Oscar De La Hoya was a superstar in the ring and has built them outside of it as a promoter.
The six-weight world champion fought from 1992 until 2008, competing 45 times and winning 39. Amongst his victories he boasts Julio Cesar Chavez, Pernell Whitaker and Ricardo Mayorga.
After hanging up the gloves, De La Hoya focused full time on Golden Boy Promotions alongside partner and former opponent Bernard Hopkins. The company was responsible for the rise of Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez before a bitter split.
Whilst he had focused on building Ryan Garcia into the face of boxing, the young fighter has done everything he can in recent times to prevent that happening. With a doping ban keeping him out of the ring for a year, De La Hoya must look elsewhere in the mean time.
He told Boxing Scene that his focus will be on Vergil Ortiz Jr, who he has announced will soon return to the ring against WBC Super-welterweight Interim Champion Serhii Bohachuk.
“That’s going to be a war, and for Vergil to become world champion at 154 and from there, the sky’s the limit.
Vergil Ortiz is the next superstar in boxing.”
Ortiz is 21-0 with all 21 wins coming by stoppage. With that exceptional punching power, he should perhaps be more of a household name than he is. Unfortunately, his career of late has been stunted by delays mainly due to the diagnosis of a rare muscle condition called rhabdomyolysis as well as bouts of COVID-19.
Ortiz has been forced to pull out of two fights because of it so far, and a third for other medical reasons, but has returned with two first round knockouts in 2024. The bout against Ukraine’s Bohachuk takes place on August 10 in Las Vegas.
