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Every four years, we put our hopes into the young men and women that represent our country in the Olympics and this summer, America’s amateur boxing establishment is putting it’s hopes on the shoulders of a 5’10, 132-pound, nineteen-year-old kid named Oscar De La Hoya. De La Hoya isn’t one of those surprise stars that just pops out of the night’s sky, no, he’s probably been more hyped and has received more accolades than any amateur since Mark Breland was selling out arenas in New York in the early 1980’s.
He already has a fan contingency that follows him from meet to meet and has
all the qualities necessary to become boxing’s first true Hispanic cross over star. He’s well-spoken, good looking, bi-lingual, and he can fight. He’s a third generation boxer and because he is left handed and boxes from an orthodox stance his left hand is his bread and butter. He jabs with authority and has a wicked left hook and can easily hook off the jab.
During the course of his stellar amateur career he’s compiled a 213-5 record and has won the National Golden Gloves, two U.S. amateur championships, and the 1990 Goodwill Games. To top it all off he’s only 19 years old and has been boxing since he was six and is not only favored to win a spot on the U.S. Olympic team, but he’s also favored to bring home the gold.
De La Hoya’s life hasn’t been easy or with out hurdles. As the son of Mexican immigrants, Oscar grew up in East Los Angeles and in October of 1990, his most ardent supporter, his mother Cecilia, died of breast cancer. Oscar was deeply affected by the tragedy and has vowed to win the gold medal for her. “It’s affected me, but I started thinking, Why not just do it for her? That was her dream.” And with the added motivation Oscar has continued to relentlessly pursue his dream. “It pushes me to train harder and get that gold medal. I’m gonna do it and I don’t think anything is going to stop me from doing it.” After every fight Oscar drops to one knee and blows a kiss to his mother towards the sky. [details]
He already has a fan contingency that follows him from meet to meet and has
all the qualities necessary to become boxing’s first true Hispanic cross over star. He’s well-spoken, good looking, bi-lingual, and he can fight. He’s a third generation boxer and because he is left handed and boxes from an orthodox stance his left hand is his bread and butter. He jabs with authority and has a wicked left hook and can easily hook off the jab.
During the course of his stellar amateur career he’s compiled a 213-5 record and has won the National Golden Gloves, two U.S. amateur championships, and the 1990 Goodwill Games. To top it all off he’s only 19 years old and has been boxing since he was six and is not only favored to win a spot on the U.S. Olympic team, but he’s also favored to bring home the gold.
De La Hoya’s life hasn’t been easy or with out hurdles. As the son of Mexican immigrants, Oscar grew up in East Los Angeles and in October of 1990, his most ardent supporter, his mother Cecilia, died of breast cancer. Oscar was deeply affected by the tragedy and has vowed to win the gold medal for her. “It’s affected me, but I started thinking, Why not just do it for her? That was her dream.” And with the added motivation Oscar has continued to relentlessly pursue his dream. “It pushes me to train harder and get that gold medal. I’m gonna do it and I don’t think anything is going to stop me from doing it.” After every fight Oscar drops to one knee and blows a kiss to his mother towards the sky. [details]
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