In a recent interview with Yahoo Sports, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya revealed that he received threats from a Mexican drug trafficker prior to his fight with Julio Cesar Chavez.
In 1996, De La Hoya defeated Chávez in just four rounds and captured the World Boxing Council (WBC) junior welterweight title.
The victory was historic for De La Hoya, but it earned him the contempt of Mexico’s boxing fans.
Chavez is widely regarded as the greatest fighter to come out of Mexico. And during his career he was treated like a mega-star in the country.
In the first encounter, Chavez suffered a cut in the first round. It grew worse, round by round, and eventually led to the fight being stopped. There were rumors that Chavez entered the fight with a pre-existing cut that he sustained during training camp.
They had a rematch two years later, which was tougher than the first contest, but De La Hoya still came away with another stoppage win, this time in eight rounds.
But before the initial clash, De La Hoya was under a lot of pressure with threats of violence if he beat Chavez.
“The cartels went to my camp, for Julio César Chávez, due to his importance.. they went to Big Bear (California) and threatened me, that if I won, who knows what would have happened.. imagine the pressure, it was just crazy,” De La Hoya said.
To make matters worse, De La Hoya also disclosed that he received a letter from the former president of Mexico, Ernesto Zedillo, who asked De La Hoya not to carry the Mexican flag on his trunks for the Chávez fight.
“The government of Mexico threatened me that if I wore a patch with the Mexican flag on my trunks, which I was used to wearing… the flag of Mexico and the United States, they would never let me in (the country) again. I even have the letter, signed by President (Ernesto) Zedillo,” De La Hoya concluded.