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'Returning to my roots' De La Hoya to fight Karmazin in December
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Oscar De La Hoya will return to the arena where he won his first title when he defends his WBC super welterweight championship against Roman Karmazin on Dec. 8. "I am excited about returning to my roots to fight the WBC No. 1 challenger Karmazin," De La Hoya said in a statement issued Monday by Univision Sports, which will promote the 12-round bout at the Olympic Auditorium. De La Hoya, a 1992 Olympic gold medalist and California native, won his first title -- the WBO 135-pound (60.75-kilogram) championship -- by stopping Jimmi Bredahl of Denmark in 10 rounds in March 1994. De La Hoya (34-2, 27 knockouts) is one of three fighters in boxing history to win world championships in five divisions -- junior lightweight, lightweight, junior welterweight, welterweight and super welterweight. The others to accomplish the feat are Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns. Karmazin (28-0-1), of Kuztniesk, Russia, has won his last 24 fights. De La Hoya won the WBC super middleweight championship with a unanimous 12-round decision over Javier Castillejo of Spain in Las Vegas on June 23. In his first bout of the year, De La Hoya stopped Arturo Gatti in the fifth round in Las Vegas on March 24. That was his first fight since he lost the WBC welterweight title to Shane Mosley at Staples Center on June 17, 2000.
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