OSCAR DE LA HOYA GETS A STATUE AT THE STAPLES? STAR PLAZA
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 01 May 2008
Los Angeles, CA -- Today, at the final press conference hyping this Saturday?s fight card dubbed as ?Homecoming? featuring Oscar de la Hoya vs Steve Forbes held at the open court yard of the Los Angeles Central Library, Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions announced that Oscar de la Hoya will have a life size statue cast in bronze displayed permanently at the Star Plaza of the Staples Arena in downtown Los Angeles.
The announcement came as a huge surprise for de la Hoya. Schaefer told de la Hoya and the press corps who attended the press conference that the statue was a gift from all the people at the Golden Boy Promotions who chipped in the cash to pay for the life size likeness of de la Hoya.
De la Hoya?s statue will be right beside those of the two biggest athletes that ever played at the famed arena, Ervin ?Magic? Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team and Wayne Gretsky, the ice-hockey star who played for the Los Angeles Kings hockey team.
Schaefer and de la Hoya presented a miniature replica of the statue to Dan Bekerman of the AEG (Anschutz Entertainment Group).
The statue depicts a triumphant Oscar de la Hoya standing on the ropes on one corner of the ring with his arms raised in victory.
Bekerman in a short speech accepting the copy of the statue indicated that with the statue, Oscar de la Hoya will cement for life the legacy he will leave for the people of Los Angeles and all the boxing fans and aficionados all over the world when he retires in the near future.
The De la Hoya-Forbes fight will be held on Saturday, May 2, 2008 at the Home Depot Soccer Arena in Carson, California. It will be the first time that a boxing match will be held in that gigantic stadium that can easily hold upwards of 27,000 fans.
The fight will be shown live on HBO . It is a non-PPV event.
Top photo, from left, Dan Bakerman of AEG, Richard Schaefer and Oscar de la Hoya.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.
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