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:
Sanman Boxing present Yeerken vs. Carcedo WBA Asia South Title Clash in General Santos City on Feb 9
Fri, 09 Jan 2026Hardstone adds 2 more title fights on January 26
By Lito delos Reyes, Fri, 09 Jan 2026Panamerican Boxing Confederation Partners with Xempower for Digital and AI-Driven Transformation
Fri, 09 Jan 2026IGMOB TALENT GROUP Launches www.IGMOBTalent.com to Represent Fighters, Entertainers, and Rising Talent Across Sports & Media
Fri, 09 Jan 2026SEAG Davao-based athletes eye International stints
By Lito delos Reyes, Fri, 09 Jan 2026Canoy banking on his ring experience against Kuse
By Lito delos Reyes, Thu, 08 Jan 2026Undefeated Kansas Middleweight Prospect Marco “El Tiburon” Romero finished 2025 with 7th triumphs, all by knockout, & 11-0 record
Thu, 08 Jan 2026Kinetix Sports aims for bigger events in 2026
By Lito delos Reyes, Thu, 08 Jan 20262026 Santa Maria Town Fiesta Chess Challenge on January 26
By Marlon Bernardino, Thu, 08 Jan 2026World Ranked Heavyweight Dainier Pero Headlines on Saturday, January 17th at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia
Wed, 07 Jan 2026Jahyae Brown to Battle Arnold Gonzalez in Exciting Co-Feature on Thursday, January 15th at The War Memorial in Trenton, New Jersey
Wed, 07 Jan 2026Hendri Cedeno Seeks Monumental Victory Against Alfredo Santiago for NABO Title January 10 at Barclays Center
Tue, 06 Jan 2026Kingsley Ibeh learned from his Loss 5 years ago to Jared Anderson
Tue, 06 Jan 2026Unified World Cruiserweight Champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez returning to Corpus Christi…as a promoter!
Tue, 06 Jan 2026Ocum to fight Ballesteros on January 26
By Lito delos Reyes, Mon, 05 Jan 2026