round TKO victory. De La Hoya vs. Concepción cancellation De La Hoya was scheduled to fight Jesús Vidal Concepción in a ten-round junior lightweight bout on December 9, 1993, televised by ESPN's "Thursday Night Fights" at the Paramount Theatre in New York City, but pulled out due to a wrist injury. Some found the injury suspicious and speculated that Oscar was being overdramatic. Oscar said that he aggravated an old ligament injury while hitting the heavy bag a week before. Later that month De La Hoya would fire his co-managers Mittleman and Nelson over money issues. First title shot In his twelfth professional fight, he won his first world title at age 20, stopping Jimmy Bredahl (16–0) in the tenth round to win the WBO super featherweight title. He defended the title once, stopping Giorgio Campanella (20–0) in three rounds. Lightweight On July 29, 1994, he knocked out Jorge Páez (53–6–4) in the second round to win the vacant WBO Lightweight title. In his first title defense, he defeated John-John Molina (36–3), who had recently vacated his IBF Super Featherweight title, by unanimous decision. De La Hoya vs. Ruelas unification On May 6, 1995, De La Hoya defeated IBF lightweight champion Rafael Ruelas (43–1–0) in a unification bout. De La Hoya knocked Ruelas down twice before the fight was stopped in the second round. The IBF then ordered De La Hoya to defend against Miguel Julio. He relinquished the IBF title and defended the WBO title against undefeated Genaro Hernández (32–0–1), who relinquished the WBA super-featherweight title to fight De La Hoya. Hernandez quit after six rounds because of a broken nose. In his sixth and final defense of the WBO lightweight title, he knocked out Jesse James Leija (30–1–2) in two rounds at New York's Madison Square Garden. Light welterweight Chávez vs. De La Hoya On June 7, 1996, Oscar De La Hoya fought Mexican legend Julio César Chávez (96–1–1) for the lineal and WBC light welterweight championship. De la Hoya, with a record of 21–0 with 19 K.Os, defeated Chavez by a fourth-round TKO. The fight was stopped due to several bad cuts suffered by Chavez above his left eye. Until their rematch in 1998, Chávez stated that De La Hoya did not defeat him since the fight was stopped. De La Hoya successfully defended his titles with a twelve-round unanimous decision against undefeated former WBC Lightweight Champion and number one light welterweight contender Miguel Ángel González (41–0–0). Welterweight Whitaker vs. De La Hoya In 1997, De La Hoya moved up to the welterweight division and fought Pernell Whitaker (40–1–1). The fight proved to be a difficult one. Whitaker frustrated De La Hoya with his defense, and landed more overall shots than De La Hoya, but De La Hoya's power punches and aggression swayed the judges more in his favor. De La Hoya won a twelve-round unanimous decision to capture the lineal and WBC titles. He also became the Ring Magazine's number-one ranked pound-for-pound fighter. De La Hoya vs. Camacho On September.... Discover the Oscar De La Hoya Steve Springer popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Oscar De La Hoya Steve Springer books.