De La Hoya May Be Staples Headliner
Promoter Bob Arum and officials of the new Staples Center have reached an agreement in principle for World Boxing Council welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya to headline the first fight card in the new building.
The arena, being constructed in downtown Los Angeles, is expected to be completed this fall.
De La Hoya, who grew up in East Los Angeles, must do his part by continuing to win. He is scheduled to fight Ike Quartey on Feb. 13 in Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center.
If De La Hoya wins that fight, he would face the winner of the Oba Carr-Frankie Randall match, which will be on the Feb. 13 undercard, in Las Vegas’ new Mandalay Bay hotel May 22.
De La Hoya is then expected to return to the ring in September, perhaps to face the winner of next month’s fight between Felix Trinidad and Pernell Whitaker.
If he gets through all that unscathed, De La Hoya would then join the Lakers, Clippers and Kings as hometown performers in L.A.’s newest showcase.
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
