Golden Boy: The Fame, Money, and Mystery of Oscar De LA Hoya (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

This solid piece of journalism goes the full 12 rounds in detailing the personal demons that fuel Oscar de la Hoyas fists of fury. Kawakami, former boxing reporter for the Los Angeles Times, begins in the rat- and roach-infested barrio of East Los Angeles, where this grandson of a Mexican immigrant grew up in poverty. Oscar was a natural lefty who learned at the Eastside Boxing Club to fight like a righty with a surprisingly powerful left. Often at odds with his tyrannical father, he was close to his nurturing mother, who succumbed to cancer in her 30s. After his mothers death, Kawakami writes, pent-up anger turned into rage, into frenzy, into destruction.'' Oscar won the Olympic gold medal in Barcelona, then turned pro, hooking up with premier promoter Bob Arum and dismantling a series of highly rated opponents on the way to the major championships in his weight class. (The book contains a chart listing the date, location, and full decision of de la Hoyas 29 pro fights since 1992.) At the same time, he wrecked a serious romance by constant philandering; the girlfriend suggests that after his mother he was afraid to love and lose another woman. Treating his subject as a tragic figure, the author portrays de la Hoya flirting with defeat in a repeat bout with his rival Latin star, Julio Cesar Chavez, and, more recently, barely taking a decision against Ike Quartey, the imposing former WBA champ from Ghana. Kawakamis prose is sometimes embarassingly self-conscious, and he pads the text with a lot of unnecessary background. Still, his book offers valuable insights into this extraordinary middleweight champ with the marquee looks and the multimillion-dollar wins. It would have been easier for Kawakami to stand and deliver an inspirational, Up from East L.A. saga; its to his credit that he gets out of the fighters corner to assess de la Hoya from the stands. (16 pages photos, not seen) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Description

The paperback reprint of the stirring biography of a lonely, motherless adolescent whose once-in-a-generation talent has thrust him into the glaring spotlight of fortune and fame. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 315 pages
• Publisher: Andrews Mcmeel Pub (February 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0836269411
• ISBN-13: 978-0836269413
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,278,489 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TWO GREAT CHAMPIONS:DE LA HOYA AND KAWAKAMI. Worth 100 stars, December 23, 1999

By	Alex (Chicago, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews

As an Oscar de la Hoya fan, I try to get my hands on anything that is written about this boxer who I consider to be my role model.This book truly didn't disappoint me. Kawakami goes into such detail in Oscar's life from the time the "Golden Boy" was just a shy little kid to the present rich and highly desired champion. Kawakami gives his reader in depth knowledge ranging from Oscar's private life, which he seems to totally know all the women in Oscar's life, to a side one is not accostumed to seeing and knowing of the Golden Boy like his leaving of managers to managers that payed the De la Hoya's more money and a sense of ruthlessness.In the end, this is what makes the Book so great because it says about both sides of the story: the good and the bad of Oscar de la hoya. A very unbiased book, that doesn't have information that makes Oscar look like a Saint or Satan, but makes Oscar look human.A must have for the hardcore Oscar de la Hoya fans like me or for any other person interested in a book that you will not put down until you finish reading it!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific, April 9, 1999

By A Customer

As a boxing fan, it is impossible not to embrace "Golden Boy.'' The author, Tim Kawakami, obviously knows his stuff. I found myself unable to put down the book because Kawakami wrote like a novelist. He did not merely fill up pages with facts and figures and methodical recounts of De La Hoya's bouts. Nor did he fall into the trap of gushing and heaping praise on a celebrity. Instead, Kawakami went deep, into the heart and soul and mind of a young man, revealing that all that glitters is not necessarily golden. Nonetheless, Kawakami was more than fair throughout. His newspaper training was in evidence by his every attempt to analyze and deal with the facts, while refraining from cheap shots and innuendo when the difficult parts of De La Hoya's life were chronicled. I highly recommend "Golden Boy'' not just for boxing fans, but for anyone who enjoys a captivating story. I think De La Hoya should at least appreciate it, too. Granted, the book does not paint him in an entirely favorable light. But the boxer should feel good that someone made a legitimate effort to portray him in a human light. And after all, isn't that the predicament that faces all of us?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than I expected . . ., March 9, 2006

By	Christopher Devine "Matt" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Upon purchasing this book I expected a glossy, inch deep journey through the life of one of our generations most high profile non-heavyweight fighters. Much to my suprise and enjoyment, the writer, Tim Kawakami sifted through the carefully cultivated image that we have glimpsed from De La Hoya via his tv and other print appearances and uncovered what makes the fighter tick. The reader actually gets to witness the true insecurities and heartbreaks that fueled Oscar's rise to the top of the boxing food chain. While the prose is niether poetic or flashy, the author provides rare glimpses of an unfiltered Oscar during his formative years in boxing. Defintely a must read for any De La Hoya fan, but maybe not for the general reader.