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Oscar De La Hoya has faced many heavy hitters during his professional career, but believes there is one man who delivered the most powerful punch.
Six-weight world champion De La Hoya was known for his own power, with 30 of his 39 victories coming by knockout. He claimed stoppage victories over Julio Cesar Chavez, Arturo Gatti, Fernando Vargas and Ricardo Mayorga.
Of the six defeats suffered by “The Golden Boy”, two of them occurred at distance, stopped in the ninth round by Bernard Hopkins in 2004, before an eighth-round retirement loss to Manny Pacquiao in his last fight in 2008.
Despite those stoppage losses, it’s another man De La Hoya considers to be the hardest puncher he’s ever faced, telling Ring Magazine that he gives that honor to former world champion Ike Quartey.
“His punches were like bricks; he hit me and it stung. Every punch he hit me with, it shook me.”
De La Hoya was considered the pound-for-pound number one when he defended his WBC welterweight title against the then-undefeated Quartey at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas in February 1999, recovering from an early knockdown to earn a split decision victory.
It’s easy to see why “The Golden Boy” considers Quartey the hardest hitter he’s ever faced, with the Ghanaian’s final record being 32 knockouts in 37 wins, holding the WBA welterweight title for several years in the process.
