Oscar De La Hoya has fought some of the greatest pugilists to ever step foot between the ropes.
However, the opponent who hit him the hardest wasn’t even a boxer.
De La Hoya shared the ring with Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather[/caption]
During an illustrious professional career stretching from 1992 to 2008, De La Hoya picked up world titles in six different weight classes.
Along the way, he recorded impressive wins over first-ballot Hall of Famers Julio Cesar Chavez and Pernell Whittaker, while he also squared off with Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao towards the back end of his career, losing to both.
And yet none of the aforementioned legends were classed as the biggest puncher the 1992 Olympic gold medallist had shared a ring with.
Instead, that distinction was reserved for NBA icon Shaquille O’Neal.
De La Hoya duked it out with O’Neal in an exhibition bout on the former LA Lakers star’s reality television programme ‘Shaq Vs’ in 2009.
The concept for the show was simple: O’Neal challenged other athletes at their own sport.
And if he won, which he rarely did, he would have the ultimate bragging rights over his foe.
O’Neal stands 7ft 1in tall and tipped the scales at 325lbs, while De La Hoya is 5ft 10in and weighed 159lbs for the fight.
Despite the staggering size disparity, De La Hoya won the bout on points.
But ‘Golden Boy’ remembers the power his towering adversary possessed all too well.
“My memories [of the fight] were that I was in awe of a giant of a man being in front of me,” De La Hoya recalled to talkSPORT.com.
“He was over 300lbs and 7ft 2in and he can fight.
“Shaquille O’Neal can fight, he trained for many years, and he loves boxing.”
Asked what his power was like, De La Hoya replied: “Wow! He would run in front of me and I would throw punches and it would mean nothing.
“I’m sure I felt like a fly to him, his punches were very powerful.
“It’s probably the hardest I have been hit and he wasn’t even trying to hit me hard. He is a very powerful man.”
Six-weight world champion De La Hoya beat O’Neal via unanimous decision[/caption]
One year after taking on De La Hoya, Shaq faced three-weight world champion Shane Mosley in another exhibition bout.
Once again, he lost the fight over the distance and would move on from boxing thereafter.
He remains an avid fan of the sport, however, and was recently seen ringside at Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson last weekend.
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