Oscar De La Hoya Defaults on DTLA Property

Boxer Oscar De La Hoya defaulted on a $27 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan connected to an office building in downtown Los Angeles that his company owns and occupies. De La Hoya owes about $23 million and faces foreclosure on the property, according to the notice of default and election to sell dated late last year.

The Real Deal previously reported that the debt landed in special serving after missing a July maturity date. The latest servicer commentary, via Morningstar Credit, notes that the borrower is seeking a loan modification and extension of the maturity date — and the lender will continue discussions but has called a lawyer.

The 12-story, roughly 150,000-square-foot property at 626 Wilshire Boulevard, located in the Financial District, was only 60 percent occupied, according to servicer commentary, as of last summer. Downtown offices, which have become the poster-child for post-pandemic distress, had a 34.4 percent vacancy rate, as of the fourth quarter last year, per a CBRE report.

De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions — so called for the former boxer, who was nicknamed “The Golden Boy of Boxing” after he won an Olympic gold medal — occupies 7 percent of the space, or around 10,500 square feet, and is the second largest tenant in the building. De La Hoya founded the company and is its chief executive and chair.

De La Hoya and the late Barker Pacific Group founder, Michael Barker, are the named loan sponsors, per Morningstar. The debt originated more than a decade ago, and the value of the property has plummeted since. In 2015, the mid-rise office building on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Hope Street was worth $40 million — its 2025 appraisal put its value at $19 million.

The Los Angeles Times, in 2004, reported De La Hoya’s Golden Boy purchased a controlling interest in the property for $16 million from Barker Pacific Group, which kept a minority share; Christopher Rising of Rising Realty Partners also purchased a minority share. The property was more than 80 percent leased then.

Barker Pacific Group still appears to hold ownership, though Rising’s involvement is unclear. The borrower and owner entity, via recent business records, is connected to De La Hoya and Barker Pacific Group (one document signed by Barker himself and another by managing principal Mark Handin). De La Hoya signed the 2015 loan documents.

Golden Boy Promotions representatives, Handin and Rising did not immediately respond to requests for comment.