Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao
Las Vegas, Nevada , U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Title(s) on the line | None | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pacquiao wins via 8th-round RTD |
Despite no title belts being disputed, the bout received a lot of publicity since the two boxers were decorated, with Pacquiao being the current number one
Pacquiao had to step up two weight divisions (from lightweight), and De La Hoya had to go down one weight division (from light middleweight), to be eligible for the bout's welterweight division.[1]
Idea of the bout
The ideas of having De La Hoya and Pacquiao fight came from
Buildup
After De La Hoya's May 5 loss to
Pre-fight publicity
Presented by
Many boxing analysts believed the fight would favor Oscar. Boxing analysts stated that Oscar's size, reach, experience, and good chin made Manny the underdog in this mega fight. Training for the fight Oscar hired trainers Angelo Dundee, Ignacio "Nacho" Beristáin, and young boxing talent Edwin Valero. Oscar told the news that his team is unbeatable, while Freddie Roach said, "No one is going to be able to help Oscar pull the trigger when he faces Manny Pacquiao on Dec. 6".
Tickets reportedly sold out just hours after they went on sale. The total gate revenues were said to be nearly $17 million. That amount apparently gave the bout the second-largest gate revenue in boxing history (after the De La Hoya-Mayweather Jr. fight on May 5, 2007 which generated $18.4 million in gate revenue).[4]
The fight
Manny Pacquiao soundly defeated Oscar De La Hoya, surprising many pre-fight analysts who had predicted a victory by De La Hoya. The fight ended at the beginning of the 9th round after Oscar and his corner threw in the towel.[5][6] De La Hoya weighed in at a surprisingly light 145 pounds and Pacquiao weighed in at 142 pounds. On the night of the fight De La Hoya came into the ring weighing less than Pacquiao and close to 20 pounds under his usual fighting weight.
Rounds 1–4
In round 1, De La Hoya's opening punches miss Pacquiao; Pacquiao's own straight left followed by a combination connects. The boxers exchange punches, with another Pacquiao straight left to end the round. At the start of the second round, a double jab by De La Hoya persuades Pacquiao to retreat. Only the second of De La Hoya's two combinations hits Pacquiao. A combo from Pacquiao leaves De La Hoya's face reddened. A flurry of punches from Pacquiao ends the round. The third round is more of the same as De La Hoya becomes increasingly unable to answer Pacquiao's combos.[7]
Rounds 5–7
Pacquiao unleashes a flurry of punches in round 5; De La Hoya saw it coming but wasn't able to react fast enough. De La Hoya himself lands a body shot and a couple of hooks, but the two boxers exchange punches at the end of the round. The next round begins as the last ended, with the men exchanging jabs. Pacquiao appears winded as he misses a left hook, but the follow-up lands on target. Pacquiao lands a right, and a four-punch combo to end the round.
In Round 7, Pacquiao lands a jab as De La Hoya misses his; Pacquiao unleashes another flurry of punches as De La Hoya's legs almost gave out, just as he ceased punching back. His uppercut misses Pacquiao as his opponent releases more jabs to end round 7.[8]
Round 8 and aftermath
Pacquiao pursues De La Hoya's body but is warned by referee Tony Weeks to "keep them up" (keep punches above the belt). De La Hoya's right connects, but Pacquiao's combo pins De La Hoya in the corner. Another left by Pacquiao dazes the Mexican-American, as the Filipino follows up with another combination which wobbles De La Hoya. Pacquiao throws another combo as De La Hoya goes for the body. The Filipino unleashes a four-punch combo to end the round.
The fight is stopped before the start of the ninth round and Pacquiao is awarded the victory.[7][9]
Pacquiao was ahead on all three judges' scorecards before the stoppage, with two judges scoring the fight at 80-71 (Pacquiao won all rounds) and one scoring it at 79–72 (Pacquiao won 7 rounds and lost 1).[10] After the bout trainer Freddie Roach stated, "We knew we had him after the first round. He had no legs, he was hesitant and he was shot."[11] Confirming Roach's pre-fight predictions that he'd grown too old, De La Hoya crossed the ring to Pacquiao's corner after the bout was stopped and told Roach, "You're right Freddie. I don't have it anymore."[12] When asked by reporters whether he would continue fighting, De La Hoya responded, "My heart still wants to fight, that's for sure. But when your physical doesn't respond, what can you do? I have to be smart and make sure I think about my future plans."[13]
Business
On December 10, 2008, HBO announced that the fight generated 1.25 million PPV buys totalling more than $70 million in PPV revenue. This fight was only the fourth non-heavyweight bout to have more than one million buys at that time, along with
The PPV card was the highest-grossing PPV event of the year in North America, ahead of UFC 91 (Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar) and WrestleMania XXIV.[14]
Undercard
- Juan Manuel Lopez KOs Sergio Medina in the first round to retain the junior featherweight title.
- Jeff Resto in the second round.
- Daniel Jacobs KOs Victor Lares in the second round.
- Danny Garcia defeats Jose Alfredo Lugo via unanimous decision.
- Jose Angel Beranza defeats Jesus Rojas via unanimous decision.
- Richie Mepranum defeats Cesar Ganigal Lopez via unanimous decision.
- Isaac Hidalgo in the first round.
- Adrien Broner KOs Scott Furney in the first round.
- Sergio Caro KOs Steven Sampson in the sixth round.
References
- ^ Rafael, Dan (August 29, 2008). "Pacquiao to move up two weight classes to fight De La Hoya". ESPN. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
- ^ Rafael, Dan.Sources: De La Hoya, Pacquiao agree to Dec. 6 fight in Vegas, ESPN.com
- ^ "mirror.co.uk, Barry McGuigan - This little and large freak show makes me feel queasy". mirror.co.uk. 29 August 2008.
- ^ "Tickets for De La Hoya-Pacquiao nearly sold out". Yahoo! Sports. 2008-09-24. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
- ^ "Pacquiao wins in ninth round over De La Hoya". Associated Press. 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ^ "De La Hoya-Pacquiao round-by-round". USA Today. 2008-12-06. Archived from the original on December 8, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ^ a b Iole, Kevin (2008-12-06). "Pacquiao makes De La Hoya quit after eight". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 8 December 2008.
- ^ Ortiz, Darius. "Fight Credential - De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao". ESPN.com. Retrieved 8 December 2008.
- ^ "Weight wasn't an issue as Pacquiao easily defeats De La Hoya". Lasvegassun.com. 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ "Pacquiao forces De La Hoya to quit". Archived from the original on December 8, 2008.
- ^ ""De La Hoya fails to answer bell in welterweight match" - Charleston Daily Mail". archive.is. Archived from the original on 2009-02-23.
- ^ ""De La Hoya is Golden Boy no more" - NYDailyNews.com". nydailynews.com.
- ^ "The Associated Press: Pacquiao wins in eighth round over De La Hoya". www.google.com. Archived from the original on 2008-12-10.
- ^ Lesnar blasts UFC toward record year, Dave Meltzer, Yahoo! Sports