Oscar de la Hoya
Born on February 4, 1973 in East Los Angeles, California, Oscar de la Hoya first rose to national prominence as the American welterweight boxer who won the gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. With the looks and charisma of a major rock star, de la Hoya went on to sign a $1 million dollar deal with promoter Bob Arum - winning 5 world titles and beating world champions at a clip - including Pernell Whitaker, Hector 'Macho' Camacho and Fernando Vargas in fights that became increasingly populated by screaming women fans.
Outside the ring, de la Hoya's interests have been chronicled in countless media interviews and include dabbling in architecture, having designed his own house in Big Bear Lake, California. In 2003, he became the first Hispanic to own a national boxing promotional firm, Golden Boy Promotions, and one of only a handful of boxers in history who have taken on promotional responsibilities while still active.
In 2004, de la Hoya made headlines when he reneged on an NBC television network deal to cover the Athens Olympics, opting instead to fight Bernard Hopkins for the world Middleweight championship. De la Hoya ultimately lost the fight to Hopkins in the ninth round.
De La Hoya's record currently stands at 38 wins and 4 defeats.
Today, he most often can be seen on TV on cable channel HBO, where he produces the Spanish language boxing show, Boxeo de Oro.
In 2006, de la Hoya added the title of new dad to his resume after announcing the news of the birth of his son, Oscar, Jr. in January.
In May, the boxer made an appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno before heading to Las Vegas for his showdown with WBC junior middleweight champion Ricardo Mayorga.
The boxer ultimately won his much anticipated comeback defeating Mayorga in the 6th round by TKO.
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