Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Date | May 5, 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Venue | MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Title(s) on the line | WBC super welterweight title | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mayweather wins via 12-round split decision (113–115, 116–112, 115–113) |
Mayweather won by
Details
The fight took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada under the promotion of Golden Boy Promotions. It was contested at 154 pounds, with De La Hoya defending his WBC light middleweight championship.
Tickets sold out three hours after they went on sale on Saturday, January 27, 2007. With the sellout, the bout generated over $19 million in live gate, beating the previous record of $16,860,300 set by the June 28, 1997, heavyweight championship rematch between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson at the Thomas & Mack Center.[1]
The fight was televised on HBO pay-per-view, with the cost to watch the fight at $55 in the U.S.[2]
Mayweather won by a split decision in 12 close-fought rounds, capturing the World Boxing Council (WBC) title. Judges Jerry Roth (115–113) and Chuck Giampa (116–112) scored the fight for Mayweather while judge Tom Kaczmarek had De La Hoya winning, 115–113.
Hype
As part of the buildup for the fight, HBO produced an unprecedented four-part prelude. The series, titled De La Hoya-Mayweather 24/7, aired installments on the final three Sundays of April, with the fourth installment airing on Thursday, May 3, two days before the fight. The series focused on each fighter's training and preparation for the bout.
A subplot to the fight concerned whether De La Hoya would be trained by
Although Mayweather Sr. reunited with his son at the start of Floyd Jr.'s training camp, he had no official role, as Floyd Jr. opted to retain his uncle, Roger Mayweather, as his trainer instead. Mayweather Sr. left the camp by the end of April, upset over not being chosen as trainer and by comments made by his son and brother during the taping of the 24/7 show.
Undercard
Weight Class | vs. | Method | Round | Time | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Light Middleweight | Floyd Mayweather Jr. | def. | Oscar De La Hoya | SD | 12 | |
Super Featherweight | Rey Bautista | def. | Sergio Manuel Medina | UD | 12 | |
Welterweight | Ernest Johnson | vs. | Wes Ferguson | SD | 8 | |
Lightweight | AJ Banal | def. | Juan Alberto Rosas | UD | 6 | |
Welterweight | Christian Solano | def. | John O'Donnell | TKO | 2/8 | 1:50 |
Flyweight | Billy Dib | def. | Jose Alberto Gonzalez | UD | 8 | |
Lightweight | John Murray | def. | Lorenzo Bethea | TKO | 7/10 | 0:28 |
Cruiserweight | Carlos Duarte | def. | Calvin Rooks | TKO | 2/4 | 1:54 |
? |
Result
Judge | Score | Boxer |
---|---|---|
Tom Kaczmarek | 115–113 | De La Hoya |
Chuck Giampa | 116–112 | Mayweather |
Jerry Roth | 115–113 | Mayweather |
- Result: Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeats Oscar De La Hoya by split decision
Fight earnings
The De La Hoya-Mayweather fight set the record for most PPV buys for a boxing match with 2.4 million households, beating the previous record of 1.99 million for
September 20 rematch
De La Hoya and Mayweather were scheduled for a rematch on September 20, 2008. However, unlike the first fight, the fight would have been contracted for 147 lbs. or the welterweight limit. The first fight was contracted at light middleweight or 154 lbs and De La Hoya's WBC junior middleweight title was on the line. However, Mayweather would have come in as champion and defend his WBC/The Ring welterweight titles. As a tune-up fight, De La Hoya fought Stephen Forbes (33–6) on May 3, with Floyd Mayweather Sr. as his trainer. De La Hoya (39–5, 30 KOs) looked extremely sluggish but ultimately won a unanimous decision over Forbes, 119–109, 119–109 and 120–108.
The rematch never took place due to Mayweather's retirement in 2008[8] and De La Hoya's retirement in 2009, although Mayweather would return to boxing in 2009, eventually retiring for good in 2017.
References
- ^ a b "Roach named to train De La Hoya". 1 February 2007.
- ^ Gregory, Sean (26 April 2007). "Will the De La Hoya-Mayweather Fight Save Boxing?". Archived from the original on April 28, 2007 – via www.time.com.
- ^ "Mayweather Sr. wants raise to train De La Hoya vs. 'my son' - USATODAY.com".
- ^ "Oscar-Floyd fight sets PPV high". 10 May 2007.
- ^ "HBO: Boxing: Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather".
- ^ Badenhausen, Kurt. "Floyd Mayweather Will Earn More Than $80 Million For Record Breaking Fight". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
- ^ "What are the biggest money boxing fights in history? | DAZN News US". DAZN. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
- ^ "BBC SPORT – Boxing – Mayweather announces retirement".