Oscar De La Hoya

With a nickname like the “Golden Boy,” it’s fairly obvious that Oscar De La Hoya excels at his sport. With a gold medal from the Barcelona Olympic Games to back the claim, he is one of the most well-known and successful boxers of history.

Oscar De La Hoya was born February 4, 1973 in Montebello, California. From a boxing family, De La Hoya first captured America’s attention when he won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games. Shortly thereafter, he fought in his first professional match.

Beating an impressive list of world champions including Troy Dorsey, Julio Cesar Chavez, John John Molina, and Fernando Vargas, De La Hoya became the first man to secure the world title in six separate weight divisions.

The only man who has been able to secure a knockout against De La Hoya was Bernard Hopkins, who won $10 million for taking down the Golden Boy. Proving there was no bad blood between the two, Hopkins would later work for De La Hoya’s promotion firm.

De La Hoya fought his arguably most controversial fight on May 5, 2007 against Floyd Mayweather Jr. The fight was called in favor of Mayweather, although the fans believed De La Hoya won the match squarely. Mayweather’s father even made a public statement indicating his belief Mayweather lost. Fans booed, De La Hoya’s team attempted to incite an investigation, but the Commission stood firmly by their initial ruling.

Pursuing avenues outside the ring, De La Hoya was integral in producing Boxeo de Oro as well as hosting the reality show, The Next Great Champ.

He also has a successful clothing line and even released a self-titled CD. Unlike some sports stars turned singers, whose albums incite head shakes and groans, De La Hoya’s album actually earned a Grammy nomination.

In his personal life, De La Hoya married Millie Corretjer, a Puerto Rican pop star, on October 5, 2001. They have one child, Oscar Gabriel, who was born late 2005.

His love life, however, has proved a tumultuous area. He has three other children with three separate women, all of which were born within a year of each other. Jacob was born in early 1988, but the mother’s identity is unconfirmed. His second child born out of wedlock was Devon, whose mother is Angelicque Mcqueen, a one-time Vegas showgirl. The third child is Atiana Cecilia. The mother is Shanna Moakler, an actress noted for her marriage and subsequent divorce from Travis Barker.

He is currently making headlines for a group of leaked photos which contain a man, purportedly De La Hoya, dressed in drag. De La Hoya immediately issued a statement through his representative vehemently denying their authenticity.