American · East Los Angeles, California · Born 4 February 1973Oscar De La Hoya won eleven world titles across six weight classes, including lineal championships in three of them.
Oscar De La Hoya was born on 4 February 1973 in East Los Angeles, California, and was inspired to box by his father and grandfather, both amateur fighters, developing into one of the most decorated amateur boxers of his generation. Shortly after graduating from James A. Garfield High School, he won a gold medal in the lightweight division at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, a victory he dedicated to his mother, Cecilia, who had died of breast cancer the previous year. De La Hoya, nicknamed "The Golden Boy" by the media for his Olympic success and matinee-idol looks, turned professional later that year and became one of the biggest box-office draws in the history of the sport, winning world titles across an unprecedented ten weight divisions from super featherweight up to middleweight. De La Hoya's career featured a series of the biggest fights of his era, including bouts against Julio César Chávez, Félix Trinidad, Shane Mosley, Bernard Hopkins, and Floyd Mayweather Jr., whose 2007 fight against De La Hoya set pay-per-view revenue records at the time. De La Hoya retired in 2009 with a professional record of 39 wins and six losses, and founded Golden Boy Promotions, becoming one of the most influential promoters in modern boxing. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2014, and remains one of the most commercially successful and widely recognised boxers in the sport's history.
Won world titles in a record six weight classes
How They Played
Technical boxer-puncher with strong left hook
Lasting Impact
One of boxing's biggest pay-per-view stars and most successful promoters
Career Honours
- Ring Fighter of the Year 1995
- US Olympic Hall of Fame 2008
American Athletes