Oscar De La Hoya: Bio, Wiki, Age, Height, Weight, Career, MMA, Records, Children, Wife, Girlfriend, Net Worth & More

Oscar De La Hoya was born on 4th February 1973. He had been a professional boxer in the US till 2002 when he also started promoting the sport. Moreover, in 2018, he started promoting mixed martial arts or MMA as well. So, he had an illustrious career as a boxer. Oscar De La Haya practiced boxing from 1992 to 2008. Therefore, he has loads of accolades in his bag. So, these include 11 world titles in 6 classes of weight. Moreover, he also won the lineal championship in 3 classes of weight. So, BoxRec ranked him as the 29th best boxer of all time. Now, Oscar De La Haya represented the US in the 1992 Summer Olympics just after graduating from James A. Garfield High School. As he won a gold medal in the lightweight division, the media gave him the nickname- “the golden boy”.

So, in 1995, The Ring magazine named Oscar De La Hoya the Fighter of the Year. Moreover, he was one of the most top-rated fighters pound for pound between 1997 and 1998. He managed to have a pay-per-view income of around 700 million dollars. So, he was the richest pay-per-view earner before Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. Therefore, he ended a professional career in boxing spanning over 16 years in 2009 when he retired from the sport. He has made several other ventures as well.

Oscar De La Hoya founded Golden Boy Promotions in 2002. So, it was a combat sport promotional firm. However, it went on to own a 25% stake in the Houston Dynamo. He is the first American of Mexican lineage to own such a boxing firm. Moreover, he is one of very few boxers who wanted to promote the sport while also being professionally active in his career.

Oscar De La Hoya Biography/Wiki

Birth and Raising

Oscar De La Hoya parents were Mexican immigrants to the US. However, they had shifted well before his birth. He took birth in a boxing family in East Los Angeles, California. He had a rich legacy in his family because his grandfather had been an amateur fighter during the 1940s. Moreover, his father Joel Sr was a famous professional boxer in the 60s. Oscar De La Hoya’s brother Joel Jr. was a boxer as well. So, in 1991, De La Hoya passed out from Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, California.

Amateur Career

So, as one can already imagine Oscar De La Hoya took full advantage of being born in a boxing family. Therefore, at 15, he won the national Junior Olympics for the 119-pound title. He lost a tournament to Leon Hernandez from Santa Monica. However, he won the title of 125 pounds the next year. So, before actually starting his professional career, he had already got 234 wins. These included 163 by knockout and six losses. Out of these six losses, Oscar De La Hoya made two to Shane Mosley. Moreover, in 1989, in the bantamweight category, he won the National Golden Gloves title. Next at the age of 17, in 1990, De La Hoya won the U.S. National Championship in the featherweight division. Moreover, he became the youngest US boxer to win a gold medal at that year’s Goodwill Games.

However, amidst all the wins, Oscar De La Hoya experienced quite a dark phase as well. His mother got diagnosed with breast cancer and became terminally ill. Therefore, she passed away within a few months, hoping De La Hoya wins an Olympic medal someday. So, De La Hoya tried hard to fulfill his mother’s dream when the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona approached. He trained very hard. So, he defeated the German boxer, Marco Rudolph. Therefore, Oscar De La Hoya won the first Olympic gold. It was interesting because Rudolph had been the only boxer who defeated him all these years before the Olympics. So, the US media emotionally publicized how Oscar De La Hoya fulfilled the wish of his dying mother. Hence, it was then he earned the title of “The Golden Boy”. The title remained with him all his career.

Professional Career & Records

Apart from winning the 1992 Olympic gold medal and being NBC’s Golden Boy, there is much more to the professional career of Oscar De La Hoya.

So, he made his professional debut on 23rd November 1992. Therefore, he began at the Forum in Inglewood by dismissing Lamar Williams with a first-round knockout. Hence, it was the start of 21 knockouts that Oscar De La Hoya made in his first 23 fights.

So, in 1994, Oscar De La Hoya won his first world title as a super-featherweight. Therefore, he scored a knockout of Jimmi Bredahl in the 10th round while fighting at the Olympic Auditorium. Next in 1996, he dismantled Julio Cesar Chavez, the Mexican star boxer in a fourth-round TKO. Moreover, by the eighth round in 1998, he went on to win a world light-welterweight title for the first time. Therefore, he defended his world welterweight title in the rematch. However, such amazing wins led Latino boxing fans to have anti-De La Hoya sentiments.

However, in 1999, by a narrow decision, Oscar De La Hoya lost his first pro fight against Felix Trinidad. Moreover, a rematch never happens when there is a record pay-per-view audience among the non-heavyweights. In 2000, the fight was interesting because he had a complete sellout show while fighting with Shane Mosley- his childhood opponent. Later he severed ties with his long-standing trainer Robert Alcazar. Thus, Oscar De La Hoya entered a cycle of trainers that he repeatedly changed. So, they included Emanuel Steward, Floyd Mayweather Sr., Freddie Roach, and “Nacho” Beristain.

So, against Oxnard rival Fernando Vargas, Oscar De La Hoya scored an eleventh-round in the world light-middleweight title fight in Las Vegas in 2002. However, Vargas had previously participated in De La Hoya’s promotional ventures. So, they had a memorable fight that year.

Retirement

In the face of his retirement, however, Oscar De La Hoya went through repeated losses. So, he had four losses out of his last seven fights. Moreover, among these, one was a close decision against Mosley in 2003. Additionally, he faced a knockout loss against Bernard Hopkins- the middleweight champion in 2004. Moreover, he also had a close decision loss against Floyd Mayweather Jr. However, this loss was a record match. Therefore, there were more than 2 million pay-per-view buys. Moreover, there was a revenue of more than 134 million dollars counting the live Vegas gate.

In December, 2006, Oscar De La Hoya faced constant beats from Manny Pacquiao at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. However, before the ninth bell could knock, De La Hoya started bleeding into the towel. It was then that De La Hoya realized that this was the end of his career. So, he reported the same to his former trainer, Roach. So, following this, he made an official announcement of his retirement. Therefore, he brought his entire family- his father, his wife, Richard Schaefer who was his business partner in Golden Boy Promotions as well as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa before the press.

Life and Legacy

So, Oscar De La Hoya had an illustrious life with many wins and ventures. He had held both American and Mexican citizenships as well. Moreover, De La Hoya joined the sport early in life and has dedicatedly continued it since then.

Foundation

So, while he was at a peak in his career, in 1995, Oscar De La Hoya started the Oscar De La Hoya Foundation. It funds various kinds of projects. Moreover, it also governs the cancer center that he had established under his mother’s name. Additionally, he also invested in a neonatal intensive care unit at White Memorial Medical Center in East Los Angeles. Moreover, he also started a charter high school in East Los Angeles later on.

Oscar De La Hoya Wife

So, Oscar De La Hoya married Millie Corretjer in 2001. Milagros Ninette Corretjer Maldonado, alias Millie Corretjer is a famous actress and singer from Puerto Rico. She was born in 1974.

Oscar De La Hoya Children

So, the couple had three children together. So, they had a boy Oscar Gabriel De La Hoya who was born December 29, 2005. After that, Oscar De La Hoya and his wife had two daughters. They were Nina Lauren Nenitte De La Hoya who was born December 29, 2007, and Victoria Lauren Rose De La Hoya who was born January 14, 2014. Apart from that, however, Oscar De La Hoya had three other children through his previous relationships. So, he had two boys- Jacob De La Hoya who was born February 18, 1998, and Devon De La Hoya who was born November 30, 1998. Moreover, in 1999, he also had a daughter- Atiana Cecilia De La Hoya.

The couple reportedly settled in Pasadena. So, this was near the Los Angeles headquarters of Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.

Oscar De La Hoya Girlfriend

So, Oscar De La Hoya was married to Millie Corretjer for 15 years. However, the couple decided to split ways in 2016. But, even in 2020, the couple made donations to charity together. However, before Millie Corretjer, Oscar De La Hoya got himself briefly involved in a relationship. So, his girlfriend between 1997 and 2000 was Shanna Moakler. Shanna Moakler is an actress, model, and reality television celebrity hailing from Rhode Island.

Oscar De La Hoya Net Worth

So, Oscar De La Hoya was probably the richest pay-per-view earner boxer before Floyd Mayweather. Therefore, the latter has a net worth of 450 million dollars. Oscar De La Hoya, however, has a net worth of 230 million dollars. He has a monthly income and salary of around a million dollars. Moreover, his yearly income is around 16 million dollars. According to Forbes, his total career earnings amount to 510 million dollars. However, the match against Floyd Mayweather was markedly the most significant one in the history of pay-per-view boxing matches. So, it had 2.5 million buys which are unbelievable.

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Vitor Belfort

So, in September 2021, Oscar De La Hoya was to come out of retirement. This was because he had a bout with former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort. So, this would take place in the Triller Fight Club Main event in Los Angeles. However, as luck would have it, he got tested with COVID- 19. So, he was hospitalized and could not play the game. Therefore, the managers chose Evander Holyfield as a replacement. So, he would continue the game in place of Oscar De La Hoya.

Oscar De La Hoya & Dana White

So, Dana White is an American businessman and the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Now, UFC is the most important mixed martial arts (MMA) organization all over the world. Therefore, it is under White’s leadership that the UFC developed into a global multibillion-dollar business. However, in September 2021, Dana White had a bitter and prolonged feud with Oscar De La Hoya. This is because he accused De La Hoya of faking Covid-19 in the match against Vitor Belfort. The two continued to backfire against each other on Twitter.

Frequently Googled Facts about Oscar De La Hoya

How Old is Oscar De La Hoya?

Oscar De La Hoya was born in 1973. So, he is currently 49 years old.

How Many Times did Oscar De La Hoya Knock Down?

Oscar De La Hoya had 45 fights. Out of these, he had won 39. Moreover, among the 39 wins, he won 30 of them by knockouts.

Did Oscar De La Hoya Lose a Loved One?

Yes, Oscar De La Hoya lost a loved one. He lost his mother to breast cancer in 1990. So, he was very young back then. Moreover, in 1992 he rose to fame with the Olympic win. Therefore, he also kept his dying mother’s dying wish to see him win at the Olympics someday.

How Many Belts does Oscar De La Hoya have?

Oscar De La Hoya won his Olympic gold in 1992 when he was only 19. So, he had an illustrious and long career. Therefore, in the process, he has won various championships and awards. So, he has won ten world titles. Moreover, he has won them in ten different weight classes.