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It happened as if the boxing Gods had ordained it. Oscar De La Hoya met Marco Rudolph in the gold medal round of the Olympics, the same man who handed him his first loss in five years last summer in the 1991 Amateur World Championships.
This time, Oscar performed like the boxing superstar that he’s destined to be by winning a dominating 7-2 decision that was punctuated by a third round knock down from De La Hoya’s vaunted left hook.
Of the punch that seemingly secured him the Gold Medal and exacted sweet revenge for that disappointing loss the year before Oscar commented, “I really didn’t throw it with a lot of power. If I had I don’t think he would have gotten up!”
Oscar’s ascendance to the top of an Olympic podium seemed imminent, but in reality winning Gold in Barcelona was anything, but easy.
He barely squeaked by South Korea’s Sunk Sik Hong in the semi-finals by winning a razor thin 11-10 decision after getting penalized for holding in the last minute of the bout.
He was fortunate not to be a victim of the controversial computer scoring system which injudiciously ruined the Olympic dreams of a number of fighters, specifically those of Americans Montell Griffin and Eric Griffin.
Still, Oscar made good on the promise of winning the Olympics for his mother who died from breast cancer in October of 1990. Now his amateur career is over he’s looking forward to becoming a professional. He feels as though his boxing style and power are better suited for the pro-game.
“In the amateurs, the idea was to throw as many punches as possible and in the pros, Oscar can settle down on his heels and really unload,” commented De La Hoya’s trainer Robert Alcazar.
Considering Oscar is leaving the amateurs with a record of 223-5 and 153 knockouts it’s easy to see why the De La Hoya clan believes that the professional ranks will magnify Oscar’s power, especially since amateur fighters have to wear head gear and ten ounce gloves. [details]
This time, Oscar performed like the boxing superstar that he’s destined to be by winning a dominating 7-2 decision that was punctuated by a third round knock down from De La Hoya’s vaunted left hook.
Of the punch that seemingly secured him the Gold Medal and exacted sweet revenge for that disappointing loss the year before Oscar commented, “I really didn’t throw it with a lot of power. If I had I don’t think he would have gotten up!”
Oscar’s ascendance to the top of an Olympic podium seemed imminent, but in reality winning Gold in Barcelona was anything, but easy.
He barely squeaked by South Korea’s Sunk Sik Hong in the semi-finals by winning a razor thin 11-10 decision after getting penalized for holding in the last minute of the bout.
He was fortunate not to be a victim of the controversial computer scoring system which injudiciously ruined the Olympic dreams of a number of fighters, specifically those of Americans Montell Griffin and Eric Griffin.
Still, Oscar made good on the promise of winning the Olympics for his mother who died from breast cancer in October of 1990. Now his amateur career is over he’s looking forward to becoming a professional. He feels as though his boxing style and power are better suited for the pro-game.
“In the amateurs, the idea was to throw as many punches as possible and in the pros, Oscar can settle down on his heels and really unload,” commented De La Hoya’s trainer Robert Alcazar.
Considering Oscar is leaving the amateurs with a record of 223-5 and 153 knockouts it’s easy to see why the De La Hoya clan believes that the professional ranks will magnify Oscar’s power, especially since amateur fighters have to wear head gear and ten ounce gloves. [details]