Oscar De La Hoya Bio
From Poor Boy to Golden Boy

PLAYGIRL Magazine 1998	Oscar De La Hoya 2007	Ring Magazine 2007

Any Oscar De La Hoya bio tells the story of a very accomplished athlete who started by winning the gold medal for the U.S. boxing team in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain.

This Oscar De La Hoya biography is also a tale that shows how a poor boy from East L.A. became “The golden boy” -as he is known-, not only for his boxing abilities but also for his success as a business man, a television show producer, a singer and a clothing company owner.

In boxing, Oscar De La Hoya is a very well known figure defeating seventeen world champions and winning 10 world titles, not an easy task…

As many Oscar De La Hoya bios say, he is loved amongst his fans and respected among his peers and competitors. He was named The Golden Boy, a name that relates very well to his record in revenue creation, generating a total of almost half a billion dollars in sales through his fights.

In terms of popularity, he doesn’t come short. Ring Magazine's made de la Hoya "Fighter of the Year" in 1995 and best "Pound for Pound" fighter in the world in 1997.

The Birth of The Champion Oscar De La Hoya

Oscar is a Mexican-American boxer who never thought of himself as a boxer while growing up. It is ironic but the truth is that many people who knew the “De La Hoya” brothers thought it was his brother Joel the one who would become a professional boxer.

For De La Hoya, boxing is in his blood. His father -Joel De La Hoya- was a boxer as well as his grandfather. His mother Cecilia González was a singer, and he inherited her passion for singing.

How It All Started For De La Hoya

It all started when his brother put on him a pair of boxing gloves to play with his cousin and Oscar got scared after he received a punch in the nose according to the biography published in Askmen.com. His father saw the situation and decided to sign him up at a gym to help him overcome his fears.

Golden Career For A Golden Boy

He was nicknamed "The Golden Boy" after winning the gold medal for the U.S. boxing team in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain.

Many Oscar De La Hoya biographies are filled with boxing accomplishments. At the professional level his career took off in 1994 when he won his first title, the WBO Junior Lightweight championship against Jimmy Brendahl.

Also in 1994 he won the WBO Lightweight title against Jorge Paez. In 1996 he won the WBC Super Lightweight title in one of the most successful fights in history against Julio César Chávez.

In 1997 he acquired WBC Welterweight title against Pernell Whitaker, and retained his title against seven other contenders among them David Kamau, Hector Camacho and Wilfredo Rivera.

In 1999 Oscar De La Hoya lost his WBC Welterweight title when he faced Félix “Tito” Trinidad. As many Oscar De La Hoya biographies explain, this was a controversial defeat based on the points de la Hoya had built up in the first 9 rounds which should’ve been enough to win him the fight.

In 2000 Trinidad vacated the WBC Welterweight title and he won back the title by defeating Derrell Coley. Later on De La Hoya lost the title against the new sensation “Sugar” Shane Mosley.

In 2001 De La Hoya became the WBC Super Welterweight champion after fighting Javier Castillejo of Spain.

In 2002 Oscar De La Hoya signed to fight Fernando Vargas. In this fight, De La Hoya successfully defended his WBC Super Welterweight Championship and won the WBA Super Welterweight championship.

In 2003 he faced “Sugar” Shane Mosley in a rematch in which Oscar lost both his WBC and WBA Super Welterweight titles.

In 2004 Oscar De La Hoya signed to challenge WBC and IBF Middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins in one of the most lucrative encounters, a $30 M fight. For the first time in Oscar’s career he was knocked out. The same year he won the WBO Middleweight World title against Felix Sturm.

In 2006 and after taking 20 months off from the ring De La Hoya signed to fight WBC Super Welterweight champion Ricardo Mayorga. De La Hoya defeated him in the first minute with a knockout.

In 2007 in one of the most awaited fights, De La Hoya signed to defend his Junior Middleweight championship against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mayweather won by a close split decision. The public commented about the fight saying Oscar De La Hoya vs Mayweather was for sure one of the best fights ever seen.

In 2008 Oscar De La Hoya vs floyd Mayweather rematch was one of the most awaited fights, unfortunatelly the figth was cancelled due to Mayweather's retirement.

Oscar De La Hoya's Music

In 1999 Oscar had the opportunity to sing at the Don Franciso show without rehearsing. When he arrived at the studio a mariachi band was ready for him to sing. He sang Amor de los Dos with such a success that Oscar De La Hoya signed with EMI records soon after.

His first single Ven a Mi -Run To Me- was released in 1999 and contained songs in Spanish and English. This album won a nomination for The Best Latino Pop Album.

In 2000 he released in the U.S. Para qué? and in 2001 he released his third album Millie. He decided not to continue singing.

Love In The Life Of The Golden Boy

De La Hoya married Puerto Rican Millie Corretjer in 2001. They have two children, Oscar Gabriel and Nina Lauren Nenitte. He also has three other children with three different mothers, Jacobo De La Hoya with Veronica, Atiana De La Hoya with Atiana Moakler, and Devon with Angelique.

De La Hoya As A Business Man

This Oscar De La Hoya biography would not be complete without writing about his successful enterprise “Golden Boy Promotions Inc.” which is dedicated to promote young fighters while giving them a platform from which they can showcase their talents.

Did you know? Oscar De La Hoya is the first Hispanic to own a national boxing promotional firm. He also owns a clothing line, and was the producer in 2000 of the Spanish boxing show on HBO Boxeo de Oro.

In 2004 he hosted and starred in the boxing reality show on Fox called The Next Great Champ, and in 2007 he went on a shopping spree and acquired The Ring Magazine, KO Magazine, World Boxing Magazine, and Pro Wrestling Illustrated.

There is no doubt we will be adding plenty to this "Oscar De La Hoya bio" based on his continuous success, as he was quoted in "Oscar De La Hoya Biography" on HBO Boxing: "Boxing is in my blood. This is the sport I love and will continue being in as long as my body and mind allow me to."