An era ended in boxing history tonight and another began in 
startling fashion at the MGM Grand as Manny Pacquiao absolutely dominated Oscar De La Hoya from start to finish. De La Hoya failed to answer the bell for the ninth round, marking a TKO victory for Pacquiao. It was only the second time in his long career that De La Hoya has been stopped.
In a fight in which many
predicted that Pacquiao, a natural 130-pounder, would be too small for De La Hoya, who has fought as high as 160, the diminutive Filipino staged a virtuoso performance. It was a dazzling display of handspeed, upper body movement, precision timing and an evolved defensive awareness that all combined to make De La Hoya seem positively average in comparison, at times even helpless. Over and over, Pacquiao snapped Oscar's head back with his trademark left hand lead, and then followed it with multi-punch combinations, working the body and the head with equal fury, while De La Hoya retreated, always at least two beats slow in his attempts to counter. By the fourth round, Oscar's left eye was bruised and badly swelling, and by the seventh, he was cowering against the ropes and taking a beating unlike any he has ever received. After taking similar punishment in the eighth, the fight was stopped in between rounds by referee Tony Weeks, seemingly at the behest of Oscar's corner.
As the betting underdog, Pacquiao's victory must be considered a sizable upset, yet what is truly astonishing is not that he won, but the manner in which he won against a much bigger man, the ease with which he disposed of the most decorated fighter of his generation. Pacquiao went into the fight as the consensus pound-for-pound king of boxing and a huge worldwide star. After this massive victory, he comes out of it soaring into the international stratopshere of mega-stardom, poised to take the mantle from Oscar as the sport's next must-see attraction whose every fight is a major and financially lucrative event.
As for De La Hoya, let the questions begin. The biggest pre-fight soundbite emerging from the Pacquiao camp came from Manny's trainer, Freddie Roach, who said that at 35, Oscar was too old and "couldn't pull the trigger." Never has a soundbite seemed so much like a prophecy. Is the era of The Golden Boy over once and for all? Is he simply at an age where he can no longer compete against elite competition? Or did getting down to 147 pounds leave him too drained to keep up with Pacquiao's furious pace? Oscar looked weak and sluggish almost from the opening bell, and though much of that appearance was no doubt due to Pacquaio's frenetic workrate, it was hard not to think of De La Hoya in his prime matching combinations with a speed merchant like Shane Mosley and feel that his best days are long behind him.
De La Hoya didn't make an appearance at the post-fight press conference due to the fact that he was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure. But the representatives of Golden Boy who did speak at the presser on his behalf - Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley and his surrogate trainer, the legendary Angelo Dundee - seemed to be speaking of his career in the past tense. Whether or not De La Hoya announces his retirement in the next few weeks or not, tonight's fight certainly had the feeling of being in the tradition of the memorable torch-passing events in the sport - Marciano/Louis, Holmes/Ali, De La Hoya/Chavez. After utterly dismantling boxing's biggest and most bankable star, Manny Pacquiao is now not only the pound-for-pound fighting king - he's the uncontested king of the sport.
Source: sportingnews
startling fashion at the MGM Grand as Manny Pacquiao absolutely dominated Oscar De La Hoya from start to finish. De La Hoya failed to answer the bell for the ninth round, marking a TKO victory for Pacquiao. It was only the second time in his long career that De La Hoya has been stopped.In a fight in which many
predicted that Pacquiao, a natural 130-pounder, would be too small for De La Hoya, who has fought as high as 160, the diminutive Filipino staged a virtuoso performance. It was a dazzling display of handspeed, upper body movement, precision timing and an evolved defensive awareness that all combined to make De La Hoya seem positively average in comparison, at times even helpless. Over and over, Pacquiao snapped Oscar's head back with his trademark left hand lead, and then followed it with multi-punch combinations, working the body and the head with equal fury, while De La Hoya retreated, always at least two beats slow in his attempts to counter. By the fourth round, Oscar's left eye was bruised and badly swelling, and by the seventh, he was cowering against the ropes and taking a beating unlike any he has ever received. After taking similar punishment in the eighth, the fight was stopped in between rounds by referee Tony Weeks, seemingly at the behest of Oscar's corner.As the betting underdog, Pacquiao's victory must be considered a sizable upset, yet what is truly astonishing is not that he won, but the manner in which he won against a much bigger man, the ease with which he disposed of the most decorated fighter of his generation. Pacquiao went into the fight as the consensus pound-for-pound king of boxing and a huge worldwide star. After this massive victory, he comes out of it soaring into the international stratopshere of mega-stardom, poised to take the mantle from Oscar as the sport's next must-see attraction whose every fight is a major and financially lucrative event.
As for De La Hoya, let the questions begin. The biggest pre-fight soundbite emerging from the Pacquiao camp came from Manny's trainer, Freddie Roach, who said that at 35, Oscar was too old and "couldn't pull the trigger." Never has a soundbite seemed so much like a prophecy. Is the era of The Golden Boy over once and for all? Is he simply at an age where he can no longer compete against elite competition? Or did getting down to 147 pounds leave him too drained to keep up with Pacquiao's furious pace? Oscar looked weak and sluggish almost from the opening bell, and though much of that appearance was no doubt due to Pacquaio's frenetic workrate, it was hard not to think of De La Hoya in his prime matching combinations with a speed merchant like Shane Mosley and feel that his best days are long behind him.De La Hoya didn't make an appearance at the post-fight press conference due to the fact that he was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure. But the representatives of Golden Boy who did speak at the presser on his behalf - Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley and his surrogate trainer, the legendary Angelo Dundee - seemed to be speaking of his career in the past tense. Whether or not De La Hoya announces his retirement in the next few weeks or not, tonight's fight certainly had the feeling of being in the tradition of the memorable torch-passing events in the sport - Marciano/Louis, Holmes/Ali, De La Hoya/Chavez. After utterly dismantling boxing's biggest and most bankable star, Manny Pacquiao is now not only the pound-for-pound fighting king - he's the uncontested king of the sport.
Source: sportingnews
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