Oscar De La Hoya has shared his verdict on who he believes is the greatest fighter in boxing history.
‘The Golden Boy’ made his way into the professional ranks back in 1992, just a couple of months after he walked away from the Olympic Games in Barcelona with a Gold Medal.
De La Hoya would go on to win world titles in six weight divisions throughout his tenure, defeating the likes of Fernando Vargas, Julio Cesar Chavez and Ike Quartey amongst many others.
After suffering defeat in his 45th and final career bout against Manny Pacquiao, De La Hoya announced his retirement from boxing to focus on his promotional career, working with the likes of Canelo Alvarez, Marco Antonio Barrera and Marcos Maidana under the ‘Golden Boy Promotions’ banner.
In an interview with ESNEWS, De La Hoya didn’t hesitate to name the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson as the greatest fighter to have ever laced up the gloves.
“Sugar Ray Robinson is the greatest of all time! That’s basically it, look at this here [his shirt] all the weight divisions, hardest puncher, best footwork, he would fight multiple times a month, took on the very best, took on the toughest challenges. Sugar Ray Robinson, he’s literally the GOAT.”
Robinson – who was also considered the best by Muhammad Ali – is one of the sport’s most influential figures, proving himself to be one of, if not the greatest fighter of all time. Throughout his outstanding 25-year professional career, Robinson would have no less than 201 fights, reigning as the world welterweight champion between 1946 and 1951 before making the move up to middleweight.
He captured the middleweight championship on four occasions in a nine year period, defeating the likes of Jake LaMotta and Henry Armstrong. After a long battle with illness, Robinson passed away aged just 67-years-old in 1989, leaving an extraordinary legacy.
