Oscar De La Hoya Bio: Early Life, Net Worth & Wife

Oscar De La Hoya, aka The Golden Boy, is a former American boxer who was named The Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year in 1995.  

He was nicknamed “The Golden Boy of boxing” after he won gold in the 1992 Olympic games.

He has successfully captured 11 boxing titles in six weight classes, becoming the best American boxer.

Family & Nationality

Oscar is the son of Joel De La Hoya and Cecilia De La Hoya. His father, Joel Sr., used to work as a warehouse clerk, and his mother, Cecilia, used to work as a seamstress.

Boxing was a tradition in his family. Oscar’s paternal grandfather, Vincente De La Hoya, was an amateur fighter in Mexico.

His father, Joel Sr., also had a brief professional boxing career in the United States with a lightweight record in the 1960s.

Besides that, De La Hoya grew up with his two siblings, his older brother named, Joel De La Hoya Jr., and his younger sister Ceci De La Hoya.

Oscar belongs to a mixed (Mexican, Spanish, and Castilian) ethnicity and holds dual citizenship (America & Mexico). In addition, De La Hoya is Christian by religion.

Age, Height, & Body Measurements

The professional boxer is 51 years old as of now April 2024. According to horoscope charts, the fighter is Aquarius.

And from what we know, the people of this sign are known to be independent, unique, warrior, and talented simultaneously.

Oscar stands at 1.79 m and weighs around 145 lb. His shoe size is 10.5 (U.S.).

Judging by De La Hoya’s looks, we can clearly say he does intense workouts and exercises to maintain his physique.

Apart from that, Oscar’s other notable body facts include his stunning brown eyes and short brown hair.

Early Career

With a passion for boxing and to help him in the process, Oscar started training at the Hollenbeck Youth Center Gym in Los Angeles and prepared for his first fight at the early age of six.

His early career included 234 wins with 163 knockouts and six losses. In the 1990 Goodwill Games, Oscar won his weight class and captured the gold in the U.S. National Championship at the early age of 17.

His joy of victory got swiftly clouded by the news of his mother’s illness with cancer; she died in October 1990, expressing her only wish to see Oscar win Olympic gold one day.

Shortly in 1991, he won the gold medal in the U.S. National Championships at Colorado Springs, Colorado, and in the U.S. Olympic Festival in Los Angeles, California.

Hence, in 1992  De La Hoya turned his mother’s dream into reality and received a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Palau dels Esports, Barcelona, Spain.

Professional Career

1995-2000

Oscar made his professional debut on November 23, 1992, by scoring a first-round with TKO victory. In the second round, he knocked out Jorge Paez and won the WBO lightweight title on July 29, 1994.

Also, he defeated IBF lightweight champion Rafael Ruelas on May 6, 1995. However, one of his biggest fights was on June 17, 1996, when he fought with Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez winning in the fourth round.

In January 1997, he fought with famous Mexican boxer Miguel Angel Gonzalez winning on the judges’ scorecards.

Oscar’s powerful punches & aggression, and defense always swayed the judges more in his favor. He spent the rest of 1997 defending his WBC Welterweight championship.

On September 8, 1998, Oscar again fought a rematch with Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez and defeated him, winning in the eighth round with TKO.

Hence, after several defenses of his WBC welterweight titles, in 1999, he fought with IBM champion Felix Trinidad, setting a record for a non-heavyweight fight in history.

He also knocked out Derrell Coley in a WBC eliminator on February 26, 2000.

2001-2004

In early 2001 Oscar fought Arturo Gatti, winning in the fifth round with a TKO.

He then switched to light-middleweight, challenging the lineal and WBC champion Javier Castillejo, winning almost every round.

He did not fight for 15 months and scheduled his fight for early 2002 because of a hand injury.

The boxer returned to action on September 14, 2002, and fought with Fernando Vargas, making the most significant win of his career.

Oscar showed that a year out of the ring hadn’t dulled his skills. In 2004, he moved to fight in the middleweight title.

On June 5, 2004, he fought against WBO middleweight champion Felix Sturm responding with a masterful performance, winning seven rounds.

That same year he fought in a unification match on September 18, 2004, held in Las Vegas.

2005-2008

The fighter took a hiatus of 20 months and came back to action on May 6, 2006, to fight Ricardo Mayorga, knocking him out in the sixth round.

In early 2007, Oscar signed to fight against WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather.

The fight was fierce, and Floyd captured the WBC title by a split decision. Then, on December 6, 2008, he fought Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas.

The fight was named “The Dream match,” and De La Hoya got defeated by Pacquiao via technical knockout and ended the match after the eight-round.

Sadly from then, Oscar never fought again; it was curtains on his career that spanned over 15 years. The boxer announced his retirement on April 14, 2009.

Even though he retired more than a decade ago, he has not let go of the sport completely.

Oscar runs Golden Boy Promotions, Inc., an American boxing promotional firm based in Los Angeles, California, established in 2002.

During an interview with Marcos Villegas of Fight Hub TV, Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya said he has big plans for 2023.

He aims to sign Terence Crawford to join Golden Boy and also talked about the Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia fight, which he expects to be formally announced any day.

Highlights & Accomplishments

• 1989: National Golden Gloves Gold Medalist (57 kg)/125 lb.
• 1990: U.S. National Championships (57 kg), United States Olympic Cup winner, Goodwill Games Gold Medalist (57 kg)
• 1991: U.S. National Championships Gold Medalist (60 kg)/132 lb., U.S. Olympic Festival Gold Medalist (60 kg)
• 1992: Olympic Games Gold Medalist (60 kg)
• 2008: United States Olympic Hall of Fame inductee
• 2014: International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee

Other Endeavors

To everyone’s surprise, De La Hoya wasn’t just a boxer. He’s also a professional singer.

Oscar’s musical interests came from his mother, Cecilia, a ranchera song stylist back in Mexico.

Oscar released his first self-titled debut album, “Oscar,” on October 10, 2000, which made it to the Number 1 spot on the Latin charts.

His single titled “Ven a Mi” got nominated for a Grammy. Similarly, in 2000, he released another album titled “Oscar De La Hoya,” backed by EMI International and written by the Bee Gees.

De La Hoya established his boxing promotional company, Golden Boy Promotions, in 2002.

Not to mention, Oscar also renovated the Resurrection Gym, where he got trained before, into the new Oscar De La Hoya Youth Boxing Center.

Similarly, he has opened the Cecilia Gonzalez De La Hoya Cancer Center in memory of his mother and donated $35k to the center.

He is undoubtedly a successful and inspiring personality, pursuing his passion in different fields.

Net Worth & Salary

De La Hoya is one of the highest-grossing boxers in boxing history. From what we know, he has accumulated a nеt wоrth оf аrоund $200 million as of 2024.

With all his hard work and achievements, Oscar has accumulated most of his net worth from his boxing career and promotion.

Besides boxing, he has involvement in the music industry and property dealings, contributing considerably to his total wealth.

The boxer has several multi-million-dollar mansions in the U.S., and his property is assumed to be worth $18.5 million.

Similarly, he also owns a condominium in California reported to be worth $2.65 million.

Aside from his net worth, the boxer has kept his salary and income in the dark from the media.

Nevertheless, the fighter has gained a hefty amount of wealth and is undoubtedly living a luxurious life.

Personal Life & Wife

Talking about his personal life, Oscar is separated from Millie Corretjer, a Puerto Rican singer and actress. 

They met in 2000 when they were signed to the same record label to put out the boxer’s debut CD, which won Oscar a Grammy nomination.

The couple married on October 5, 2001, and stayed together happily.

The power couple had three kids; Nina Lauren Nenitte De La Hoya and Victoria Lauren Rose De La Hoya, and a son named Oscar Gabriel De La Hoya.

Before meeting Millie, the boxer had a few other relationships.

He was engaged to Miss USA 1995, Shanna Moakler, in 1998 and had a beautiful daughter named Atiana De La Hoya on March 29, 1999.

Unfortunately, the two didn’t work out smoothly, and their relationship ended in 2000.

He also has two sons named Jacob De La Hoya and Devon De La Hoya from his previous relationships.

Over six years after the couple split up, Oscar De La Hoya filed for divorce with Millie Corretjer on January 1, 2023.

He is seeking joint custody of their three children alongside his new relationship with Holly Sonders, a TV host, and businesswoman.

Social Media Presence

The professional boxer is active on social media and has a huge fan following.

• Instagram: 994 K followers 
• Twitter: 966 K followers

Oscar celebrated his 2023 Valentine’s with his new girlfriend, Holly Sonders.

They reportedly met in 2021 and made the relationship official at the George Lopez Foundation’s 14th Celebrity Gold Classic in Southern California.

Search Graph

Oscar De La Hoya’s graph shows average mobility from Oct. to Jan. 2023.

The graph illustrates the search rate for the past 12 months.

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