Sports|PLUS: BOXING; De La Hoya Says He Learned Lesson Show https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/08/sports/plus-boxing-de-la-hoya-says-he-learned-lesson.html PLUS: BOXING
See the article in its original context from TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. When discussing last year's fight with Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya likes to refer to his defeat as that decision. And while De La Hoya still believes he won the September bout that concluded with a split-decision victory for Trinidad, De La Hoya has nonetheless also begun to call the loss ''a blessing in disguise.'' ''I was getting lazy; I was getting tired,'' De La Hoya said yesterday in a conference call with reporters to promote his June 17 welterweight title fight with Shane Mosley at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. ''Even right up to the Trinidad fight, I was only training enough to beat the guy I was fighting. But that's how the Trinidad fight woke me up. If I'm not in great shape, anyone can beat me.'' De La Hoya, who called Mosley a skilled fighter with no weaknesses, said he was training differently this time. ''I've been very, very focused,'' the 27-year-old De La Hoya said. ''I blame myself for the other close fights. I know what I did and didn't do in training camp. I know what happened. But that's all changed. Now I train harder and smarter. That's why the Trinidad decision was meant to be.'' Mosley, a 28-year-old former lightweight champion, is undefeated in 34 fights with 32 knockouts. Asked to describe his strategy for the Mosley fight, De La Hoya (32-1) answered, ''Attack, attack, attack.'' BILL PENNINGTON  Boxing is a sport of skill, strength, and heart, but what really matters to the promoters and the box office is marketability. Some boxers market themselves’ by talking smack, and then working hard at backing it up. Others spin their negative life situations, "No publicity is bad publicity," they always say. But, then there’s the fighter that is just Golden. They come along every so often and they just market themselves. Oscar De La Hoya was one of those fighters he had an outstanding armature career of 184-0. Winning Golden Gloves and three amateur championships, he also took home the gold in the 1990 Goodwill Games and the 1992 Olympics. De la Hoya was a star in the making, people were intrigued with the Latin American fighter that fought with the boxing skill of a Sugar Ray and Parnell Whittaker. They were custom to Latin brawlers and pressure fighters like Chavez. Fans have always been split with De La Hoya, just like they always are with big name fighters. Not everyone liked Ali, Roy Jones, and Tyson. Muhammad Ali is one of the best heavyweights in the world. Ali ended his amazing career with his two last bouts ending in losses, and five defeats during his whole career. He did miss a lot of his prime time when he couldn't fight, but Ali like many couldn't walk away when it was time. Mike Tyson, as everyone knows, was a monster in the ring, and defeated himself the majority of his career. But, Tyson also ended his career with his last two bouts being loses, and retired with six defeats on his record. Roy Jones is a legend that tried to regain his glory and he came up short. The one thing that impressed me about Jones was his will to regain success. Jones suffered three straight defeats, and could have hung his gloves up. Jones did what I didn’t expect he fought unknown fighters, they weren’t huge battles and weren’t advertised as such, and he just wanted to see who he was at that point in his career. Oscar De La Hoya could learn a big lesson from this, and many would say he did this by fighting Forbes, and to some point, yes, he did. But, I don’t feel it was enough he should be fighting against Felix Trinidad, Ronald Wright, and Vernon Forrest. These are fights people probably wouldn’t be happy to see, but DLH needs to fight for himself at this point. When Larry Merchant, asked DLH if he was going to fight again Oscar said, “My heart wants to fight, but if my body doesn’t respond...” and then stopped talking. Oscar is a fighter, and he is also the biggest marketing tool in boxing. DLH will need to find out at this point which one he needs to be. Oscar can retire and fans will say one of two things. Oscar De La Hoya was one of the legends of boxing. Others will say that Oscar was overrated and couldn't close the big show. But, nobody will stop talking about him just like Ali, Jones Jr., and Tyson. So my opinion and advise to DLH is please find your hunger, but if you’re not hungry don’t eat! My wife taught me this saying her family always used, “Stop eating with your eyes.” Which meant you're only eating what you think looks good; your stomach can’t take anymore. So, Oscar De La Hoya, stop fighting with only your heart. Because remember you still need strength and skill, and if you can’t rekindle that with all the respect in the world, please bow out gracefully. What is a famous quote from Oscar De La Hoya?There is always space for improvement, no matter how long you've been in the business. Everything I have in this world, I owe to the sport of boxing, and I won't ever forget that. You get to be famous or have some notoriety and there are so many people who want a piece of you.
How is Oscar De La Hoya inspiring to students?He won a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics, fulfilling his mother's wish before she passed. This medal earned him the nickname Golden Boy for taking the medal at such a young age. De la Hoya became a professional boxer in 1992 and continued to compete until 2009, becoming the top American boxer by most standards.
How did Oscar De La Hoya change the world?Oscar De La Hoya is an Olympic gold medalist and a 10-time world champion in six different weight classes, a feat accomplished by no other American boxer. He was The Ring magazine's fighter of the year in 1995, and at one time generated more pay-per-view income than any athlete in history.
What inspired Oscar De La Hoya?His idol was the Olympic gold medalist Sugar Ray Leonard, who became a celebrity after the 1976 Summer Olympics before going professional. At age 15, De La Hoya won the national Junior Olympic 119-pound title; he took home the 125-pound title the next year.
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What is a life lesson Oscar De La Hoya learned?
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