For the first time in history since boxing became part of the Olympics, the US was almost shut out of the gold hunt in that event at the Barcelona Games in 1992. Thanks to Oscar De La Hoya, the US Boxing Team did not go home totally empty-handed. De La Hoya won the gold in the featherweight division and, from then on, the world would refer to him as the "Golden Boy."
After capping his tour in amateur boxing with a flourish, he turned professional late in that same year and fought twice. He became busier in the next 7 years, fighting at least 4 times each year. Throughout this period, his reputation as a world-class boxer has been validated many times over. His record was impeccable-no losses in 31 fights, 25 of them by knock out or TKO. He was not only winning big; he was also winning against big names. By this time, he had already beaten at least 19 world champions or top-ranked contenders, collecting world titles in 4 weight divisions along the way.
But the best for De La Hoya was yet to come. He spent the next 9 years of his professional boxing career seeking out top-level competition. In this period he faced 14 world champions, with at least 6 of them future Hall-of- Famers, and in the process collecting 2 more world titles in yet different weight divisions.
Although not as successful as in the first half of his career, his following has multiplied the world over. Endowed with looks and physique that made boxing fans out of movie fans, he attracted hordes of spectators into his fights like nobody before him ever did. People mobbed him. They adored him. Wherever he fought, boxing venues burst to the brim-and for the first time the boxing public had now constituted more and more shrieking female fans. On the May 5, 2007 fight with Floyd Mayweather, 2.15 million homes in America-a record-paid an average of US$ 56 to watch it via HBO's pay-per-view feed. There simply was no stopping the fans' attraction to the glitter of the Golden Boy. No doubt about it, Oscar was boxing's mega star.
De La Hoya got credit for being a performer. He had talent and skills that won fights for him. He has defeated the likes of Pernell Whitaker, Julio Cesar Chavez, Hector Camacho, among others-all at the top of most greatest-fighters-of all-time lists. His gait and competitive instinct, like that of the Roman Emperor, denied chances for the unfit to survive. He had a heart of a warrior that wowed the crowds.
What separated De La Hoya from the other all-time greats of boxing was the quality of fighters he fought. The career win average of his opponents was 88 percent, which was even higher than his own career win percentage at 86. For one who collected world championships in 6 different weight divisions, this meant not only testing his own limits, it also meant testing the limits of the best fighters out there.
At some point he started to touch base with the business side of boxing, projecting the image of one who thinks and manages things rather than one who thinks and brawls. In 2001, he put up Golden Boy Promotions (as part of Golden Boy Enterprises) to stage his own fights. In 2007, he bought The Ring Magazine, among other media outfits, and put up several business and not-for-profit organizations.
In time, his management skills, too, would be evident and in harness. His businesses, led by the Golden Boy Promotions, grew. Marquee names in boxing-Shane Mosley, Bernard Hopkins, Marco Antonio Barrera, Ricky Hatton-became part of his promotional outfit one way or the other. For years it seemed there was no major boxing event that did not have Golden Boy Promotions as one of its organizers. De La Hoya made tons of money both inside and outside of the ring. For many, he was like a whiff of fresh air, succeeding financially in a sport where most of the legends before him had gone bankrupt as soon as they retired.
Hermilando "Ingming" Duque Aberia is a social development worker by training and profession. He has worked for close to 23 years for government and non-government agencies in the Philippines. He has a master's degree in Development Management from the Asian Institute of Management. Writing for him is both a hobby and a drain for emotional overflow. He writes on various subjects and has published some of his works in Philippine newspapers.
He maintains a website at http://pacquiaodgoat.ws
Emails can be sent to: pacquiadgoat@gmail.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hermilando_Aberia
No comments:
Post a Comment