PRESS RELEASE: Ina symbolic gesture of hope and inspiration for the millions of people around the world that “fight” the battle against cancer, and to commemorate their first co-promotion in nearly three years between their companies, Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank, Inc., Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum presented Oscar de la Hoya with the Olympic Gold Medal De La Hoya won at the 1992 Olympic Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain.  

Arum, who received the medal as a gift from De La Hoya on his 65th birthday in 1996, returned the medal to the future hall of fame pugilist during an emotional ceremony at White Memorial Medical Center in East Los Angeles.  De La Hoya, in turn, presented the medal to the White Memorial Medical Center to put on display in the Cecilia Gonzalez de la Hoya Cancer Center named after his mother who passed away from cancer in 1991 and was the inspiration behind his Olympic Gold Medal victory.  The medal will remain on display through the end of the year before De La Hoya takes it to his home.

“Ten years ago, on my 65th birthday, Oscar gave me his very precious Olympic Gold Medal,” said Bob Arum. “I was surprised and honored. Now I will return the medal to Oscar, a champion, a great promoter and a friend.”

“I want to thank Bob Arum for his kind gesture which means a lot to me as now I will be able to share my Olympic Gold Medal with my children and grand children for the rest of my life,” said De La Hoya.  “There’s only one gold medal and to have it back in the collection of trophies and championship belts I have received throughout my boxing career is a great satisfaction.”  

De La Hoya continued, “My mother was the inspiration behind my Olympic experience and although it was some time ago that she lost her fight against cancer, I am reminded of her strength everyday and hope my gold medal will be a symbol of hope and inspiration for others battling this terrible disease.”  

In addition to the medal exchange, Arum and De La Hoya were together to help promote their upcoming co-promotion “Will to Win!” – the four-bout pay-per-view extravaganza headlined by the 12-round super featherweight rumble between legendary three-division world champions Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera.  “Will to Win!” will take place Saturday, October 6th, at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, NV.  It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9 P.M. ET/6 P.M. PT.  

Remaining tickets for Pacquiao vs. Barrera are priced at $600, $400, $300, $200 and $100.  They can be purchased at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino box office and all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations.  Call the Mandalay Bay box office at (702) 632-7580 or Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000.  Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mandalaybay.com or www.ticketmaster.com.