Boxers expect to get hit, but they do not like it. Oscar De La Hoya gets hit less than most fighters, and that is why he is a champion. De La Hoya was the only American to win a boxing gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, earning the nickname "Golden Boy." Since his Olympic triumph, he is undefeated and has won three professional championships. In June 1996, De La Hoya established himself as one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world when he defeated the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez and Pernell Whitaker.

Growing up

Tough neighborhood

Oscar De La Hoya was born February 4, 1973, in Los Angeles, California. His parents, Cecilia and Joel, moved to the United States from Mexico. The neighborhood in which De La Hoya grew up was safe, but trouble lurked right around the corner. "A half mile down that way it gets...