The second son of Mexican immigrants, Oscar De La Hoya grew up in East Los Angeles. He was originally attracted to baseball, but he followed his older brother to the neighborhood gym and took part in boxing workouts. Discovering he had a powerful left hand, De La Hoya began winning local tournaments. At 19, he won a spot on the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games. He won a gold medal in his weight division.

He made his professional boxing debut in November 1992, leveling Lamar Williams in the first round. Eleven matches later, in 1994, De La Hoya won his first title, the World Boxing Organization junior lightweight belt, beating Denmark's Jimmi Bredahl. De La Hoya continued his climb, winning the lightweight title from Jorge Paez later in 1994, defeating Julio Cesar Chavez to capture the WBC superlightweight title in 1996 and besting Pernell Whitaker in 1997 for the WBC welterweight championship--his fourth weight-class crown. In 1999, after 31 straight victories, De La Hoya was dealt his first defeat when he lost a split decision to unbeaten IBF champion Felix Trinidad. In early 2000, De La Hoya won his sixth title--the IBF world championship that had been vacated when Trinidad moved up a weight class--by knocking out Derrell Coley in the seventh round. Later that year, De La Hoya dropped another split decision, to undefeated Shane Mosley in Los Angeles. His image tarnished for the first time, De La Hoya reevaluated his professional and personal lives, dropping Bob Arum, his promoter, and leaving his fiancée, Playmate Shanna Moakler.

At the age of 27, De La Hoya seemed to reach a crossroads. Having grossed $125 million in the ring and millions more in endorsements, he decided to take a break from boxing. In the fall of 2000, De La Hoya, inspired by his mother's love of music, released his first album of love songs in English and Spanish for EMI Latin, Oscar De La Hoya, which included the hit single Run to Me, a cover of the Bee Gees hit. He continued to donate millions of dollars to the children of East Los Angeles via the Oscar De La Hoya Foundation. He also helped a local hospital open a unit dedicated to awareness of breast cancer. He climbed back into the ring and defeated Arturo Gatti in Las Vegas in March 2001. After the fight, De La Hoya kept his promise to move up to the 154-pound weight class. A rematch with Shane Mosley on hold, De La Hoya rejoined Bob Arum's fold and announced he would fight Fernando Vargas for the WBA junior middleweight crown on May 4, 2002 in Las Vegas. Currently the WBC 154-pound champion, De La Hoya is guaranteed $ 14 million for the match.

Robert Crane caught up with the confident De La Hoya at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles. Crane reports: "Damn, he is so rich, so good-looking, such a great athlete, a fine singer, he's got babes, a posse, a $230,000 Ferrari, the love of an entire city. I wanted to hurt him bad, but I thought better of it. Instead, I punched the record button on my tape recorder."

Q 1

PLAYBOY: What is a Hoya?

Oscar De La Hoya: A Hoya is a jewel. It's basically a diamond, it's an emerald. It's pretty special.

Q 2

PLAYBOY: Are you first among them?

Oscar De La Hoya: Well, I think everybody in my family has had their little success stories. Mine is the one that's more visible, I guess. It runs in the family.

Q 3

PLAYBOY: Since you're a Hoya, do you get good seats at Georgetown games?

Oscar De La Hoya: Do you know what? They sit me way in the back. I get a nosebleed. I've never had so many nosebleeds in my life. When I first went, I said, "Why are they giving me binoculars? What's the deal? Do they come with the ticket?"

Q 4

PLAYBOY: What kind of roadwork enhances your singing?

Oscar De La Hoya: Running hilly roads. As I'm going up the hill, I'm trying to sing a high note, and then as I'm going down I'm trying to sing a low note. Once I get into the studio, I remember the hill, and I can belt out the highest note I have. It kind of helps.

Q 5

PLAYBOY: What are some examples of the expressions you see when you hit someone hard in the face?

Oscar De La Hoya: I've seen an opponent freeze. I hit them, and they don't know what to do. I've seen an opponent cry. I've seen them get angry. That's pretty scary. It's also scary when I hit them with my hardest shot and they laugh. I think, Oh no, it's going to be a long night.