Alexis Rocha on meeting Oscar De La Hoya: 'It felt like I was in a dream'

Alexis Rocha says he knew he would turn pro long before anyone offered him a contract. In an interview clip Juice Unlocked posted April 11, 2026, the Santa Ana boxer walked through how he ended up with Golden Boy and what it was like to see Oscar De La Hoya in person.

"I had that envisioned in my mind for all my childhood," Rocha said. "Sacrificing, working hard."

The amateur run

Rocha said he won six national titles as an amateur and represented Team USA at international tournaments in Russia, Italy, Germany and Ukraine. He said he placed high, taking a bronze medal and, one time, a silver.

He said he grew up wanting to be an Olympian, but something told him to turn professional instead.

“I had that envisioned in my mind for all my childhood. Sacrificing, working hard.”

How Golden Boy found him

According to Rocha, it was his brother Ronnie and his coach, Hector Lopez, who put his name in front of Golden Boy and De La Hoya, telling them to keep an eye on a kid who wanted to turn pro. He kept winning tournaments, and by the time he turned 18, he said, going to Golden Boy "just made sense."

Rocha said he was going to sign with a big promoter at 18 no matter which one. When his coach told him Golden Boy was interested, "we're like, let's do it."

“It was just a surreal moment, to be honest. It felt fake, to be honest. It felt fake. It felt like I was in a dream.”

Meeting De La Hoya

Rocha said he was starstruck the first time he saw De La Hoya in person, a fighter he had watched become a multiple-time world champion. "It was just a surreal moment, to be honest," he said. "It felt fake."

“By the time I turned 18, it just made sense to go to Golden Boy.”