Sports Nicknames - The Golden Boy

The legendary boxing champion Oscar De La Hoya rose to fame at an early age, right after high school, when he won the gold medal in the lightweight division for United States at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. This is when the media gave him the nickname "Golden Boy".



De La Hoya stayed in the spotlight for the entirety of his career, partly for his sporting achievements and partly for his life outside the ring.

His professional record is 39 wins and 6 losses, with 30 of the wins coming by knockout. A marker year for De La Hoya was 1995, during which he proved to be one of the best by fighting four times against top competition. His notable match was the second round victory against Rafael Ruelas, when he unified the WBO and IBF Lightweight titles. Oscar earned the honour of the Fighter of the Year in 1995.

Oscar De La Hoya was born in Los Angeles on February 4th, 1973, shortly after his parents moved from Mexico. He comes from a family of boxers.

De La Hoya retired on April 14th, 2009, four months following a high-profile loss to Manny Pacquiao. His lifetime pay-per-view earnings are around the $700m mark, which was the highest figure until Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao surpassed him.

The Hall-of-Famer boxer presently runs a promotional company called Golden Boy Promotions.


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