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A superstar whose popularity trancends boxing, Oscar is considered to be one of the best fighters in the world at any weight. He is also the biggest non-heavyweight attraction and moneymaker at the gate. Oscar has defeated 14 world champions, one twice.
He said, "I want to fight the best. I want to be the No. 1 pound-for-pound champion again. I want these last two years to really count. I am ready to fight the best and to stick with boxing. That is my No.1 focus, to just stick with boxing. I've come to realise that it's important to me because boxing has been my life. Boxing is what got me here and I'm finally learning to appreciate the sport and to appreciate the hard work that I've done over the years. I want to end it with a bang.
"I want to do all I can now. I strongly believe that I haven't reached the peak of my career. There is so much to learn, especially with my trainer Floyd Mayweather. I can beat these guys easily. I know and I feel I have the talent to do it." His fight on September 14 against WBA champion Fernando Vargas started as one of the most highly anticipated fights of 2002, and ended as a leading candidate for "Fight of the Year." At the post-fight press conference, Oscar said, "It was a very important fight. A very satisfying win because he was just talking too much. Fighters are supposed to be respected. It's a tough sport and any fighter who steps into the ring, you should respect because it's a tough sport and it's not about who's the toughest guy and this and that. Just show it in the ring. Let your fists do the talking. Tonight, my fists did the talking."
KEY FIGHTS:
2002 - 1ST WBC SW DEFENSE, WON WBA TITLE - in his last fight on 9-14-02 in Las Vegas, NV, he TKO'd WBA champion Fernando Vargas (22-1): Oscar gave a brilliant performance that displayed not only his tangible qualities - skills, speed, power, durability - but the intangible, as well - desire, determination, experience, and heart; a capacity crowd of 11,425 at Mandalay Bay saw a tremendous battle; the momentum shifted throughout the fight and both fighters were rocked and bloodied - De La Hoya's nose was bleeding in the fifth round and Vargas was cut under the right eye in the sixth; De La Hoya outboxed Vargas in the seventh and eighth rounds, but Vargas came back strongly in the ninth; De La Hoya staggered Vargas late in the tenth round and knocked him down, flat on his back, in the eleventh; he got up, but De La Hoya followed with an unanswered series of punches and the referee stopped the fight at 1:48; after ten rounds, the judges scored 96-94, 96-94 De La Hoya, 97-94 Vargas.
After the fight, Oscar said, "This has to rank up there. Fernando Vargas is no pushover. His strength really surprised me. At first, I thought he was too strong for me, but when I was turning and he was missing, I knew he would get tired. I knew I was faster, so I knew I could utilize my quickness to catch him in the later rounds. I had to be patient, go to the body, feint and use combinations. I thought he got tired about the seventh round. A lot of people are surprised when they come in the ring with me. They don't think I'm fast enough, strong enough. But I can pack a punch, that's for sure. I know it sounds brutal, but when I saw his blood, I wanted more. This was for the Mexican people."
2001 - WON WBC SW TITLE - on 6-23-01 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against defending champion Francisco Castillejo (51-4): Oscar dominated the fight - he bloodied Castillejo's nose in the 8th round, rocked him with several sharp punches in the 9th, and scored a knockdown in the last seconds of the 12th; scored 119-108 on all three scorecards; regarding winning titles in five weight divisions, Oscar said, "To be included with Hearns and Leonard is history, but I want one more at 160. I feel like I improved a lot since my first fight with Mayweather. You can't build Rome in a day and we are only at the second level. Stamina-wise, I felt good but there was one point when my legs went out from under me."
On 3-24-01 in Las Vegas he TKO'd former IBF jr. lightweight champion Arturo Gatti (33-4): Oscar scored a knockdown in the 1st round and cut Gatti under the right eye; he rocked Gatti again in the 3rd, and both fighters landed hard punches late in the round; Oscar rocked Gatti several times in the 5th, and Gatti's corner stopped the fight at 1:16; after the fight, Oscar said, "I'm very happy with the way I fought, but I'm not even close to being as good a fighter as I can be. This was just the beginning. I still have a lot to work on."
2000 - LOST WBC W TITLE - on 6-17-00 in Los Angeles, CA, he lost a 12 round split decision against Shane Mosley (34-0): it was a spectacular fight, one of the best of the year - Oscar started fast and led after six rounds by scores of 59-55, 58-56, 57-57; but Mosley came on strong in the second half of the fight, and won by scores of 116-112, 115-113 Mosley, 115-13 De La Hoya; the fight set a new California state record for gate receipts, nearly nine times larger than the old record set in 1990, and was the second biggest pay-per-view event of all-time for a non-heavyweight fight.
WBC W TITLE ELIMINATION BOUT - on 2-26-00 in New York, NY, he knocked out No. 2 ranked Derrell Coley (34-1-2): Oscar rocked Coley several times and knocked him down for the count with two body punches at 3:00 of the 7th round; Oscar regained the WBC welterweight title on March 20, 2000, based on this title eliminator win when champion Felix Trinidad relinquished the title to move up in weight.
1999 - LOST WBC W TITLE - on 9-18-99 in Las Vegas, NV, he lost a 12 round majority decision against IBF champion Felix Trinidad (35-0): it was a very close and disputed decision; Oscar boxed effectively and frustrated Trinidad with movement, and led after eight rounds by scores of 77-75, 77-75, 77-76; but Trinidad constantly pressured him in the late rounds and Oscar boxed cautiously; Trinidad won the last four rounds on one judge's card and three of the last four on the other two, and won by scores of 115-114, 115-113, 114-114; many observers thought Oscar won the fight; after the fight, Oscar said, "I was protecting the rounds I had in the bag. I wanted to demonstrate a boxing show, but I guess it didn't work. I hurt inside emotionally. Obviously, in my heart I thought I won the fight. I thought I won it easily."
7TH WBC W DEFENSE - on 5-22-99 in Las Vegas he TKO'd Oba Carr (48-2-1): Oscar scored a knockdown in the 1st round, but Carr recovered and was very competitive; Oscar scored another knockdown in the 11th round with a left hook - Carr got up but was in no condition to continue, and the fight was stopped at 0:55; after ten rounds, Oscar led on the scorecards 95-92, 96-91, 97-90.
6TH WBC W DEFENSE - on 2-13-99 in Las Vegas he won a 12 round split decision against former WBA champion Ike Quartey (34-0-1): Oscar was effective early and scored a knockdown in the 6th, but was knocked down himself later in the round; Quartey rallied in the next three rounds, and after nine rounds, the scorecards read 89-84 Quartey, 86-86, 86-86; but Oscar finished strongly - he swept the last three rounds on two judges' cards, with a 10-8 round on all three in the 12th - he knocked down Quartey early in the final round, and nearly finished him with a furious series of punches; scored 116-113, 116-112 De La Hoya, 115-114 Quartey.
1998 - 5TH WBC W DEFENSE - on 9-18-98 in Las Vegas he TKO'd former three-time world champion Julio Cesar Chavez (100-2-2): Chavez was badly cut over both eyes and on his lower lip, and was unable to answer the bell for the ninth round; Oscar led by scores of 78-75, 78-75, 79-73.
4TH WBC W DEFENSE - on 6-13-98 in El Paso, TX, he TKO'd Patrick Charpentier (27-4-1): Oscar dominated the fight, scored three knockdowns in the third round, and stopped Charpentier at 1:56 of the round.
1997 - 3RD WBC W DEFENSE - on 12-6-97 in Atlantic City, NJ, he TKO'd Wilfredo Rivera (27-2-1): Oscar cut Rivera in the 2nd round, scored a knockdown in the 4th, and stopped Rivera on the cut at 2:48 of the the 8th round.
2ND WBC W DEFENSE - on 9-13-97 in Las Vegas he won a 12 round unanimous decision against former two-time world champion Hector Camacho (64-3-1): Oscar dominated the fight and won by scores of 120-106, 120-105, 118-108.
1ST WBC W DEFENSE - on 6-14-97 in San Antonio, TX, he knocked out David Kamau (28-1): Oscar scored two knockdowns 2nd round, and Kamau was counted out at 2:54 of the round .
WON WBC W TITLE - on 4-12-97 in Las Vegas he won a 12 round unanimous decision against defending champion Pernell Whitaker (40-1-1): Oscar kept a busier pace in a tactical fight, scored 116-110, 116-110, 115-111.
1ST WBC SL DEFENSE - on 1-18-97 in Las Vegas he won a 12 round unanimous decision against previously undefeated former lightweight champion Miguel Angel Gonzalez (41-0): Oscar dominated the fight and won by scores of 117-109, 117-110, and 117-111.
1996 - WON WBC SL TITLE - on 6-7-96 in Las Vegas he TKO'd defending champion Julio Cesar Chavez (96-1-1): Chavez was badly cut in the 1st round, and his mouth and nose were bloodied as well; the referee stopped the fight at 2:37 of the 4th round.
1995 - 6TH WBO L DEFENSE - on 12-15-95 in San Antonio he TKO'd former WBC jr. lightweight champion Jesse James Leija (30-1-2): Leija could not continue after the 2nd round.
4TH WBO L DEFENSE - on 5-6-95 in Las Vegas he TKO'd former IBF lightweight champion Rafael Ruelas (43-1) at 1:43 of the 2nd round.
3RD WBO L DEFENSE - on 2-18-95 he won a 12 round unanimous decision against former three-time jr. lightweight world champion John John Molina (36-3): Molina gave Oscar his hardest fight to that point; scored 116-111, 116-111, 117-110.
1994 - 2ND WBO L DEFENSE - on 12-10-94 in Los Angeles he TKO'd John Avila (20-1-1) at 1:07 of the 9th round.
1ST WBO L DEFENSE - on 11-18-94 in Las Vegas he TKO'd Carl Griffith (28-3-2) at 1:02 of the 3rd round.
WON VACANT WBO L TITLE - on 7-29-94 in Las Vegas he knocked out former IBF featherweight champion Jorge Paez (53-6-4) at 0:39 of the 2nd round.
1ST WBO JL DEFENSE - on 5-27-94 in Las Vegas he TKO'd previously undefeated Giorgio Campanella (20-0) at 0:38 of the 3rd round.
WON WBO JL TITLE - on 3-5-94 in Los Angeles he TKO'd previously undefeated defending champion Jimmi Bredahl (16-0): Bredahl's corner stopped the fight after the 10th round... He debuted at the age of 19 on 11-23-92.
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