Oscar De La Hoya once revealed the hardest puncher that he crossed paths with during his decorated professional boxing career.
Known as ‘The Golden Boy’, De La Hoya entered the paid ranks back in 1992 after he captured a Lightweight Gold Medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games of the same year.
He would go on to produce no less than 39 victories throughout the course of his tenure, winning multiple world titles across six weight classes before his career eventually came to an end in 2008.
Having shared the ring with the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Bernard Hopkins and Manny Pacquiao along the way, De La Hoya sprung a surprise when naming the hardest puncher that he faced.
In a feature with The Ring Magazine, ‘The Golden Boy’ gave plaudits to former welterweight champion Ike Quartey as he claims the African great ‘punched like bricks’ when they fought back in February of 1999.
“His punches were like bricks; he hit me and it would sting me. Every punch he would hit me with, it would rattle me.”
De La Hoya got the better of Quartey when they did battle for the WBC welterweight title at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, defeating the Ghanian by split decision to hand him the first defeat of his professional career.
Quartey challenged for the IBF light-middleweight title shortly after but was beaten by Fernando Vargas at the conclusion of their Las Vegas showdown. He would go on to announce his retirement in 2006 when he suffered a defeat to Ronald ‘Winky’ Wright.
