Would Oscar de la Hoya had a more successful career?

[dans]

that would take away his 2 best weapons..his left hook and his jab..so no

Exactly. Fighting in the orthodox stance was what made DLH so successful.

[Migs]

If he would not convert to a righty stance. He is natural left handed and seems to only have that one weapon, the big left hook. If Oscar was to fight out of a more natural south-paw stance, he may have been a more two handed fighter with his power left and develop his right lead as well.

I don't think it would really make a difference. Why would changing to southpaw allow him to make his right hand more powerful? Instead of having a weak straight right, he'd have a weak hook, quite the converse of what is his big weapon. I think it is more just neglecting the right hand because the hook worked so well for him.

perhaps

however, i'm certain he decided to fight orthodox for a good reason. maybe southpaw didnt work for him for X or Y reason.... who knows..?

Oscar is a natural southpaw but when he started boxing, the guy training him started him in the orthodox stance because all the kids at the gym he went to were righty and fought orthodox and it was easier for the guy to train him. It was something along those lines, he explains it in his biography.

[KennyWeldon]

Actually Oscar himself said that when he was a kid his trainer converted him because it was too dificult to teach Oscar everything he knew backwards so instead made him train in the orthodox stance right from the getgo...and it turned out to be the best thing he could hve done. His jab was light a pistol and his hook was great.