Oscar
de la Hoya
In this revealing interview with “The Golden Boy,” Oscar De La Hoya stands toe-to-toe with the struggles behind his once clean image. De La Hoya addresses his personal battles to overcome years of addiction and infidelity and how it’s the toughest fight of his life. The boxing champ – who holds 10 world titles across six weight classes – also talks with Graham about his rise to the sport’s main stage, including training under his incredibly strict father and winning an Olympic gold medal to honor his mother, who died of cancer. Plus, De La Hoya takes Graham to his roots in East L.A. to showcase the various ways he’s giving back to the community.
Oscar de la Hoya
EPISODES
Oscar De La Hoya: Partying with Mario Lopez in Mexico
Oscar De La Hoya recounts the story of how an old doctor removing an ingrown hair led to his trip to party in Tijuana with Mario Lopez, and how De La Hoya ended up fighting a day later
Oscar De La Hoya: My tanning disaster
Oscar De La Hoya shares two stories of how his pre-fight preparation nearly led him to cancel bouts, including a tanning disaster that swelled his eyes shut and getting food poisoning from eating 24 bad oysters
Oscar De La Hoya: Friends put a gun to my head
Oscar De La Hoya reflects on growing up in a gang-infested neighborhood in East Los Angeles, including getting robbed at gunpoint by eight gang members – some of which were childhood friends – and his embarrassment of buying groceries with food stamps
Oscar De La Hoya: Dad bred me to fight
Oscar De La Hoya on how his father introduced him to boxing, then proceeded to fill Oscar’s life with boxing until it was all consuming. De La Hoya shares the state of their relationship today and why he finally dropped the resentment for a lost childhood and forgave his father
Oscar De La Hoya: Yelling at mom’s grave
Oscar De La Hoya reflects on his mother as his No. 1 supporter, the woman who didn’t openly express her emotions and the woman who hid her cancer diagnosis from the family for two years
Oscar De La Hoya: Olympic gold was mom’s dying wish
Oscar De La Hoya looks back on the most satisfying and yet saddest achievement in his boxing career: fulfilling his mom’s dying wish and winning an Olympic gold medal. De La Hoya shares the numbness he felt while competing at the summer games in Barcelona and his initial decision to retire from boxing
Oscar De La Hoya: Fake Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Oscar De La Hoya shares why he is not fond of Floyd Mayweather Jr., including his thoughts that Mayweather Jr. sets a bad example for children and casts a fake image. De La Hoya also says he wishes he was five years younger so he could fight in a rematch with Mayweather Jr. and “I could beat [him] again.”
Oscar De La Hoya: Too many boxing “champs”
Oscar De La Hoya critiques the state of boxing today and why he says boxing has too many “champions.” He also calls for a unifying body to oversee all of boxing.
Oscar De La Hoya on addiction: My life was a lie
Oscar De La Hoya on his internal motivation to check into rehab a second time for his alcohol addiction and the struggles of hiding the addiction while managing his clean, “Golden Boy” image
scar De La Hoya: I hate myself for cheating
Oscar De La Hoya expresses remorse for being unfaithful in his marriage and his desire to “man up” and change his behavior. He connects his infidelity with an alcohol addiction and explains why he has been the target of various sexual allegations
Oscar De La Hoya on contemplating suicide
Oscar De La Hoya shares that being exposed for his alcohol addiction was the lowest point in his life and he contemplated suicide “many times.”
Oscar De La Hoya: I run an honest company
Oscar De La Hoya on creating Golden Boy Promotions, his goals for the company and his issues with incompetent and suspicious boxing judges
Oscar De La Hoya: Starving myself before a fight
Oscar De La Hoya illustrates some of the suffering he endured to make weight, including starving himself. Plus, the 10-time boxing champ discusses the benefits of training with heavy boots and by chopping wood
Oscar De La Hoya: Giving back to East L.A.
Oscar De La Hoya takes Graham to the charter school he established and through the hospital where he’s donated generously and helped create a cancer center, labor and delivery ward and neonatal intensive care unit
Oscar De La Hoya: Battling alcoholism
Oscar De La Hoya discusses life after addiction, including the daily fight “to keep the monster at rest” and the process of going through rehabilitation
