Oscar De La Hoya took on the first true physical threat of his welterweight title reign when he took on unbeaten former WBA beltholder Ike Quartey on February 13, 1999, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, and their instant classic nip-and-tack 12-round battle lived up to its high expectations. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of De La Hoya vs. Quartey, we repost the following article penned by hall of famer Ron Borges, which was first published in the September 2022 issue of The Ring.