Oscar de la Hoya

Oscar De La Hoya
De La Hoya in 2011
Statistics
Nickname(s)	The Golden Boy
Rated at	Super featherweight Lightweight Light welterweight Welterweight Light middleweight Middleweight
Height	5 ft 10 1⁄2 in (179 cm)
Reach	73 in (185 cm)
Nationality	American Mexican
Born	(1973-02-04) February 4, 1973 (age 43) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	45
Wins	39
Wins by KO	30
Losses	6
Medal record Men's amateur boxing Representing  United States Olympic Games 1992 Barcelona Lightweight Goodwill Games 1990 Seattle Featherweight

Oscar De La Hoya (born February 4, 1973) is a former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. He holds dual American and Mexican citizenship. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy", De La Hoya represented the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics, winning a gold medal in the lightweight division shortly after graduating from James A. Garfield High School.

He was born in Los Angeles, California, and comes from a boxing family. His grandfather Vicente, father Joel Sr. and brother Joel Jr. were all boxers. De La Hoya was named Fighter of the Year by the The Ring magazine in 1995, and was their top-rated fighter in the world, pound for pound, in 1997 and 1998. He officially announced his retirement in 2009, after a professional career spanning sixteen years.

As a professional, De La Hoya won ten world titles in six different weight classes, including the lineal championship in three weight classes. He also 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. In 2002, De La Hoya founded Golden Boy Promotions, a combat sport promotional firm. 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.

De La Hoya's amateur career included 234 wins, 163 by knockout, and six losses. Of those six losses, two came at the hands of Shane Mosley. In 1989, he won the National Golden Gloves title in the bantamweight division. In 1990, at the age of 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, was terminally ill with breast cancer. She died in October 1990, expressing the hope that her son would one day become an Olympic gold medalist.