Oscar De La Hoya has revealed the one fighter that would have defeated him at any stage of his professional career.
Known more commonly as ‘The Golden Boy’, De La Hoya entered the paid ranks back in 1992, just a few months after he captured a Lightweight Olympic Gold Medal at the Summer Games in Barcelona.
He would go on to win ten world titles across no less than six weight classes throughout the course of his 16-year tenure, defeating the likes of Pernell Whitaker, Hector Camacho, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr and Arturo Gatti to name just a few.
De La Hoya’s career would eventually come to an end shortly after he was defeated by Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao in his 45th and final bout. He announced his official retirement from boxing in April of 2009, shifting his focus to working as a promoter under the Golden Boy Promotions banner.
In a round of ‘Knockout’ with The Daily Mail, De La Hoya made no mistake in naming the late-great Sugar Ray Robinson as the only fighter that would have gotten the better of him during his prime years, backing himself to defeat the legendary Thomas Hearns just before this.
Robinson is widely considered to be one of, if not the greatest fighter to have ever laced up the gloves, proving his credentials throughout the course of his 25-year professional career.
He reigned as the world welterweight champion between 1946 and 1951 before he eventually made the move up to middleweight, where he would capture the world title on five separate occasions throughout a nine year period before his retirement in 1965.