When the airplane landed at LAX carrying Oscar De La Hoya and several other U.S. athletes from the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, thousands of well-wishers greeted the arrival.
“I asked the stewardess, ‘Who are all these people here for?’ ” De La Hoya said recently, recalling the scene in the aftermath of his gold-medal victory. “Sure enough they were there for me.”
By then sports fans across the nation had heard of the Golden Boy from East Los Angeles. He had followed through on his promise to win a gold medal for his dying mother, Cecilia. It began one of the greatest careers in boxing history, a career that will be saluted Sunday when De La Hoya is inducted into the InternationalBoxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y., along with Puerto Rican rival Felix “Tito” Trinidad and the pride of Wales “Super” Joe Calzaghe, who retired unbeaten. It is a celebrated class that also includes referee Richard Steele. But De La Hoya, as always, is the star.
He says humbly, “I never thought I would be worthy enough to get into the Hall of Fame.” But his enshrinement was a no-brainer. De La Hoya won 10 professional world tiles in six different weight divisions. He also established himself as the pay-per-view king, generating 14.1 million buys and $696.4 million in revenue en route to a career record of 39-6 with 30 knockouts.
“I had a great run,” De La Hoya told The Post. “I put together a lot of big events. I fought the best of my era. I came out on the winning end in some and came out on the losing end in others. I was proud of what I accomplished.”
Among those who will be in attendance in Canastota will be Top Rank boss Bob Arum. He’ll fly to the ceremony on Sunday after staging Saturday night’s HBO pay-per-view bout between Miguel Cotto and Sergio Garcia at Madison Square Garden. Arum and De La Hoya have been bitter rivals since De La Hoya left Top Rank in 2001, but have recently reconciled.
“Bob basically launched my career,” De La Hoya said. “I’m going to appreciate having him there.”
The celebration of his boxing career should offer De La Hoya a reprieve from a week shaken by the resignation of Richard Schaefer as Chief Executive Officer of Golden Boy Promotions. De La Hoya, 41, founded the company in 2002 and brought Schaefer aboard. The two began as loyal friends and partners only to split after months of speculation the two were at odds over the direction of the company.
Nonetheless, De La Hoya looks and sounds better than he has in years after completing two different stints in rehab for alcohol and substance abuse.
“Life right now is just unbelievable,” he said this week. “Everything is just falling into place. My family is great and I have my health. I was able to win gold, world titles and have a successful business. I can honestly say that I’m proud of myself.”
His inspiration to fight for his company is the same inspiration that drove him in the ring.
“To me the fans have always been No. 1,” he said. “That’s always been the engine that keeps me going. To know that I have the respect from the fans is everything to me. I earned that from fighting all the top guys out there.”
That includes Trinidad (42-3, 35 KOs). The two met in a memorable bout in 1999 in which Trinidad earned a majority decision after De La Hoya, thinking he was far enough ahead on points, stayed away from danger for the final three rounds.
“I always wish we would have had a rematch. I really do,” De La Hoya said. “But things happen for a reason. He had an amazing career, along with Calzaghe, so it’s going to be a special weekend for all of us.”