By Klaas Mabetlela: Oscar De La Hoya was never really one of my favourite boxers but there is no denying that he helped to put boxing on the map during his career. His body of work is solid, he brought back non-fans to boxing and people appreciated his guts in taking the best and biggest fights out there even when he did not have to.

Oscar is often criticized for not having beaten a great fighter who was in prime. That may be true but his overall body of work is still impressive. He Won 10 titles in 6 different divisions and fought no less than 17 world champions. De La Hoya probably made more money from boxing than any other fighter in history. He has generated more pay-per-view revenue than any other boxer and did not divide the boxing fans the way some boxers are doing today. There was always warmth in his smile and that together with his penchant of fighting the best resulted in huge pay-per- view revenues. He helped a boxer like Mayweather earn $35m for their 2007 battle while pocketing close to $60m himself, probably the biggest payday in boxing history.

De La Hoya fought everyone, lost to some and won against many. The difference is that he fought them all and preferred not to take safety first route in most cases. His list includes all-time greats like Julio Cesar Chavez, Bernard Hopkins, Pernell Whitaker, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. He also fought great fighters like Shane Mosley as well as solid champs like Miguel Angel Gonzalez, Juan Molina, Hector Camacho, Ike Quartey and many others.

He lost some fights and won and lost few controversial decisions as well. What set him apart was his willingness to take the biggest fights out there and always gave his best. He beat an aging Julio Cesar Chavez twice, got stopped by bigger Hopkins after being ahead on cards and won a controversial decision against an aging Pernell Whitaker after being dropped. Floyd Mayweather decisioned him and Manny Pacquiao gave him a beating of his life but he was way past his best. Shane Mosley caused a major upset when as a lightweight champ beat a bigger welterweight champ in De La Hoya. Mosley controversially won the rematch 3 years later.

Oscar is one of the few modern fighters that commanded universal following and appreciation. His race was always there for him- the human race.