By: Francisco Martinez
Diego De La Hoya cousin of hall of fame inductee Oscar De La Hoya plans on making his own legacy in boxing. Diego isn’t intimidated by the weight the name De La Hoya carries and it’s obvious with the way he carries himself in the ring. The Mexicali born native definitely took one step closer towards his ultimate goal with a 4th round knockout at the Belasco theater in Los Angeles, CA in front of who might be his most important critic, Oscar De La Hoya himself. Under the bright lights and scrutiny of his “big” cousin Diego put on an explosive performance in a packed house. Boxinginsider.com brings you an interview with the young De La Hoya who shares his thoughts on his fight and pressures of carrying the De La Hoya name.
Boxinginsider.com: “We’re here with Diego De La Hoya after his victory. How are you feeling champ?”
Diego De La Hoya: “I feel happy, the fans enjoyed the fight. We where in camp almost 5 weeks working real hard because we’ve had 2 fights without a knockout. Like a true Mexican I seek the knockout and satisfying the fans and we managed to do so”
Boxinginsider.com: “Tell me what pressure is it to carry the name De La Hoya? It seems to not bother you by the way you carry yourself in the ring. The way you perform in your fights”
Diego De La Hoya: “It’s a lot of pressure because a name like mine is a name they will always want to beat. I’ve been in boxing since I was a kid so the scrutiny is nothing new it’s something I’m used to. Oscar isn’t the one who takes the punches it’s me but like you said it’s a big name. It’s good because it makes you strong and bad because everyone is aiming for your name. Everyone wants to beat you”
Boxinginsider.com: “What expectations do you have for yourself?”
Diego De La Hoya: “Well like all boxers I want to be a world champion. I want to reach the the highest point and represent Mexicali (Mexico)”
Boxinginsider.com: “What honor is it to carry the De La Hoya name and have an undefeated start to your career so far at this point?”
Diego De La Hoya: “It’s difficult because everyone prepares themselves 100% and want to beat a De La Hoya because it will open the doors for them. I’m really focused on my preparation and when they tell me Diego your fighting I start training until I can’t train anymore”
Boxinginsider.com: “You’re a young fighter and the fans know you because of your last name and at the same time you have Antonio Diaz who the boxing public doesn’t really know. Now tell me about this team you guys have?”
(Joel Diaz is the primary trainer for Diego De La Hoya but do to conflicting schedules Antonio Diaz oversees training camp and fight night duties on behalf of his brother when needed)
Diego De La Hoya: “Well he’s part of team (Timothy) Bradley and he shows me that he’s an intelligent trainer. There’s trainers that focus on power too much so what pushed me towards him was his ability to teach. We do great training and having Bradley who’s an elite boxer helps me greatly with knowledge and experience”
Boxinginsider.com: “How did you see Bradley Vs. Vargas?”
(Timothy Bradley Jr. was on his way to a clear cut win until Jessie Vargas tagged him with a monstrous right hand that looked to have Bradley one punch away from being finished until Pat Russell accidentally misheard the 10 second warning for the final bell brining the bout to a premature stoppage)
Diego De La Hoya: “At the end of the day Bradley clearly won and the last 10 seconds wouldn’t have matter. Most will point out Chavez Vs. Taylor but Bradley has faced guys like (Ruslan) Provodnikov who’s a bigger puncher and Bradley was able to get past him so even with 7 seconds had Bradley been knocked down he would have gotten back up. He would have won and Vargas wouldn’t have finished him off”
(Julio Cesar Chavez Vs. Meldrick Taylor was a completely different fight compared to Bradley/Vargas. Chavez/Taylor was a “war of attrition” with Taylor ahead on the cards before Chavez was able to catch him with a punch that floored him bringing the referee to stop the fight with 2 seconds left)
Boxinginsider.com: “Any last word for your fans?”
Diego De La Hoya: “There’s another De La Hoya in boxing and I plan on giving them everything not because of my name but for me”
Photo: Gene Blevins – Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Promotions
