Oscar de la Hoya and the End of a Golden Era

This day, Dec. 7, 2008, is a very sad day for boxing.

Last night, we witnessed something that many of us never even dreamed we would. Over eight grueling rounds, The Golden Boy Oscar de la Hoya was golden no more.

We all tend to overlook how legendary a fighter really is whilst he is still competing. To the followers of boxing in the '90s, Oscar de la Hoya is our version of Muhammad Ali or Sugar Ray Leonard. We watched him bring our country gold in the 1992 Olympic games, and ever since then he's been in the spotlight.

We watched him grow from a teenager into one of the greatest icons of the sport. With each and every fight, he won us over with his great skill and determination to win, and his refusal to back down from any foe no matter the size or odds. We, the boxing public, have forgotten the days when "The Golden Boy" was indeed golden.

How could we forget his dismantling of Jimmy Bredhal, Rafael Ruelas, and Genaro Hernandez? Or when he destroyed Julio Caesar Chavez (twice), and won decisions over both Pernell Whitaker and Hector Camacho?

Writers aren't giving Oscar the credit he deserves for his amazing career.

Remember when he was in that Leonard-Hearns-like battle with undefeated Ike Quartey? He fought to the finish like a true champion, getting down from a knockdown in the sixth to rally down the stretch to get the split decision. The courage he displayed in that fight should never be forgotten.

What about "The Fight of the Millennium"? Everybody counted Oscar out, and he ended up giving Felix "Tito" Trinidad a boxing lesson. For nine rounds, he outclassed Trinidad in every aspect of the sport. The victory was not given away by him, but rather taken away.

Winning three rounds does not win a fight, but apparently the judges for that fight forgot that. He entertained us with a couple of epic battles with Sugar Shane Mosley, although he did controversially lose both. He destroyed "The Blood and Guts Warrior" Arturo Gatti in five.

In my opinion, the most Golden moment of all was his defeating "El Feroz" Fernando Vargas in 11 hard-fought rounds with a classic de la Hoya left hook. After all of the great fights and events Oscar de la Hoya has entertained us with, how can we not mourn this day?

All through boxing history we've had a "Golden Boy," but with no new ones in sight or on the horizon, it's hard for me to say this, but Oscar de la Hoya is no longer golden at this age.

He is an all-time great, and I really hope in the future his name goes down with the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard. I still think he may have one golden farewell performance left in him against a slower fighter at 154 pounds, but only time will tell.

No matter what the future holds, one thing is for certain: We've lost another Golden Boy, and god only knows when we'll get another one.