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MAY 5
La lucha grande
OSCAR DE LA HOYA VS. FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR.
MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA
LAS VEGAS
HBO PAY-PER-VIEW
6PM PST/9PM EST
$54.95
The whole world will be watching when the two legendary boxers—the Golden
Boy and the Pretty Boy—face off in a match expected to earn them more than a
combined $35 million.
The HBO pay-per-view numbers should make it the most lucrative
non-heavyweight fight in history. At press time, as a prelude to the main
event, both fighters could be seen in an unprecedented, four-week,
prime-time series that began April 15 on HBO called De La Hoya/Mayweather
24/7. |
 Fifteen years ago in Barcelona, Spain, Oscar De La
Hoya’s tío yelled out, El niño de oro, when De La
Hoya made history as the only American boxer to
bring home the gold in the 1992 Olympics. The
nickname, Golden Boy, stuck—and has come to define De La
Hoya’s boxing career and his life.
El niño has long since grown into un hombre. At 34, though,
he still has the golden touch no matter what he pursues—boxing
promotion, real estate development or even fashion design. On
May 5 in Las Vegas, De la Hoya will enter the ring again, this
time against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in a fight that reportedly
will net him at least $25 million.
A self-confident De la Hoya recently discussed his boxing
career with Editor at Large Kathleen Mascareñas. When the
conversation veered away from the ring, he unabashedly
gabbed like a school girl about his passion for fashion. He also
candidly reflected on his past mistakes and expressed a fierce
determination on two fronts: making his family happy and
changing the negative image of boxing.
If anyone can transform the boxing world, our dinero is
definitely on the ten-time world champ with the golden touch.
Latino Future: You have said you could not imagine
boxing past the age of 30. At 34, why get back into
the ring?
De La Hoya: A lot of fighters make the mistake of retiring
early. Boxing is a very tough sport. The training is very intense
and it’s a lot of wear and tear on your body, especially on your
mind. You want to look for that excuse to retire early, but at the
same time you don’t want to retire because you’re a fighter and
it’s the sport you love.
I’ve been involved with boxing since I was 4 years old.
To retire from something I’ve done all my life is a difficult
decision. I've come to realize 34 is young. My body feels
physically fine and mentally I’m still capable of doing this, so I decided if
I'm going to retire I’m going to retire once and that’s it.
That sounds like a line in the movie, Rocky Balboa,when
Rocky says, “I’m a fighter. Fighters fight. I still have stuff in the basement.”
There’s a lot in the basement here (laughing). That movie was very
inspirational when I saw it.
Is it more difficult to train now compared to when you were
25 and in your prime?
I feel more energetic now. I have more passion. Every time I go to the gym, I
know why I’m going now. When I was 25, [I thought], “I have the talent. All I
have to do is get in great shape and win fights.” Now, I have to challenge
myself to learn new things, so I can perform better when I fight. It's actually
more fun now.
You established Golden Boy Promotions in 2001,and the company
currently represents 50 boxers, including you. What has been the biggest
eye-opener as a promoter?
Dealing with other promoters has been difficult. Everybody in the boxing
world has their own agenda. First, we have to look out for the fighters. Then,
we should look out for the sport of boxing. One of the reasons I started Golden
Boy Promotions was to enhance the image of boxing and help fighters out.
Who are the rising stars in the boxing world?
Jermain Taylor from Arkansas. He’s young—and a good kid. He can fight hard
and has all the passion in the world. We also have a kid from Mexico [named]
Daniel Ponce de León. He’s actually a world champion now. His style is very,
very pleasing. There are so many young fighters who are great.
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JUST THE FACTS |
| BORN |
February 4, 1973, in Whittier,
CA |
| FAMILIA |
Dad, Joel; Mom,
Cecilia; one brother, one sister
Married to Puerto Rican singer Millie Corretjer (since 2001)
Three kids: Jacob (1998); Atiana (1999); Gabriel Oscar (2005) |
| |
| MÚSICA |
Grammy-nominated CD,
Oscar de la Hoya (2001) |
| TRIVIA |
The cancer center at White
Memorial Hospital is named after Oscar's mom, who died from breast cancer
at the age of 38, two years before Oscar won the Gold Medal in the 1992
Olympics.
www.whitememorial.com |
| PRO RECORD |
38-4 with 30 knockouts |
| ONLINE |
www.goldenboypromotions.com
www.milliecorretjer.com |
In October you will celebrate your 6th wedding anniversary
with Puerto Rican singer Millie Corretjer. What makes this relationship work?
It's the communication we have, whether it’s good times or bad times.
Obviously, there’s no perfect relationship. We learned early in our relationship
that the more you let time pass when
there's a problem, the worse it gets. You want to tackle whatever situation you
have in front of you and deal with it. I think it [also applies to] life in
general.
You also are a Grammy-nominated singer. Will you and your wife ever
collaborate on an album?
She’s actually talked about it. She always wants me to sing with her and to the
baby. I'm gonna stick with singing around the house and in the shower. She can
be the professional singer in the family.
Your son, Gabriel Oscar, turned 1 last December and you also
have two other children. Has time changed your perspective as a father?
Absolutely! I have two kids, out of wedlock, who are 9 and 8. They are my pride
and joy.
Being older and wiser, I realize they are everything I have. I live life now for
them. Even though I do travel a lot and spend time in Puerto Rico, which is my
home base, I have to make
time for my kids. It’s a priority of mine to make sure that my family is always
happy.
You are a third generation boxer. Would you ever want your youngest son to
follow in the family business and become a boxer, too?
I would love for him to follow in my footsteps—but as a promoter. I don’t think
I would want him to be a fighter. I do this because of him now, so he can be
well taken care of. I want
him to go to school and get his education.
In April 2005, you opened a real estate investment firm named
Golden Boy Partners.What difference do you hope to make in Latino neighborhoods?
It’s really exciting. We are developing in urban, Latino neighborhoods. Our
focus is on housing and retail. We are building communities within communities.
Our projects are 10 acres and above. We are housing families and allowing them
to have their businesses close by so they don’t have to drive through traffic.
It’s important that we [create] a safe environment. By having a safe
environment, we have better families.
We started our projects in Los Angeles and are also [developing
in] Chicago and Texas. We are going to go everywhere there is a [large] Latino
population.
You also are into fashion and have even designed your own
clothing line that was sold through Mervyns. Who is your favorite designer?
I really, really love fashion. I love tailored suits. I love the Prada
look…the nice, tapered, fitted look. I'm a fighter and I’m rough and tough
inside the ring, but outside the ring, give me some Prada shoes with a Paul
Smith suit and some nice Dunhill cologne and I’m ready to go. (laughs)
Does your penchant for fashion get you extra ribbing in the
gym?
Absolutely. A well-known columnist for the Los Angeles Times named T.J.
Simers once saw me put Giorgio Armani bronzer on my face. I do that when I do
on-camera interviews when my stylist is not with me.
He ripped me a new one. The next day the whole article was about
how I put on makeup. I always have to be clean looking. I put on face creams. I
dab on eye creams. I love giving myself manicures and pedicures. It’s just who I
am. It’s the other side of me that people don’t know. It doesn’t make me less
tough. (laughs)
Does your former life of poverty in East Los Angeles seem as
if it happened to someone else now that you have tremendous wealth? Or do you
always carry those initial struggles with you?
I pinch myself every two weeks. Never in a thousand years would I have
imagined it could happen to me. At the same time, I did work hard.
It’s a life I’m grateful for. I always think about how I grew up
in East Los Angeles and how I will always be from there. It does help me out in
life because it makes me a humble person. I don’t care what anybody has or if
you are the richest person in the world, humbleness goes a long way.
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