Oscar De La Hoya reflects on time in El Paso ahead of boxing event at Don Haskins

EL PASO, Texas -- Boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya knows just how passionate El Pasoans are about boxing.

That was just one of the reasons he wanted to bring a boxing event back to the Sun City.

It was back in 1998 that a young De La Hoya fought before a packed house at the Sun Bowl.

More than 45,000 people gathered on a windy June evening to cheer on De La Hoya to victory over Frenchman Patrick Charpentier 

That was 23 years ago, and now De La Hoya returns to El Paso as a promoter.

Saturday, Golden Boy Promotions will host a boxing event at the Don Haskins Center in which the main event will feature former world title challenger Kamil Szeremeta (21-1, 5 KOs) facing off against up-and-comer Jaime Munguia (36-0, 29 KOs).

The bout will be for Munguia's WBO Intercontinental Middleweight Championship. 

The event was originally scheduled to take place in April, but had to be postponed after Munguia's original opponent had to back out of the fight due to injury.

Szeremeta stepping in to face Munguia was the best result that De La Hoya could have asked for.

"It was a big mess, but we finally got an opponent who is worthy enough of obviously challenging a fighter like Munguia in El Paso," De La Hoya said. "Just the card from top to bottom we made sure that we stacked it."

And when looking back at his time in El Paso, De La Hoya has nothing but love for the Sun City.

"I was just reminiscing about the good times we had there with the fans," De La Hoya said. "It's just amazing, the thousands and thousands of women who showed up at the arena was just incredible. And then the fight fans who know their boxing. To me that is why it was so important to come back to El Paso and showcase Jaime Munguia. To showcase him in a town that knows their boxing."