Oscar De La Hoya: Golden Past, Golden Future

By 1997, a 24 year old Oscar de la Hoya was riding high. Only 5 years removed from winning Gold at the Barcelona Olympics, de la Hoya was undefeated, already an arguably 4 division world champion, the leading crossover sports figure of the "Latin Explosion" of the 1990s, and the most exciting thing in non-heavyweight boxing. Having dethroned the welterweight division's leading champion, Pernell Whittaker, he was poised to clean out the division and cement his standing as an all-time great welterweight.

However, this is not was de la Hoya immediately did. Over the next year and a half, he crushed journeyman David Kamau, dominated a terrified 35 year old Hector Camacho, and knocked out a French pastry named Patrick Charpentier without breaking a sweat. The only real fight he had during this time was the December 1997 engagement with touch Puerto Rican contender Wilfredo Rivera. Rivera had previously given Whittaker two very hard fights, but had lost both times. De la Hoya performed well, putting the durable Rivera down in the 4th and stopping him on cuts. However, it was hardly the stuff a lasting legend is made of.

To make matters worse, de la Hoya then sought a September 1998 rematch with Julio Cesar Chavez. Claiming a bruised ego because of the way Chavez had denied him any credit in their 1996 bout, de la Hoya showed his usually hidden mean streak in beating Chavez into quitting on his stool after the 8th. After all his accomplishments, de la Hoya was surely entitled to an easy fight or two, but following the victory over Whittaker, he coasted through 4 easy, lucrative fights out of 5. The boxing world's grumbled soon became very loud, and finally his rivals began talking about fighting each other instead of waiting for The Golden Boy.

The Bazooka, Motor City and Tito

The result was that Oscar de la Hoya was finally forced in February 1999 to do what he should have done at least a year before: fight 29 year old WBA welterweight champion Ike "Bazooka" Quartey of Ghana. Standing 5'7", his powerful physique stood him as easily the strongest of the welterweights of his day. His nickname came from his bazooka-like left jab, which could produce thudding force off an arm punch alone. Fighting from behind a high, peek-a-boo guard that was doubly effective because of his thick arms, he had captured the WBA version of the title four years before, and defended it 6 times against the likes of Oba Carr, Vince Phillips, and Jose Luis Lopez.

The battle opened as a contest to establish the jab, with Oscar's rapier matched against Quartey's club, each punctuating the action with short combinations. Neither man truly achieved dominance in this contest: Oscar used his speed and reach to land more jabs, and while many of Quartey's shots came up short, he landed often enough and with force. Oscar's nose was bloodied early, and when he got careless in the 6th, Quartey put him on his arse. Oscar was landing more, but it was a close, hard fought contest. Sensing he might be losing the fight, the Golden Boy came out in the 12th like a champion and tore away at Quartey. Flooring Bazooka Ike with a left hook, de la Hoya chased his hurt opponent into the corner and threw everything but the stool at him. Quartey fought back as best he could, but was continuously wobbled and never allowed to recover. A lesser fighter would have been knocked out by Oscar's furious attack, but Quartey survived the round and the fight.

The result was a Split Decision for Oscar de la Hoya. Many thought it was a close fight, but that de la Hoya had earned the nod. The scandal was in the scoring: just as with Whittaker, de la Hoya led by an unjustifiable margin on the two cards he won. His critics began to grumble that de la Hoya could never lose a decision in Las Vegas.

Next came Oba "Motorcity" Carr, arguably one of the best welterweights to never win the title. This well-rounded customer gave both Quartey and Felix Trinidad all they could handle, and had beaten Derrel Coley and Frankie Randall. However, Oscar knocked him down in the 1st and 11th, and finally stopped him.

Out to silence the critics, de la Hoya set his sights on Puerto Rican puncher Felix "Tito" Trindad in September 1999. The undefeated IBF champion, the 26 year old had reigned as the IBF welterweight champion since 1993 and defended his title a staggering 15 times against opponents like the then-undefeated Oba Carr and then-undefeated Yori Boy Campas. Oscar boxed Trinidad brilliantly, using side-to-side movement and his quick, sharp jab to stymie every effort Trinidad made to settle his plodding feet and punch. For eight rounds, de la Hoya thoroughly controlled the fight. Then he began to tire, and the momentum shifted to Trinidad. For the last couple of rounds, de la Hoya got on his bicycle and stayed away from Tito. He was never in trouble, but was no longer really engaged either.

Many thought that after putting so many rounds in the bag, and with the previously favorable judging, de la Hoya would win easily. He didn't. He lost a Majority Decision on margins of 115-113 and 115-114 for Trinidad, and 114-114. It was ridiculous for a fight that should have been at least 115-113 for de la Hoya. The Golden Boy was robbed, and the decision remains controversial to this day. However, de la Hoya deserves a little criticism for resting on his laurels at the end of the bout. After all, Trinidad was Don King's fighter, and as the Holyfield vs. Lewis I fight six months before showed, one can never trust the judges when Don King is around.

The Sugarman

The Golden Boy's comeback began in February 2000 when he fought Washington, DC's 34-1 Derrel Coley. A solid contender, he was outclass and stopped in the 7th on a terrific left hook to the body. Oscar de la Hoya was back with a big win. When Trinidad moved up to 154 lbs (thereby avoiding a rematch with de la Hoya), the WBC retroactively declared the bout for the vacant title, and gave their green strap back to Oscar.

That put Oscar de la Hoya squarely in the path of 34-0 "Sugar" Shane Mosely, a dominant lightweight champion and crosstown Los Angeles rival who had vaulted straight up to welterweight in search of big challenges and big paydays. For the first time ever, de la Hoya was in the ring with a fighter who was unquestionably faster than he was. Furthermore, Mosely was a competent switch-hitter. It was a closely contested bout, but Oscar could never pull ahead because whenever he got his momentum going, Mosely would turn southpaw and thereby take away de la Hoya's best weapon: his left hand. It revealed Oscar's limitations as a boxer-puncher with a merely average right hand. Mosely won the Split Decision, and for the first time Oscar de la Hoya was fairly beaten.

In March 2001, de la Hoya began his second comeback by demolishing Arturo Gatti. At the time, many thought that Gatti was too small, shot, and the fight was a "gimme," but Gatti later went on to win a 140 lbs championship and was proven to still be a formidable fighter at the time. De la Hoya then moved up to 154 lbs and met Spaniard Javier Castilejo for the WBC Super Welterweight Championship. Castilejo's merits were also downplayed by Oscar's critics, but he would later win a 160 lbs title. Both men were legitimate contenders.

Then came WBA champion Fernando Vargas in September 2002. Another crosstown Los Angeles rival, Vargas had been talking trash about de la Hoya for years.The time had finally come to shut him up. Vargas has previously only been beaten by Trinidad. The bout was competitive for a while, with de la Hoya's nose bloodied in the 5th, and Vargas cut in the 7th. But de la Hoya was boxing well, and caught Vargas with a left hook upstairs and a sharp, hard combo to the body to close the 10th. Vargas was still badly hurt when he came out in the 11th, and de la Hoya finished him off. This was despite the fact that Vargas, a naturally bigger man, later tested positive for steroids.

De la Hoya followed that victory by defending his titles against veteran contender and former champion Yori Boy Campas. Campas was stopped in the 7th.

Mosely, meanwhile, had enjoyed a short reign as welterweight champion before losing two back-to-back fights with Vernon Forrest. Looking to restore some luster to his name, he moved up for a rematch with de la Hoya. Oscar was also eager for a return bout and a chance to even the score. The September 2003 bout was a chess match, with Oscar looking to jab and move and Mosley playing more of an aggressive boxer-puncher. The result was so controversial that Oscar and his camp threatened to demand an investigation. Oscar landed slightly more power punches and three times as many jabs, and in the opinion of this writer he took Mosley to school. However, when polled the sportswriters were evenly split about the results, with many thinking that Mosley won the bout. Oscar had to leave Mosley II rematch a bitterly disappointed man.

Middleweight

Rather than seek a rubber match with Shane Mosley, de la Hoya moved up to fight 20-0 Felix Strum of Germany for his WBO Middleweight crown. Oscar looked flabby and small, and many felt he lost the fight with Strum. However, for once he got the benefit of the doubt from the judges and walked away with the WBO 160 lbs title.

That bout was meant to set the stage with Bernard Hopkins, the long-serving Undisputed World Middleweight Champion. Meeting in September 2004, Hopkins dominated de la Hoya and stopped him off a hook to the body. If Strum had been too big, Hopkins was too big and too good.

Towards a Double Waterloo

Moving back down to 154 lbs, de la Hoya rebounded with a win over the brawling Nicaruaguan thug Ricardo Mayorga, thoroughly dominating him and knocking him out in the 6th to win the WBC 154 lbs title. That bout led to a meeting with undefeated rising superstar Floyd Mayweather, Jr in May 2007. 32 years old and having fought only once in almost two years, de la Hoya was a little too slow and a little too rusty. He was never endangered by Mayweather, but he was unable to catch the slickster and lost a decision by a wide margin.

De la Hoya fought a tune-up before what was supposed to be his big retirement match: a fight with Featherweight and Lightweight Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao was supposed to be too small for Oscar, but just as Mayweather and Mosley had proven before, the Golden Boy had a hard time with fighters that were clearly faster than he was. On top of that, de la Hoya was even rustier than he was for Mayweather, and had drained himself of stamina by making the contracted 145 lbs weight, his lowest in 11 years. It was stupid of de la Hoya to fight at a weight so low (could anyone see Ray Leonard doing the same?). The Pacman overwhelmed him and made him quit disgracefully on his stool. As opposed to being the Golden Boy's grand goodbye, it proved to be his Waterloo and the fight that catapulted Pacquiao into greatness.

Legacy

Following the loss to Pacquiao, Oscar de la Hoya announced his retirement with a record of 39-6 with 30 KOs. He arguably stands as a 6 division champion.

When Oscar de la Hoya won his first welterweight title, there were three solid, established champions: Whittaker, Quartey, and Trinidad. He stands as the only member of that quartet to have fought the other three, and by all rights he beat all three. He also fought and defeated Wilfredo Rivera, Derrel Coley, and Oba Carr. It took him a while, but he did get around to cleaning out his division.

Of his losses, Bernard Hopkins was just a bridge to far. He arguably beat Shane Mosely in the rematch, but legitimately and clearly lost their first encounter. Mayweather and Pacquiao came in the downside of his career and were tailor-made to exploit his vulnerability to fighters with faster hands.

Finally, it must be said that for more than a decade, Oscar de la Hoya reigned as the most important non-heavyweight boxer in the sport. After the retirement of Lennox Lewis, he was the most important fighter period. If a boxer wanted to get exposure and make big money, all roads ran through de la Hoya. Felix Trinidad, Shane Mosley, Floyd Mayweather, and Manny Pacquiao owe large parts of their fame to their victories (real or otherwise) over the Golden Boy.

Through his promotional company, de la Hoya is now poised to become the biggest player in boxing promotions for the next generation.

Source: boxrec.com; Live Fight Footage; The Ring; International Boxing Digest; Sports Illustrated; http://www.goldenboypromotions.com/fighters/oscar.php.