Oscar De La Hoya's hand was in the air in triumph, and his mother was on his mind - and in his heart.
He had made her a promise and he kept it Saturday, and in doing so he kept the United States from being shut out of Olympic boxing gold medals for the first time since 1948."I thought of my mother when they raised my hand," said De La Hoya, who scored a 7-2 decision over world champion Marco Rudolph of Germany in the 132-pound final.
"I thought how happy my mother would be. It made my dream come true and my mother's dream come true."
Before Cecilia De La Hoya died of cancer at age 39 on Aug. 28, 1990, her son vowed he would win an Olympic gold medal for her.
De La Hoya's victory avenged his only loss since 1987. De La Hoya got off to a slow start and lost 17-13 to Rudolph at the world championships last November.
While De La Hoya's father, Joel, watched his son's gold achievement from the balcony, Joe Byrd, the head U.S. coach, watched from the corner as his son, Chris, lost the Americans' only other gold-medal bid.
Byrd, of Flint, Mich., was beaten 12-7 by Cuban Ariel Hernandez in the 165-pound final.
"I had my heart set on the gold," said the 21-year-old Byrd. "After Oscar won, I wanted one so bad."
"I thought it was a one or two-punch fight for either one," Joe Byrd said.
The only other American medalist was Tim Austin of Cincinnati, who had to settle for a bronze medal when he was stopped in the first round by Cuban Raul Gonzales in a 112-pound semifinal match Friday.
It was the smallest medal total for U.S. boxers since they won two golds and a silver in 1956.
"It was way away from what it should have been," Joe Byrd said of his team's performance. "We should have won three golds, a silver and a bronze. We didn't get it. What can we say?"
Four of five Cubans in Saturday's six finals won. Four more will box in Sunday's six finals.
The only loser Saturday was world champion Juan Hernandez.