Portal:Hispanic and Latino Americans/Selected Individual/27

Oscar De La Hoya (born February 4, 1973) is a retired American professional boxer of Mexican descent. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy," De La Hoya won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games shortly after graduating from James A. Garfield High School.

De La Hoya was born in East 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 The Ring's "Fighter of the Year" in 1995 and Ring Magazine's top-rated Pound for Pound fighter in the world in 1997 & 1998. De La Hoya officially announced his retirement from the sport at a press conference held in Los Angeles on April 14, 2009.

De La Hoya has defeated 17 world champions and has won ten world titles in six different weight classes. He has also generated more money than any other boxer in the history of the sport, an estimated $696 million pay-per-view income.

De La Hoya founded Golden Boy Promotions, a combat sport promotional firm. He is the first American of Hispanic descent to own a national boxing promotional firm and one of the few boxers to take on promotional responsibilities while still active. (more...)