I fought Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao and Bernard Hopkins KO’d me but no one hit me harder than the ‘Bazooka’
OSCAR DE LA HOYA fought some of the best of his generation – but one opponent’s punching power stood above them all.
De La Hoya shared the ring with Bernard Hopkins, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao before retiring.
But none of them packed a punch quite like Ike Quartey, nicknamed Bazooka due to his heavy hands.
De La Hoya told The Ring: “His punches were like bricks.
“He hit me and it would sting me. Every punch he would hit me with, it would rattle me.”
De La Hoya also admitted Quartey had the best jab he had faced, adding: “Not only was it powerful, it was very consistent.”
The two had a back and forth battle for the WBC welterweight title in 1999.
Quartey dropped De La Hoya in round three with a pair of thunderous left hooks.
In the sixth, both men found themselves on the canvas and De La Hoya evened it up with two knockdowns each in the last round.
The American was then awarded the win via split-decision.
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Quartey, who won the WBA title in 1994, boxed up until 2006 but retired following defeat to Winky Wright.
De La Hoya, a six-division champ who was considered a great of his era, was sent into retirement by Pacquiao in 2008.
He now promotes under his Golden Boy banner, working with the likes of Ryan Garcia.
