Editing Oscar De La Hoya (section)

===Light middleweight===
He then moved up to [[light middleweight]], challenging the lineal and WBC champion [[Javier Castillejo]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/jrmiddle.htm |title=The Lineal Junior Middleweight Champions |publisher=The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia}}</ref> De La Hoya won the fight, winning almost every round and knocking Castillejo (51–4) down with ten seconds to go to win the title by a unanimous decision.

====De La Hoya vs. Karmazin cancellation====
On October 8, 2001 it was announced that De La Hoya would return to the Grand Olympic Auditorium where he won his first title to defend his WBC light middleweight championship against the WBC No.1 challenger [[Roman Karmazin]], but on November 8, 2001 it was announced the fight was cancelled. Suffering from a torn cartilage in his left wrist, De La Hoya has been forced to cancel his December 8 title defense. He was hoping to fight again on May 4, a date he had already reserved before the injury. It was an old injury, one that De La Hoya incurred in the first round of his 1999 fight against Oba Carr. "It was from a left hook I threw in that fight," De La Hoya said, "and the pain has been there ever since. "On a scale of one to 10, I would say it was a five or six."
Ten days ago, on his first day of sparring for the Karmazin match, De La Hoya threw a punch that severely aggravated the wrist. De La Hoya planned on facing a major opponent in May—Trinidad, Mosley, Hopkins, or Vargas—and says he still hopes to do so if he can get WBC approval to put off his mandatory match. De La Hoya said the hand bothered him in his losses against Trinidad and Mosley. "It was always bothering me," he said, "but we are fighters and we have to tough it out." The fight seemed to have been cursed from the start. When Karmazin's two trainers, his manager and his doctor were all denied visas, the Russian fighter had threatened to go home to train. Karmazin's promoter, Frank Moloney, went further, questioning whether the fight would happen.

====Rivalry with Fernando Vargas====
{{Main|Oscar De La Hoya vs. Fernando Vargas}}
De La Hoya did not fight for the 15 months and in this time the rivalry between him and WBA champion "Ferocious" [[Fernando Vargas]] (22–1) grew. They knew each other as amateurs and it is said the rivalry began when Vargas was angered by De La Hoya laughing at him after he fell into a snowbank. De La Hoya said he would never fight him. Eventually, however, De La Hoya accepted a match. The fight was scheduled for May 2002, but De La Hoya had to withdraw because of a hand injury.

The unification bout, labeled "Bad Blood," finally took place on September 14, 2002, at the Mandalay Bay on the Las Vegas Strip. The fight was even for the first six rounds, with Vargas landing punches on the ropes in the odd rounds, while De La Hoya outboxed him in the even rounds. De La Hoya took over the fight in the seventh round and hurt Vargas with a left hook in the tenth. In the next round, De La Hoya knocked Vargas down with a left hook and stopped him moments later. The win is widely considered to be the biggest of De La Hoya's career. Vargas tested positive for [[stanozolol]] after the fight.

====De La Hoya vs. Mosley II====
{{Main|Oscar De La Hoya vs. Yori Boy Campas|Oscar De La Hoya vs. Shane Mosley II}}
De La Hoya defended his unified title against [[Yori Boy Campas]] (80–5) with a routine seventh round stoppage then faced Shane Mosley (38–2) in a rematch. The fight, billed as "Retribution" and staged at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, was more of a boxing match than their first encounter, and while some rounds were close, De La Hoya's game plan utilizing his jab seemed to be paying off, leaving Mosley visually frustrated. It was De La Hoya who seemed to be landing the cleaner, more effective punches, and obliterated Mosley in Compubox, landing over 100 more. But judges apparently didn't see it that way awarding Mosley with the controversial unanimous decision. Mosley was later connected to the [[Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative|BALCO Labs]] [[BALCO scandal|steroid scandal]]. [[Jeff Novitzky]], a lead investigator on the BALCO case, reported that documents seized from the lab show that Mosley received "[[Tetrahydrogestrinone|the clear]]" and "[[the cream]]," both designer [[Anabolic steroid|steroids]]. Mosley reportedly began his doping regimen prior to his rematch with Oscar De La Hoya.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/09/28/mosley/index.html?eref=mostpop |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120524145142/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/09/28/mosley/index.html?eref=mostpop |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 24, 2012 |work=CNN |title=BALCO-related claim casts doubt on De La Hoya bout |date=September 28, 2007 |access-date=May 2, 2010}}</ref> Mosley would later admit to using performance-enhancing drugs from [[Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative|BALCO]] for this bout, saying he thought they were legal supplements.<ref>[https://www.espn.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3041449 Mosley admits he unknowingly took BALCO steroids – boxing – ESPN]. Sports.espn.go.com (September 29, 2007). Retrieved on May 19, 2012.</ref>