Oscar de la Hoya: 1973—: Boxer
Pursued Other Interests
De La Hoya's musical interests came from his mother who was a ranchera song stylist in Mexico. On October 10, 2000 De La Hoya released his self-titled debut album with EMI Latin. The bilingual collection of love ballads featured the single "Ven a Mi" ("Run to Me"), written by the Bee Gees. "In a way, this album is like me giving something back to my Mexican and Latin roots," De La Hoya told Billboard magazine. "But it also had to represent all of America—and not just because I was born here." The album was nominated for a Grammy.
In 2001, at the age of 28, De La Hoya returned to the ring in search of redemption. He won a match against Arturo Gatti and he won the World Boxing Council junior middleweight title from Javier Castillejo. With his victory against Castillejo, De La Hoya became the youngest boxer to win world titles in five weight classes and he joined the ranks of Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns for this distinction. In May of 2002 De La Hoya was scheduled to fight Fernando Vargas for the super welterweight title.
De La Hoya's future in boxing is uncertain. Earlier in his career he stated that he could not imagine boxing past the age of 30. However, he would still like to avenge his losses to Trinidad and Mosley. His priorities may also have changed due to his personal life. In October of 2001 De La Hoya married Puerto Rican pop singer Millie Corretjer and moved to Puerto Rico. He also has several other interests outside of the ring. In 2001 De La Hoya established his own boxing promotional company called Golden Boy Promotions. He also founded the Oscar De La Hoya Foundation to sponsor Olympic hopefuls and he is renovating the Resurrection Gym where he trained as a child into the new Oscar De La Hoya Youth Boxing Center. He has also considered going to school to pursue architecture. As he told Interview magazine, "I really have a passion for designing." Whatever De La Hoya decides to undertake, if he does it with the passion he's used to box, he'll certainly be successful and exciting to watch.
Selected discography
Oscar De La Hoya (includes "Ven a Mi"), EMI Latin, 2000.
Sources
Periodicals
Billboard, January 8, 2000, p. 41; September 23, 2000, p. 21.
Chicago Tribune, June 24, 2001.
Daily News (New York), February 7, 2002.
Daily News Record, December 18, 1995, p. 3.
Entertainment Weekly, October 3, 2000, p. 80.
Esquire, November, 1996, p. 78.
Forbes, March 22, 1999, p. 220; March 20, 2000, p 240.
Houston Chronicle, December 21, 2001.
Interview, June, 1997, p. 84.
Jet, July 3, 2000, p. 51.
Los Angeles Magazine, March, 1994, p. 74.
Los Angeles Times, November 21, 2001; November 30, 2001; December 2, 2001; February 10, 2002.
Newsweek, September 4, 2000, p. 61; October 23, 2000, p. 78.
New York Times, February 8, 2002, p. D6.
People Weekly, January 20, 1997, p. 93; April 3, 2000, p. 168.
PR Newswire, January 28, 1999; September 2, 1999; July 10, 2000; July 12, 2000; September 12, 2000; September 15, 2000; December 21, 2000; October 8, 2001.
PR Week, January 28, 2002.
Scholastic Choices, January, 2001, p. 4.
Sport, February, 1999, p. 51.
Sports Illustrated, October 21, 1991, p. 66; December 7, 1992, p. 78; December 20, 1993, p. 13; September 22, 1997, p. 42; February 22, 1999, p. 54; March 1, 1999, p. 78; May 31, 1999, p. R27; September 27, 1999, p. 56; March 6, 2000, p. 74; March 13, 2000, p. 52; June 19, 2000, p. 80; June 26, 2000, p. 54; April 2, 2001, p. R2; July 2, 2001, p. R2.
Sports Illustrated for Kids, January, 1997, p. 32. USA Today, February 14, 2002, p. 4C.
On-line
Latino Sports Legends, www.latinosportslegends.com/Delahoya_Oscar_htm
About.com, boxing.about.com/library/bl_delahoya.htm
—Janet P. Stamatel
Additional topics
Brief BiographiesBiographies: Craig David Biography - Became Teenage MC to Herman Edwards BiographyOscar de la Hoya: 1973—: Boxer Biography - Started Boxing At An Early Age, Won Olympic Gold, Became Knock-out King, Capitalized On Golden Boy Image