Oscar De La Hoya leaning back in ring versus opponent. Credit: The Ring Magazine via Getty Images

Oscar De La Hoya brutally crumbled his opponent in 1994 to win the hearts of Mexican fans

Originally posted on Bloody Knockout | By Donal Long | Last updated Jul 29, 2025 10:41 AM ET

‘Golden Boy’ Oscar De La Hoya is cemented in the boxing history books as his 16-year career saw him become a six-division world champion.

Currently known for his role as a promoter, De La Hoya hung up his gloves in 2008, following a loss to Manny Pacquiao via retirement.

The final record of De La Hoya was 39-6, as the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez, Arturo Gatti, and Pernell Whitaker were all bested by ‘Golden Boy’.

With a number of memorable experiences, fans of the fighter may have trouble picking a favorite performance. However, one win helped De La Hoya win over the Mexican fans.

Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images

Oscar De La Hoya delivered second round knockout to Jorge Paez to become two-division champion

After De La Hoya competed in a wild fight against Narciso Valenzuela Romo, he was given an opportunity to become a world champion.

Wins over Jimmi Bredahl and Giorgio Campanella would see De La Hoya claim and defend the WBO World Super Featherweight title. After this brace of wins, De La Hoya ascended weight classes.

Competing for the vacant WBO World Lightweight title, ‘Golden Boy’ was paired with Jorge Paez. The pair were scheduled to meet on July 29th, 1994 in Las Vegas.

The event was headlined by James Toney, who suffered the first defeat of his career by being knocked out in the final round of a super middleweight title fight.

De La Hoya went into the bout at age 21 with a record of 13-0. The more experienced Paez had a record of 53-6-4 and was 28 years old.

However, the Mexican Paez’s experience would not be able to help him against a young De La Hoya.

After a relatively uneventful first round, things would quickly change in round two.

As a counter left hand seemed to sting Paez, De La Hoya pounced on his opponent. A relentless barrage of punches would eventually result in the Mexican slumped over.

Lying flat on his back, Paez was unable to beat the count, getting counted out in the process.

Oscar De La Hoya feels his win over Jorge Paez helped him win over Mexican fans

De La Hoya felt the pressure going into his fight with Paez, according to a 1994 report from the LA Times.

‘Golden Boy’ said after the fight, “You’re always going to have critics, and it seems like in boxing there are those that still don’t believe in me. But, I feel very good about winning my second world title in just my 14th pro fight.”

De La Hoya added, “I just had to prove to people that I’m a good fighter. There were a bunch of people who were saying to me that Paez is too experienced for me, that I wasn’t ready.”

Despite having Mexican roots, De La Hoya felt that fans from the country were ‘confused by him’. However, following the knockout, he felt appreciated by the Mexican spectators.

“When I knocked him out, they were cheering me.”

Paez said after the fight that no one had ever punched him as hard as De La Hoya did that night.

This article first appeared on Bloody Knockout and was syndicated with permission.

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