De La Hoya was the only American to win a
boxing gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, earning
the nickname "Golden Boy." Since his Olympic triumph, he is
undefeated and has won three professional championships. De La
Hoya won the right to represent the United States at the 1992 Summer
Olympics by winning a decision over Patrice Brooks at the Olympic Boxoffs
in Phoenix, Arizona. Some experts worried that he did not knock out his
opponent, but De La Hoya was not concerned. "I was concentrating more
on landing clean punches than I was in knocking anybody down because it
was more important to make the team than to have the ego trip of putting
somebody on the canvas," De La Hoya explained in the Sporting
News. "When I get to Spain, I'll show people my power."
De La Hoya was the favorite to win the lightweight gold medal at the
1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. "The kid has all the
tools," said Pat Nappi, former U.S. national boxing team coach, in Sports
Illustrated. "Right now, based on what I've seen, he has the gold
medal." De La Hoya tried to not get overconfident, though. "I've
just got to keep my focus," he explained in the same magazine.
In the end, De La Hoya was the only U.S. boxer to win an Olympic gold
medal, defeating Marco Randolph of Germany in the gold medal bout. He
celebrated his victory by carrying a U.S. flag in one hand and a Mexican
flag in the other. "I went up with the Mexican flag and the American
flag," he recalled in Hispanic. "If I'd had enough arms I
would have gone up with all the flags of the world!" After returning
home, De La Hoya paid tribute to his mother by laying his medal on her
grave. "I won the medal for mom," De La Hoya admitted in Sports
Illustrated.
