‘Golden Boy’ hung up his gloves after only being stopped twice across 45 fights.
The former multi-weight champion Oscar De La Hoya has faced a very high level of quality across the course of his 16-year career.
From De La Hoya’s huge money fight with Floyd Mayweather to a brace of victories over Julio Cesar Chavez, ‘Golden Boy’ is one of the greatest of all time.
Retiring with a record of 39-6, only two of those losses have come by way of stoppage. However, his first loss via finish was a brutal one to take for the former champion.
Oscar De La Hoya was stopped by Bernard Hopkins in 2004
In June 2004, De La Hoya defeated Felix Sturm (20-0) to claim the WBO World Middleweight title. For his first belt defense, he would fight Bernard Hopkins (44-2-1) in a middleweight title unification bout.
Fighting for undisputed middleweight glory, De La Hoya and Hopkins met in Las Vegas in September 2004.
However, De La Hoya would taste defeat for the fourth time in his career, getting stopped in the process. Despite being eight years De La Hoya’s senior, Hopkins would deliver a crushing blow in the ninth round.
A left hook to the body of ‘Golden Boy’ would have a slightly delayed reaction. However, the WBO champion would eventually crumble to the ground following the shot.
De La Hoya appeared to be in agony as he lay on the canvas before the referee waved off the bout.
The win was the 32nd knockout victory of Hopkins’ career, as he became one of the few men to become undisputed in the four-belt era.
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Oscar De La Hoya’s second career stoppage came in his final fight against Manny Pacquiao
The only other stoppage loss of De La Hoya came when he faced Manny Pacquiao in 2008. The fight would be the final outing of ‘Golden Boy’s’ career.
Despite De La Hoya receiving warnings about Pacquiao, the two fought anyway, with ‘Pac-Man’ having a dominant performance.
De La Hoya was not knocked down or out in the bout. However, he only made it to round eight before losing via retirement. The fighter suffered significant damage throughout the fight, as De La Hoya felt like he was past his prime in the bout.