Oscar De La Hoya is an American former professional boxer who was born on February 4, 1973, in East Los Angeles, California, United States. De La Hoya’s parents emigrated from Mexico to the United States prior to his birth. De La Hoya in the year 2002, also became a boxing promoter and, in 2018, a mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter. As a boxer, De La Hoya competed from 1992 to 2008, winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championship in three weight classes.
De La Hoya is ranked as the 13th best boxer of all time, pound for pound, by BoxRec. He was nicknamed “The Golden Boy of boxing” by the media when he represented the United States at the year 1992 Summer Olympics where, shortly after having graduated from James A. Garfield High School, De La Hoya won a gold medal in the lightweight division, and reportedly “set a sport back on its feet.”
He 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. He generated approximately $700 million in pay-per-view income, making him the top pay-per-view earner before being surpassed by Floyd Mayweather Jr. along with Manny Pacquiao. De La Hoya announced his retirement as a fighter in 2009, following a professional career spanning 16 years.
In 2002, he founded Golden Boy Promotions, a combat sport promotional firm that also owns a 25% stake in the Houston Dynamo. De La Hoya is the first American of Mexican descent to own a national boxing promotional firm, as well as one of the few boxers to take on promotional responsibilities while still active.
In the year 2018, De La Hoya began promoting MMA matches as well, beginning with a 2018 trilogy bout between long-time rivals Chuck Liddell along with Tito Ortiz, with the inaugural Golden Boy MMA event scheduled for November 24, the year 2018.
He has held dual American and Mexican citizenship since the year 2002, when the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles granted him Mexican citizenship, reflecting his heritage.
