U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps won eight medals--six gold and two bronze--at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, the most by any athlete in a non-boycotted Olympiad. Phelps fell one short of American swimmer Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals, set in 1972. "There's nobody in the last 20 years, in any sport, who can say they did what Michael did," said his Olympic coach, Eddie Reese, according to Kelli Anderson in Sports Illustrated.
The swimmer's final act at the Summer Games was one of sportsmanship. Phelps was already assured of a medal as part of the 4x100 medley relay, having won the 100 butterfly gold. He offered his spot for the final round to Ian Crocker so Crocker could get a medal. Crocker, ironically, cost Phelps a shot at a seventh gold medal with what Anderson called a "disastrously slow" starting leg in the 4x100 freestyle relay. "Ian's one of the greatest relay swimmers in history," Phelps said, according to Anderson. "I was willing to give him another chance." The Americans won the event and Phelps his eighth medal.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Monday, December 17, 2007
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (née Godwin) (30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English romantic/gothic novelist and the author of Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. She was married to the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Mary Shelley was born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin in Somers Town, in London, in 1797. She was the second daughter of famed feminist, educator, and writer Mary Wollstonecraft. Her father was the equally famous anarchist philosopher, novelist, journalist, and atheist dissenter William Godwin. Her mother died of puerperal fever ten days after Mary was born.
In May 1816, Mary and her husband Percy Shelley and their son travelled to Lake Geneva in the company of Claire Clairmont. Their plan was to spend the summer near the famous and scandalous poet Lord Byron, whose recent affair with Claire had left her pregnant.
From a literary perspective, it was a productive and successful summer. Percy began work on "Hymn To Intellectual Beauty" and "Mont Blanc"; Mary, in the meantime, was inspired to write an enduring masterpiece of her own.
Forced to stay indoors one evening because of cold and rainy weather, the group of young writers and intellectuals, sexually enthralled by the ghost stories from the book Fantasmagoriana, decided to have a ghost-story writing contest. Byron and Percy Shelley abandoned the project relatively soon, with Byron publishing his fragment at the end of Mazeppa. Byron's physician Dr. John Polidori's contribution remains uncertain; he identifies The Modern Oedipus as the work in question in the introduction to the novel, but, in her preface to the 1831 edition of Frankenstein, Mary claims that he had a terrible idea about a skull-headed lady who was punished for peeping through keyholes. Mary herself had no inspiration for a story, which was a matter of great concern to her. However, Luigi Galvani's report of his 1783 investigations in animating frog legs with electricity were mentioned specifically by her as part of the reading list that summer in Switzerland. One night, perhaps attributable to Galvani's report, Mary had a waking dream; she recounted the episode in this way: “My imagination, unbidden, possessed and guided me, gifting the successive images that arose in my mind with a vividness far beyond the usual bounds of reverie…I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together—I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life, and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion…What terrified me will terrify others; and I need only describe the spectre which had haunted my midnight pillow.” This nightmare served as the basis for the novel that she entitled Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus
In July 1822, Percy sailed away up the coast to Livorno, to meet Leigh Hunt, who had just arrived from England. Caught in a storm on his return, Percy Bysshe Shelley drowned at sea on 8 July 1822, aged 29, along with his friend Edward Williams and a young boat attendant. Percy left his last long poem, a shadowy work called The Triumph Of Life, unfinished. Mary also had another source for her story writing because of the time she spent in Switzerland. She had the idea of Frankenstein living there and there is a very famous scene in Frankenstein set on Mount Chamonix, where Frankenstein meets the creature and talks to him for the first time; the time Shelley spent in Geneva must have inspired her. Mary died, aged 53, on 1 February 1851 at Chester square in London, England.
Mary Shelley was born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin in Somers Town, in London, in 1797. She was the second daughter of famed feminist, educator, and writer Mary Wollstonecraft. Her father was the equally famous anarchist philosopher, novelist, journalist, and atheist dissenter William Godwin. Her mother died of puerperal fever ten days after Mary was born.
In May 1816, Mary and her husband Percy Shelley and their son travelled to Lake Geneva in the company of Claire Clairmont. Their plan was to spend the summer near the famous and scandalous poet Lord Byron, whose recent affair with Claire had left her pregnant.
From a literary perspective, it was a productive and successful summer. Percy began work on "Hymn To Intellectual Beauty" and "Mont Blanc"; Mary, in the meantime, was inspired to write an enduring masterpiece of her own.
Forced to stay indoors one evening because of cold and rainy weather, the group of young writers and intellectuals, sexually enthralled by the ghost stories from the book Fantasmagoriana, decided to have a ghost-story writing contest. Byron and Percy Shelley abandoned the project relatively soon, with Byron publishing his fragment at the end of Mazeppa. Byron's physician Dr. John Polidori's contribution remains uncertain; he identifies The Modern Oedipus as the work in question in the introduction to the novel, but, in her preface to the 1831 edition of Frankenstein, Mary claims that he had a terrible idea about a skull-headed lady who was punished for peeping through keyholes. Mary herself had no inspiration for a story, which was a matter of great concern to her. However, Luigi Galvani's report of his 1783 investigations in animating frog legs with electricity were mentioned specifically by her as part of the reading list that summer in Switzerland. One night, perhaps attributable to Galvani's report, Mary had a waking dream; she recounted the episode in this way: “My imagination, unbidden, possessed and guided me, gifting the successive images that arose in my mind with a vividness far beyond the usual bounds of reverie…I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together—I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life, and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion…What terrified me will terrify others; and I need only describe the spectre which had haunted my midnight pillow.” This nightmare served as the basis for the novel that she entitled Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus
In July 1822, Percy sailed away up the coast to Livorno, to meet Leigh Hunt, who had just arrived from England. Caught in a storm on his return, Percy Bysshe Shelley drowned at sea on 8 July 1822, aged 29, along with his friend Edward Williams and a young boat attendant. Percy left his last long poem, a shadowy work called The Triumph Of Life, unfinished. Mary also had another source for her story writing because of the time she spent in Switzerland. She had the idea of Frankenstein living there and there is a very famous scene in Frankenstein set on Mount Chamonix, where Frankenstein meets the creature and talks to him for the first time; the time Shelley spent in Geneva must have inspired her. Mary died, aged 53, on 1 February 1851 at Chester square in London, England.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn was born in Hartford, Connecticut. Her birthdate is variously given; the years most frequently cited are 1907 and 1909. In her autobiography (1991), Hepburn stated her birthdate as 1907. She was one of six children (three of each gender) born to a socially prominent, well-to-do, activist family. Her mother was a well-known and passionate suffragette; her physician father was an innovative pioneer in the field of sexual hygiene. Educated by private tutors and at exclusive schools, she entered Bryn Mawr College in 1924. Upon graduating four years later she immediately embarked on a successful career in the theater. Her critical success as an Amazon queen in the satire The Warrior's Husband led to a contract with the film studio RKO. In 1932 she made her film debut in that company's A Bill of Divorcement, playing opposite John Barrymore. She received rave reviews for her performance and achieved overnight stardom.
Her screen career lasted for over 50 years and was based on a persona whose essentials included energy, grace, determination, trim athletic good looks, and obvious upper class breeding (as indicated, among other things, by a clipped manner of speaking). This persona, when intelligently utilized by producers and directors, led her to four Academy Awards as "Best Actress:" Morning Glory, 1933; Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, 1967; The Lion in Winter, 1968; and On Golden Pond, 1981. Hepburn also garnered an additional eight Oscar nominations over the years: Alice Adams, 1935; The Philadelphia Story, 1940; Woman of the Year, 1942; The African Queen, 1951; Summertime, 1955; The Rainmaker, 1956; Suddenly Last Summer, 1959; and Long Day's Journey Into Night, 1962. Her role in the 1975 made-for-television film Love Among the Ruins won her an Emmy award.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Sarah Fisher
Sarah Fisher
Sarah Fisher was born October 4, 1980, in the small town of Commercial Point, Ohio, to parents David and Reba Fisher. David, already a go-kart enthusiast, began taking Fisher to the local track early in her life, where she enjoyed a first-hand look at the competition and mechanics of racing. She began competing in quarter-midget race cars, a similiar, smaller version of the go-kart, when she was only five years old, learning the basic skills and talents over a decade before she could legally drive a car.
When Fisher was eight years old, she graduated from the midget-racers to go-karts like her father raced, and from there, early success soon followed. Fisher took several wins over her six years in go-kart racing, and won the World Karting Associatio n Grand National Championship two years in a row, in 1991 and 1992, and the Points Champion in the WKA in 1993. She also won the Circleville Raceway Park Championship in 1994. It was during this time that her real love for racing developed, and she began to look elsewhere for new challanges. Growing up racing on the loosely-packed dirt tracks in Southern Ohio spurred the young Fisher, now 14, to establish her career in other dirt tracks, wanting the challanges she couldn't get from a smooth, asphalt-paved circuit.
In 1995, Fisher entered the Winged Sprint Car World of Outlaws League and for the next three years blazed another new trail of success, winning the 1995 Dirt Track Racing Round-Up Rookie of the Year Award, and a 1997 nomination for the National Spri nt Car Hall of Fame Rookie of the Year Award. Also in 1997, she received one of the highest sprint car honors, a chance to compete in the 62-race series, the All-Stars Circuit of Champions, finishing as high as second place at Eldora Speedway along the wa y. However, the lure and challenges of dirt-track racing had now faded, and Fisher knew she had to move onwards and upwards.
In 1998, Fisher raced in three different types of racing cars for asphalt circuits, the ARCA Sprint cars, the NAMARS Silver Crowns and the USAC Midgets, collecting five feature wins and two track speed records in 23 starts. In August of the followin g year, she became the youngest person to pass the requirements for the Indy Racing League Rookie test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
On October 17, 1999 she competed in her first IRL event, the youngest driver in the over-50 years of the league to do so. On the Texas Motor Speedway, Fisher qualified in the 17th position and ran a strong race throughout, before mechanical difficul ties with a timing chain forced her out on lap 66, finishing 25th overall. Still, the experience and her skills were enough for Fisher to land a driving position with team owner Derrick Walker, driving for the 2000 IRL season. It also led to her greatest moment; a shot at the most prestigious event in auto racing, the Indianapolis 500, where she qualified 19th in the field as the youngest woman, to compete in the event. An accident early in the race sidelined her and she finished 31st.
A little over a year after getting her IRL license, Fisher made history again, becoming the first woman to place in an IRL sporting event, on August 27, 2000, at the Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway. After starting fourth from the pole, she finished in third place and led nine laps, the first of her career, and becoming the youngest driver to lead. At the Las Vegas Speedway, Fisher was running a strong third half-way through the race before an accident finished her in 17th position. Despite a few disap pointments, Fisher started eight of the nine races she qualified for, and placed third in the Bombardier Rookie of the Year standings at the end of the season.
The year 2001 was a new beginning for everyone, and Fisher was hungry for more success after a little less than a year on the IndyCar circuit. On April 8th, she was off and running, taking a second-place finish home from the first race of the season , in Miami-Homestead.
The following month, she qualified again for the Indianapolis 500, starting 15th from the pole, but was taken out in the seventh lap after an accident. She collected one other top-ten finish that year, at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Colorado , but her performance in all 13 races, with a combined 1,675 laps run, netted her more than $700,000 that year, making her a millionaire in only two short seasons.
At the start of the 2002 Indy season, troubles with her sponsors, and the inability to find others left Fisher without car. But on April 21st, at Nazareth Speedway she substituted for injured driver Robbie Buhl in a Dreyer & Reinbold Racing entr y. On the starting grid, Fisher was 19th, and proved a strong contender all through the race, finishing an amazing fourth place, the best finish of the season.
The next month, at Indianapolis, she teamed with Buhl again, in a second Dreyer & Reinbold Racing entry, and broke a record with the fastest qualifying speeds ever by a woman, at 229.439 miles per hour. Those speeds were good enough to secure ni nth position on the pole, an incredible achievement. In her third consecutive appearance in the Indianapolis 500, Fisher finished the race four laps down, in 23rd, giving her $163,315 in winnings. These remarkable races were enough for the owners of the D reyer & Reinhold cars; Fisher was kept on-board as Robbie Buhl's replacement to run the last eight races of the season.
Sarah Fisher was born October 4, 1980, in the small town of Commercial Point, Ohio, to parents David and Reba Fisher. David, already a go-kart enthusiast, began taking Fisher to the local track early in her life, where she enjoyed a first-hand look at the competition and mechanics of racing. She began competing in quarter-midget race cars, a similiar, smaller version of the go-kart, when she was only five years old, learning the basic skills and talents over a decade before she could legally drive a car.
When Fisher was eight years old, she graduated from the midget-racers to go-karts like her father raced, and from there, early success soon followed. Fisher took several wins over her six years in go-kart racing, and won the World Karting Associatio n Grand National Championship two years in a row, in 1991 and 1992, and the Points Champion in the WKA in 1993. She also won the Circleville Raceway Park Championship in 1994. It was during this time that her real love for racing developed, and she began to look elsewhere for new challanges. Growing up racing on the loosely-packed dirt tracks in Southern Ohio spurred the young Fisher, now 14, to establish her career in other dirt tracks, wanting the challanges she couldn't get from a smooth, asphalt-paved circuit.
In 1995, Fisher entered the Winged Sprint Car World of Outlaws League and for the next three years blazed another new trail of success, winning the 1995 Dirt Track Racing Round-Up Rookie of the Year Award, and a 1997 nomination for the National Spri nt Car Hall of Fame Rookie of the Year Award. Also in 1997, she received one of the highest sprint car honors, a chance to compete in the 62-race series, the All-Stars Circuit of Champions, finishing as high as second place at Eldora Speedway along the wa y. However, the lure and challenges of dirt-track racing had now faded, and Fisher knew she had to move onwards and upwards.
In 1998, Fisher raced in three different types of racing cars for asphalt circuits, the ARCA Sprint cars, the NAMARS Silver Crowns and the USAC Midgets, collecting five feature wins and two track speed records in 23 starts. In August of the followin g year, she became the youngest person to pass the requirements for the Indy Racing League Rookie test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
On October 17, 1999 she competed in her first IRL event, the youngest driver in the over-50 years of the league to do so. On the Texas Motor Speedway, Fisher qualified in the 17th position and ran a strong race throughout, before mechanical difficul ties with a timing chain forced her out on lap 66, finishing 25th overall. Still, the experience and her skills were enough for Fisher to land a driving position with team owner Derrick Walker, driving for the 2000 IRL season. It also led to her greatest moment; a shot at the most prestigious event in auto racing, the Indianapolis 500, where she qualified 19th in the field as the youngest woman, to compete in the event. An accident early in the race sidelined her and she finished 31st.
A little over a year after getting her IRL license, Fisher made history again, becoming the first woman to place in an IRL sporting event, on August 27, 2000, at the Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway. After starting fourth from the pole, she finished in third place and led nine laps, the first of her career, and becoming the youngest driver to lead. At the Las Vegas Speedway, Fisher was running a strong third half-way through the race before an accident finished her in 17th position. Despite a few disap pointments, Fisher started eight of the nine races she qualified for, and placed third in the Bombardier Rookie of the Year standings at the end of the season.
The year 2001 was a new beginning for everyone, and Fisher was hungry for more success after a little less than a year on the IndyCar circuit. On April 8th, she was off and running, taking a second-place finish home from the first race of the season , in Miami-Homestead.
The following month, she qualified again for the Indianapolis 500, starting 15th from the pole, but was taken out in the seventh lap after an accident. She collected one other top-ten finish that year, at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Colorado , but her performance in all 13 races, with a combined 1,675 laps run, netted her more than $700,000 that year, making her a millionaire in only two short seasons.
At the start of the 2002 Indy season, troubles with her sponsors, and the inability to find others left Fisher without car. But on April 21st, at Nazareth Speedway she substituted for injured driver Robbie Buhl in a Dreyer & Reinbold Racing entr y. On the starting grid, Fisher was 19th, and proved a strong contender all through the race, finishing an amazing fourth place, the best finish of the season.
The next month, at Indianapolis, she teamed with Buhl again, in a second Dreyer & Reinbold Racing entry, and broke a record with the fastest qualifying speeds ever by a woman, at 229.439 miles per hour. Those speeds were good enough to secure ni nth position on the pole, an incredible achievement. In her third consecutive appearance in the Indianapolis 500, Fisher finished the race four laps down, in 23rd, giving her $163,315 in winnings. These remarkable races were enough for the owners of the D reyer & Reinhold cars; Fisher was kept on-board as Robbie Buhl's replacement to run the last eight races of the season.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Mike Modano
By leading his team, the Dallas Stars, to a Stanley Cup in 1999, Mike Modano's place as one of the National Hockey League's (NHL) best players was confirmed. Modano's leadership and on-ice abilities had previously been questioned, though he had been the first player drafted in the 1988 NHL entry draft.
Modano was born in Livonia, Michigan, on June 7, 1970, the only child of Mike and Karen Modano. Modano's father worked as a building contractor, while his mother was a housewife. Modano began playing hockey when he was nine, after his parents tried to give an outlet to his exuberant energy. His parents continued to support his interest in hockey by constructing a makeshift rink in their backyard.
When he was 16 years old, Modano moved to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada, to play junior hockey. One of his coaches was Ken Hitchcock, who would later coach him in Dallas. Modano also attended high school in Prince Albert, graduating from Carlton High. In 1988, Modano was the first pick in the NHL entry draft. Only the second American-born player so chosen, Modano was selected by the Minnesota North Stars. After the draft, Modano spent a year in the Western Hockey League (WHL) where he was named to the WHL (East) All-Star first team.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Al Gore
Albert Gore, Jr. was born and raised in Washington, D.C., where his father was a well-known and widely respected representative and later senator from Tennessee. Gore attended St. Alban's Episcopal School for Boys, where he excelled both academically and athletically. He later went to Harvard, earning a bachelor's degree in government. After graduation he enlisted in the army, serving as a reporter in Vietnam in a war he was opposed to. After completing his tour of duty, in 1974 Gore entered the law school at Vanderbilt University. Following in his father's footsteps, Gore ran for Congress, was elected, and served five terms before running for and winning a Senate seat in 1984. He served in the Senate until 1992, when then-governor and Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton selected him as his vice presidential running-mate. After winning the 1992 election Vice President Gore became the Clinton administration's chief environmental advisor. He was also largely responsible for President Clinton's selection of Carol Browner as head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Bruce Babbit as Secretary of the Interior.
Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush, his opponent for the presidency, faced off in one of the closest presidential contest in American history. Each man was poised to take the White House; it all hinged on Florida's 25 electoral votes. Because of outcries about the confusing ballots, Palm Beach officials were expected to do a hand count; however, conflicting rulings over whether to do the hand count forced the issue into court. After Florida officials certified Bush's 537-vote lead over Gore, the vice president contested those results in court. By winning Florida's electoral votes, Bush would have one more than the 270 needed to win the presidency in the Electoral College. Gore held a total of 255 electoral votes. On December 13, 2000, Gore conceded the presidential election to Bush after the United States Supreme Court ruled that recounting Florida votes would be unconstitutional.
When he ran for president in 2000, the environment was not a strong feature in his campaign, though this was an area where he had sharp differences with his opponent, George W. Bush. In the last months of the campaign, Gore found himself defending his record on the environment against Green Party candidate Ralph Nader. Though Gore had the backing of the Sierra Club and other major environmental groups, Nader accused Gore of "eight years of principles betrayed and promises broken." In the end Gore lost the election to Bush, who quickly reversed Clinton administration environmental policies such as new standards on drinking water safety, and refused to endorse the Kyoto climate change treaty.
Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth, won Academy Awards for best documentary and best song. Gore shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for their efforts to raise awareness about global warming.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Oscar de la Hoya
Oscar de la Hoya
Oscar De La Hoya became the "Golden Boy" of boxing with his surprising win of a gold medal in the 1992 Olympic Games. Since then he has captured five boxing titles in five different weight classes, ranking him among boxing's elite. He has often been referred to as the best contemporary American boxer.
Oscar De La Hoya was born on February 4, 1973 in East Los Angeles, California. His parents had immigrated to the United States from Mexico. De La Hoya's family was poor when he was growing up. His father, Joel Sr., worked as a warehouse clerk for a heating and cooling company and his mother, Cecilia, was a seamstress. De La Hoya had two siblings--an older brother named Joel Jr. and a younger sister, Ceci.
Boxing was a tradition in the De La Hoya family. De La Hoya's paternal grandfather, Vincente, was an amateur featherweight in Durango, Mexico, and his father had a brief professional boxing career in the United States with a 9-3-1 lightweight record. As De La Hoya told Interview magazine, "Boxing has been in my blood since I can remember. It comes naturally to me, and I've enjoyed it ever since I started, at the age of six." As a child De La Hoya would join his father and older brother at the Pico Rivera Sports Arena. The family had assumed that Joel, as the oldest son, would continue the family's boxing tradition. De La Hoya himself admitted that he was an unlikely candidate to become a boxer. "I was a little kid who used to fight a lot in the street--and get beat up," he told Sports Illustrated.
Date Opponent W-L-D Location Result
2007-05-05 Floyd Mayweather Jr. WBC Super Welterweight Title
38-0-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. L SD 12
2006-05-06 Ricardo Mayorga WBC Super Welterweight Title
28-5-1 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 6
2004-09-18 Bernard Hopkins WBA Middleweight Title
WBC Middleweight Title
IBF Middleweight Title
WBO Middleweight Title
44-2-1 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. L KO 9
2004-06-05 Felix Sturm WBO Middleweight Title
20-0-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W UD 12
2003-09-13 Shane Mosley WBC Super Welterweight Title
WBA Light Middleweight Title
38-2-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. L UD 12
2003-05-03 Luis Ramon Campas WBC Super Welterweight Title
WBA Light Middleweight Title
80-5-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 7
2002-09-14 Fernando Vargas WBC Super Welterweight Title
WBA Light Middleweight Title
22-1-0 Las Vegas, NV, U.S. W TKO 11
2001-06-23 Javier Castillejo WBC Super Welterweight Title
51-4-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W UD 12
2001-03-24 Arturo Gatti 33-4-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 5
2000-06-17 Shane Mosley WBC Welterweight Title
34-0-0 Los Angeles, California, U.S. L SD 12
2000-02-26 Derrell Coley 34-1-2 New York, New York, U.S. W KO 7
1999-09-18 Felix Trinidad WBC Welterweight Title
IBF Welterweight Title
35-0-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. L MD 12
1999-05-22 Oba Carr WBC Welterweight Title
48-2-1 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 11
1999-02-13 Ike Quartey WBC Welterweight Title
34-0-1 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W SD 12
1998-09-18 Julio César Chávez WBC Welterweight Title
101-2-2 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W RTD 8
1998-06-13 Patrick Charpentier WBC Welterweight Title
27-4-1 El Paso, Texas, U.S. W TKO 3
1997-12-06 Wilfredo Rivera WBC Welterweight Title
27-2-1 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. W TKO 8
1997-09-13 Hector Camacho WBC Welterweight Title
64-3-1 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W UD 12
1997-06-14 David Kamau WBC Welterweight Title
28-1-0 San Antonio, Texas, U.S. W KO 2
1997-04-12 Pernell Whitaker WBC Welterweight Title
40-1-1 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W UD 12
1997-01-18 Miguel Angel Gonzalez WBC Light Welterweight Title
41-0-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W UD 12
1996-06-07 Julio César Chávez WBC Light Welterweight Title
97-1-1 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 4
1996-02-09 Darryl Tyson 47-8-1 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W KO 2
1995-12-15 Jesse James Leija WBO Lightweight Title
30-1-2 New York, New York, U.S. W TKO 2
1995-09-09 Genaro Hernandez WBO Lightweight Title
32-0-1 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 6
1995-05-06 Rafael Ruelas IBF Lightweight Title
WBO Lightweight Title
43-1-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 2
1995-02-18 Juan Molina WBO Lightweight Title
36-3-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W UD 12
1994-12-10 John Avila WBO Lightweight Title
20-1-1 Los Angeles, California, U.S. W TKO 9
1994-11-18 Carl Griffith WBO Lightweight Title
28-3-2 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 3
1994-07-29 Jorge Paez Vacant WBO Lightweight Title
53-6-4 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W KO 2
1994-05-27 Giorgio Campanella WBO Super Featherweight Title
21-0-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 3
1994-03-05 Jimmi Bredahl WBO Super Featherweight Title
16-0-0 Los Angeles, California, U.S. W TKO 10
1993-10-30 Narciso Valenzuela 35-13-2 Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. W KO 1
1993-08-27 Angelo Nuñez 10-4-3 Beverly Hills, California, U.S. W TKO 4
1993-08-14 Renaldo Carter 27-4-1 Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, U.S. W TKO 6
1993-06-07 Troy Dorsey 15-7-4 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 1
1993-05-08 Frank Avelar 15-3-0 Primm, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 4
1993-04-06 Mike Grable 13-1-2 Rochester, New York, U.S. W UD 8
1993-03-13 Jeff Mayweather 23-2-2 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 4
1993-02-06 Curtis Strong 14-6-2 San Diego, California, U.S. W TKO 4
1993-01-03 Paris Alexander 15-6-2 Hollywood, California, U.S. W TKO 2
1992-12-12 Clifford Hicks 13-6-0 Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. W KO 1
1992-11-23 Lamar Williams 5-1-1 Inglewood, California, U.S. W KO 1
Oscar De La Hoya became the "Golden Boy" of boxing with his surprising win of a gold medal in the 1992 Olympic Games. Since then he has captured five boxing titles in five different weight classes, ranking him among boxing's elite. He has often been referred to as the best contemporary American boxer.
Oscar De La Hoya was born on February 4, 1973 in East Los Angeles, California. His parents had immigrated to the United States from Mexico. De La Hoya's family was poor when he was growing up. His father, Joel Sr., worked as a warehouse clerk for a heating and cooling company and his mother, Cecilia, was a seamstress. De La Hoya had two siblings--an older brother named Joel Jr. and a younger sister, Ceci.
Boxing was a tradition in the De La Hoya family. De La Hoya's paternal grandfather, Vincente, was an amateur featherweight in Durango, Mexico, and his father had a brief professional boxing career in the United States with a 9-3-1 lightweight record. As De La Hoya told Interview magazine, "Boxing has been in my blood since I can remember. It comes naturally to me, and I've enjoyed it ever since I started, at the age of six." As a child De La Hoya would join his father and older brother at the Pico Rivera Sports Arena. The family had assumed that Joel, as the oldest son, would continue the family's boxing tradition. De La Hoya himself admitted that he was an unlikely candidate to become a boxer. "I was a little kid who used to fight a lot in the street--and get beat up," he told Sports Illustrated.
Date Opponent W-L-D Location Result
2007-05-05 Floyd Mayweather Jr. WBC Super Welterweight Title
38-0-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. L SD 12
2006-05-06 Ricardo Mayorga WBC Super Welterweight Title
28-5-1 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 6
2004-09-18 Bernard Hopkins WBA Middleweight Title
WBC Middleweight Title
IBF Middleweight Title
WBO Middleweight Title
44-2-1 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. L KO 9
2004-06-05 Felix Sturm WBO Middleweight Title
20-0-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W UD 12
2003-09-13 Shane Mosley WBC Super Welterweight Title
WBA Light Middleweight Title
38-2-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. L UD 12
2003-05-03 Luis Ramon Campas WBC Super Welterweight Title
WBA Light Middleweight Title
80-5-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 7
2002-09-14 Fernando Vargas WBC Super Welterweight Title
WBA Light Middleweight Title
22-1-0 Las Vegas, NV, U.S. W TKO 11
2001-06-23 Javier Castillejo WBC Super Welterweight Title
51-4-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W UD 12
2001-03-24 Arturo Gatti 33-4-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 5
2000-06-17 Shane Mosley WBC Welterweight Title
34-0-0 Los Angeles, California, U.S. L SD 12
2000-02-26 Derrell Coley 34-1-2 New York, New York, U.S. W KO 7
1999-09-18 Felix Trinidad WBC Welterweight Title
IBF Welterweight Title
35-0-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. L MD 12
1999-05-22 Oba Carr WBC Welterweight Title
48-2-1 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 11
1999-02-13 Ike Quartey WBC Welterweight Title
34-0-1 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W SD 12
1998-09-18 Julio César Chávez WBC Welterweight Title
101-2-2 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W RTD 8
1998-06-13 Patrick Charpentier WBC Welterweight Title
27-4-1 El Paso, Texas, U.S. W TKO 3
1997-12-06 Wilfredo Rivera WBC Welterweight Title
27-2-1 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. W TKO 8
1997-09-13 Hector Camacho WBC Welterweight Title
64-3-1 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W UD 12
1997-06-14 David Kamau WBC Welterweight Title
28-1-0 San Antonio, Texas, U.S. W KO 2
1997-04-12 Pernell Whitaker WBC Welterweight Title
40-1-1 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W UD 12
1997-01-18 Miguel Angel Gonzalez WBC Light Welterweight Title
41-0-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W UD 12
1996-06-07 Julio César Chávez WBC Light Welterweight Title
97-1-1 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 4
1996-02-09 Darryl Tyson 47-8-1 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W KO 2
1995-12-15 Jesse James Leija WBO Lightweight Title
30-1-2 New York, New York, U.S. W TKO 2
1995-09-09 Genaro Hernandez WBO Lightweight Title
32-0-1 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 6
1995-05-06 Rafael Ruelas IBF Lightweight Title
WBO Lightweight Title
43-1-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 2
1995-02-18 Juan Molina WBO Lightweight Title
36-3-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W UD 12
1994-12-10 John Avila WBO Lightweight Title
20-1-1 Los Angeles, California, U.S. W TKO 9
1994-11-18 Carl Griffith WBO Lightweight Title
28-3-2 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 3
1994-07-29 Jorge Paez Vacant WBO Lightweight Title
53-6-4 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W KO 2
1994-05-27 Giorgio Campanella WBO Super Featherweight Title
21-0-0 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 3
1994-03-05 Jimmi Bredahl WBO Super Featherweight Title
16-0-0 Los Angeles, California, U.S. W TKO 10
1993-10-30 Narciso Valenzuela 35-13-2 Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. W KO 1
1993-08-27 Angelo Nuñez 10-4-3 Beverly Hills, California, U.S. W TKO 4
1993-08-14 Renaldo Carter 27-4-1 Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, U.S. W TKO 6
1993-06-07 Troy Dorsey 15-7-4 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 1
1993-05-08 Frank Avelar 15-3-0 Primm, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 4
1993-04-06 Mike Grable 13-1-2 Rochester, New York, U.S. W UD 8
1993-03-13 Jeff Mayweather 23-2-2 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. W TKO 4
1993-02-06 Curtis Strong 14-6-2 San Diego, California, U.S. W TKO 4
1993-01-03 Paris Alexander 15-6-2 Hollywood, California, U.S. W TKO 2
1992-12-12 Clifford Hicks 13-6-0 Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. W KO 1
1992-11-23 Lamar Williams 5-1-1 Inglewood, California, U.S. W KO 1
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