SPORTS RECORDS 8: OSCAR DE LA HOYA, GOLDEN BOY OF BOXING, WORLD NO. 1 POUND-FOR-POUND FIGHTER IN 1987-1988
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 18 Jan 2025
Oscar De La Hoya won 11 world titles in six weight classes, including lineal championships in three weight classes. He was nicknamed "The Golden Boy of Boxing" by sports scribes when he won the gold medal in the lightweight division as a member of the United States boxing team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
* * *
De La Hoya was voted The Ring Fighter of the Year in 1995, and was its number one fighter in the world, pound for pound, in 1997 and 1998. De La Hoya earned approximately $700 million in pay-per-view, making him the top pay-per-view fighter before being eclipsed by Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. He retired as an active fighter in 2009 after 16 years as a professional boxer.
* * *
De La Hoya also fought more often than the present boxing stars. From 1995 and 1997 he fought 14 times, winning all bouts. He faced opponents who had a combined record of 483-21-8. He made four WBO lightweight title defenses in 1995. In 1996, he won the WBC super lightweight belt and defended it once and in 1997, he won a WBC welterweight title and defended it three times.
* * *
In 2002, De La Hoya founded his Golden Boy Promotions, a boxing and other combat sport promotions company. He is the first American-Mexican to own a national boxing promotional outfit, and one of the few professional boxers to promote boxing fights responsibilities while still active as a boxer.
* * *
Volleyball is a team sport composed of two teams of six players each and are separated by a net. Each team strives to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It was included in the official program of the Summer Olympics since the Games in Tokyo in 1964. Beach volleyball was introduced to the program at the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics. A different version of volleyball at the Summer Paralympic Games is called sitting volleyball.
* * *
William G. Morgan invented volleyball in 1895 when he was the YMCA physical education director in Holyoke, Massachusetts. He derived the game from badminton, so he initially callwd the sport mintonette. He was a one-time student of basketball inventor James Naismith and invented the game for his clients at the YMCA, mostly middle-aged businessmen who couldn't withstand the physical demands of basketball.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Don King Productions Announces Challenger for Reigning WBC Cruiserweight World Champion Noel Mikaelian
Fri, 27 Mar 202611-0 Brooklyn heavyweight prospect Pryce Taylor developing his skills at Deontay Wilder and Andrii Novytskyi
Fri, 27 Mar 2026IBA welcomes the victory of common sense in the IOC policy on protecting women
Fri, 27 Mar 2026Genetic Testing will be required in Olympic Games
By Gabriel F. Cordero, Fri, 27 Mar 2026“Lucky Boy" Alicaba Ready for Action Friday in Thailand
By Carlos Costa, Thu, 26 Mar 2026WBO & WBA World Champion René “El Chulo” Santiago Hosts Open Media Workout Ahead of April 3 Title Defense in Tokyo
Thu, 26 Mar 2026Former WBA FEDELATIN President Panamanian Aurelio Fiengo passes away
By Gabriel F. Cordero, Thu, 26 Mar 2026The 19th edition of the Kamatyas Rapid Open and Kiddies Chess Tournament on March 28, 2026
By Marlon Bernardino, Thu, 26 Mar 2026WIG-WHAM! MILLER PLANS ‘OLD SCHOOL’ BEATING OF PERO IN LAS VEGAS
Thu, 26 Mar 2026ProBoxTV Bringing a Storm of Flying Leather to Thunder Studios This Saturday, March 28, as Bryan Acosta Collides with Ronny Rios in Crossroads Bantamweight Slugfest
Thu, 26 Mar 2026Vito Mielnicki Jr. Training Camp Quotes
Thu, 26 Mar 2026Remembering Mr. Elorde: Still the Gold Standard
By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT, Wed, 25 Mar 2026House of Representatives say yes to the Boxing Revitalization Act and it is now sent to the Senate
By Gabriel F. Cordero, Wed, 25 Mar 2026Ryan ‘The Polish Prince’ Kielczweski To return after 4-year layoff to fight at home on Granite Chin’s ‘Rumble at the Rink II’ card
Wed, 25 Mar 2026Ellaine Summer Abanco wins silver medal on tiebreak
By Marlon Bernardino, Wed, 25 Mar 2026