Oscar De la Hoya’s life outside ring is a disaster, from Olympic lie and mum beating him to failed relationships
pOSCAR DE LA HOYA has finally come cleannbsp;and admitted he blatantly lied about one of boxing#8217;s most heart-wrenching stories./p
pTwo years before going to the 1992 a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/topic/olympic-sports/Olympics/a, the Golden Boy told the American media in a tear-jerking interview that his his 38-year-old mother Cecilia, who was dying of cancer, made him promise to return from Barcelona with the gold medal./p
figure id=attachment_23848182 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async fetchpriority=high src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/oscar-de-la-hoya-celebrates-635562769.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23848182 width=960 height=653 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditGetty/figcredit/figureOscar De la Hoya celebrates at the 1992 Olympics[/caption]
figure id=attachment_23848788 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/oscar-de-la-hoya-celebrates-3205245.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23848788 width=960 height=957 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditAP:Associated Press/figcredit/figureDe la Hoya with his world middleweight belt in 2004[/caption]
pAnd when the handsome 19-year-old fulfilled that dream and arrived back in the US with the gong hanging from his neck, millions fell in love with him./p
pa href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/who/oscar-de-la-hoya/De la Hoya/a became an instant celebrity and President George H Bush gushed: #8220;He has not only brought home the gold medal, he has brought honour to his mom#8217;s memory.#8221;/p
pSadly, it turns out Oscar made up that highly emotional conversation between mother and son./p
pThat will come as a great shock to all those who idolised him and embraced that touching tale./p
pIn fact his Mexican mother used to physically abuse him #8211; she constantly beat him as he grew up in the tough neighbourhoods ofnbsp; East Los Angeles./p
pDe la Hoya made it clear he wasn#8217;t going to sugar-coat anything as he bared his soul in a three-hour HBO documentary of his life shown on Sky./p
pHe was obviously relieved to take the opportunity to unburden himself of a 30-year secret by telling the truth about his mother./p
pBiting his lip to stop himself breaking down the Golden Boy admitted: #8220;I was driven by a lie. It happened #8211; emotion took over and it just caught fire./p
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p#8220;The world fell in love with my story #8211; I embraced it and just held on to it. When you are lying you are caught up in this web./p
p#8220;My first thoughts of my childhood? Being afraid, pain. crying, anger. I hated it when she hit me #8211; it was the worst. I never had the courage to tell my mother I loved her #8211; I wish I did.#8221;/p
pDe la Hoya, was one of the greatest fighters of his generation winning 11 world titles in six weight divisions #8211; from super-featherweight to middleweight./p
pHe was the most popular fighter since Muhammad Ali, who generated $750 million in PPV revenue yet he said: #8220;I didn#8217;t live up to my potential in the ring #8211; I could have given a lot more.#8221; /p
pEarly in his career I went to see him at his Big Bear altitude training camp in California#8217;s San Bernardino mountains and like everyone else I was captivated by the bi-lingual young man#8217;s charm and electrifying charisma./p
pUnfortunately his brilliance in the ring wasn#8217;t matched by his lifestyle outside the ropes, which was an unmitigated disaster./p
pOscar said #8220;I was 24 years old, making $15-20 million a fight #8211; I was living the American dream. You start to separate yourself from the world. But I ruined good things all my life.#8221;/p
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pMy first thoughts of my childhood? Being afraid, pain. crying, anger. I hated it when she hit me #8211; it was the worst/p
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pBeautiful women threw themselves at him #8211; a former Miss USA was one of several partners who bore him six children. /p
pHe didn#8217;t meet one of his sons until the boy was sixteen and Oscar admitted: #8220;I didn#8217;t know how to be a parent.#8221;/p
pInevitably he became addicted to alcohol and cocaine and he spent time in rehab on several occasions./p
pBut perhaps hisnbsp; biggest shock moment came when he was photographed cross-dressing #8211; wearing make-up, high heels a wignbsp;and a fishnet body stocking #8211; in a picture which appeared on the front page of the New York Post./p
pMen like De la Hoya are envied for their wealth and fame but the reality is so many who come from the world#8217;s back streets haven#8217;t a clue how to handle it./p
pOscar ended with a moving but telling appraisal of the time when he was America#8217;s darling./p
pHe said #8220;The Golden Boy #8211; it#8217;s all f******nbsp;nbsp; bull****, that#8217;s all it is. Nobody really loves me #8211; I am just a commodity. It#8217;s time to live in reality.#8221;nbsp;nbsp;/p
figure id=attachment_23848533 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 650pximg decoding=async src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/oscar-de-la-hoya-millie-833924770.jpg?strip=allamp;w=640 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23848533 width=640 height=960 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditGetty/figcredit/figureDe La Hoya was married to Puerta Rican singer Millie Corretjer[/caption]
figure id=attachment_23848579 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 650pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/l-oscar-de-la-hoya-833917547.jpg?strip=allamp;w=640 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23848579 width=640 height=960 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditGetty/figcredit/figureGolden Boy is currently married to Holly Sonders[/caption]
pFor the record, the other outrageous boxing porkie was Muhammad Ali #8216;s revelation that he threw his Olympic gold medal in the Ohio river in disgust when he was refused service in a restaurantnbsp;in segregated Louisville when he returned home fromnbsp; Rome in 1960./p
pYears later Bundini Brown, Ali#8217;s cornerman laughingly said #8220;Oh yeah #8211; the white honkies reallynbsp;fell for that one.#8221;/p
pThe medal was actually lost in a house move./p