Óscar de la Hoya revealed how superior he was to Julio César Chávez when they fought: “That night he was invincible”

Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images

By: Kike Frías Updated 25 Sea 2022, : 44 pm EDT

A new chapter opens on the historic fights between Óscar de la Hoya and Julio César Chávez, described as the most important clashes in the history of Mexican boxing.

Julio César Chávez recently admitted that having boxed against De la Hoya was a mistake, emphasizing the cut he had on his face days before the fight, in addition to the fact that his contender was 10 years younger than him .

Now it has been the eternal ‘Golden Boy’ who, in conversation with retired boxer Erik “Terrible” Morales told how superior he felt that June 7, 1996 in a true “Dream Match”.

“No one beat me that Hey, I was invincible (…) sometimes I try to remember the fight well, what happened and what happened, but I can’t, it was like a dream; very strange. He could fight 058 rounds if you wanted”

In a conversation relaxed with the Terrible for the program One More Round , De la Hoya also revealed that Julio César Chávez was his idol, something understandable considering that the nickname “El Rey” was the reference of Mexican boxing at that time.

“I never thought I was going to fight Chávez, he was my idol, I went to see him fight several times, but that is boxing”, he said.

Later they had another meeting (several years later), the revenge of Julio César Chávez, but the result was the same: the Golden Boy ran over him and inflicted another severe cut on his face.

About this lawsuit, De la Hoya said that despite what many they think “The Great Champion” had a stronger and more forceful punch , mainly his right, which is why he even hurt him in the first round to the point of threatening him with a knockout:

“In the first round he almost knocked me out, I went against the ropes”, he admitted.

Oscar de la Hoya, Mexican or American?

In his conversation with the Terrible Morales, De la Hoya could not let go of his inconvenience with the Aztec culture and public.

Born and raised in East Los Angeles, from a young age he was instilled with the culture of his country, but his people like that did not recognize him when he got on the ring against “Mexican – Mexican”

boxers, as they say to those who do they start and develop in their own country.

The boos started from his first lawsuit against one of his compatriots, but he always persevered that at some point it was going to end.

“You begin to ask yourself: ‘Where am I from, am I from here or am I from there?’ You get lost”

Even on the almost no support he had when the dream fight against Chavez was announced, he commented with laughter that part of his family did not support him:

“When I fought with Chávez he was a bastard, even my uncles were against me “, he said between laughter.

He was about to retire

Óscar de la Hoya also shared a anecdote that could even have changed his history and that of professional boxing: when made the decision to retire after the Barcelona Olympics 1992.

Remember that in 1992, being an amateur boxer, he managed to hang himself a gold medal. Well, after this, he thought about saying goodbye to the sport and dedicating himself to something else, since he had fulfilled the promise to his mother who died shortly before the feat.

“The gold medal was my mother’s dream. She passed away a few months before she won the medal in Barcelona and I told myself that I had already made her dream come true for her”, he emphasized.

But finally they put it back in orbit: “Someone He said ‘don’t be an asshole, you can win a world championship, get out of the neighborhood and buy a little house’”.

The rest is history. To your 30 years old and already retired, behind him there are 39 wins (30 by knockout) and 6 losses; also world champion in six different divisions from super featherweight to middleweight. He currently handles the strings for Golden Boy Promotions, one of boxing’s top promoters.

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