Originally Published: December 8, 2008
Pacquiao packs on the weight and pounds out Oscar
Manny Pacquiao proved size wasn't a factor in dismantling a listless Oscar De La Hoya in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Jed Jacobsohn/Getty ImagesKing of the ring: Manny Pacquiao proved he's the best fighter in the world with an eight-round destruction of Oscar De La Hoya.
A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:
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Manny Pacquiao TKO8 Oscar De La Hoya |
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Records: Pacquiao, 48-3-2, 36 KOs; De La Hoya, 39-6, 30 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: All good things must come to an end, and now is that time for De La Hoya. Boxing's Golden Boy has had a Hall of Fame career -- 10 world titles in six divisions, and more important, he fought everyone of his time. He delivered entertainment to boxing fans fight after fight and was the economic force of the sport for more than a decade in becoming the all-time pay-per-view champion in terms of overall dollars and buys. There was nothing else in boxing like the electricity of a De La Hoya fight week in Las Vegas. Since the moment he collected his 1992 Olynmpic gold medal and held aloft both an American and Mexican flag with a tear in his eye as looked skyward in memory of the mother who told him to win the gold on her deathbed, he has been a focal point of the sport. Now the curtain has closed on the era after Pacquiao stunningly administered a beat down of epic proportions. In the end, it was a bruised, battered and utterly befuddled De La Hoya, 35, sitting with a blank look on his face as new trainer Nacho Beristain stopped the fight after much discussion before the start of the ninth round. It was a mercy stoppage and one that could have come from referee Tony Weeks during the seventh round, a classic example of a 10-8 round without a knockdown. Pacquiao battered De La Hoya in the round, landing 45 power shots, the most ever recorded by CompuBox in the 31 De La Hoya fights it has tracked. De La Hoya, who made a minimum of $20 million to Pacquiao's minimum $11 million, was never in the fight for a moment. He was slow and looked more like the statue of his likeness unveiled earlier in the week in front of the Staples Center in his hometown of Los Angeles than the fast, fluid fighter of his prime. De La Hoya might have been a shot fighter when he walked up the steps for battle, but Pacquiao, 29, the icon of the Philippines, also deserves credit for the upset in a fight many critics proclaimed as a mismatch. They thought it would be Pacquiao who would be annihilated because he had spent his career fighting in much smaller weight divisions before this leap to welterweight. The ironic thing is that the bigger guy entering the ring was actually Pacquiao. He weighed in officially on Friday at 142 pounds to De La Hoya's 145. But on HBO's unofficial scale on fight night, Pacquiao was up to 148½ and De La Hoya was surprisingly only 147. HBO will rebroadcast the fight Saturday at 4:45 p.m. ET (with a 10 p.m. ET/PT replay) along with live coverage of Wladimir Klitschko's heavyweight title defense against Hasim Rahman from Germany. Pacquiao's domination earned him his third victory of the year in his third weight division. A former flyweight, junior featherweight and featherweight champion, Pacquiao won the junior lightweight championship by beating Juan Manuel Marquez in their March rematch and then moved to lightweight, where he won a title with a destruction of David Diaz in June. Pacquiao then made the jump to welterweight to face De La Hoya and surely locked up fighter of the year honors by completing his Henry Armstrongesque year. Next up for Pacquiao likely will be junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton in the spring. For De La Hoya, let's hope there is no next fight. If this is indeed the end for him, as it should be, he deserves our respect for a great career and a hearty thanks for the memories. He will be missed but he will not be forgotten. |
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Juan Manuel Lopez TKO1 Sergio Medina Retains a junior featherweight title |
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Records: Lopez, 24-0, 22 KOs; Medina, 33-2, 18 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Lopez is quickly becoming one of the most spectacular fighters in the world. The 25-year-old Puerto Rican has explosive punching power and uses it. This was his third first-round knockout in a row and each has been impressive. In June, he whacked Daniel Ponce De Leon to win the title in a minor upset. Lopez made his first defense a quick one when he blasted out Cesar Figueroa in October. Medina, 26, of Argentina, looked petrified to fight from the opening bell and crumbled from the first decent shot. He was down three times in all before the bout was called off at 1:14. Apparently, Lopez does not believe in working overtime. As much as you have to love his penchant for quick knockouts, you have to also love his desire to fight the best. Lopez is humble enough to admit that he's not the best junior featherweight because he has not yet defeated recognized 122-pound champion Israel Vazquez. Lopez would love to make that fight, which would be terrific. Vazquez, recovering from eye surgery, was ringside to watch Lopez and had to be impressed. Maybe, just maybe, he'll give Lopez a chance when his eye is healed. |
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Victor Ortiz TKO2 Jeff Resto |
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Records: Ortiz, 23-1-1, 18 KOs; Resto, 22-3, 13 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Is Ortiz exciting or what? The 21-year-old simply destroyed Resto, who didn't seem to know what had hit him. The Oxnard, Calif., resident floored New York's Resto, 31, three times in a thoroughly one-sided fight on one of the worst undercards you'll ever see. Ortiz put him down twice in the first round, twice cracking him with left hands to the face. The final knockdown came from a fast and nasty right uppercut that Resto never even saw. Ortiz, who gave Oscar De La Hoya a black eye as one of his sparring partners preparing him for the Manny Pacquiao fight, is ready for a more serious opponent than Resto. It won't come as a surprise if Ortiz fights for a world title in 2009. |
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Daniel Jacobs TKO2 Victor Lares |
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Records: Jacobs, 13-0, 12 KOs; Lares, 14-4, 3 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Jacobs, 21, keeps mowing down his opponents and doing it in short order. Add the overmatched Lares, 31, to the list. He never stood a chance as Jacobs teed off on him until dropping Lares with a right hand at the end of a flurry. Jacobs, whose fiancée gave birth to their son three days before the fight, is staying awfully busy. This was his fifth fight since Sept. 27. He was originally supposed fight last Thursday on Winky Wright's undercard on Versus, but was shifted to the HBO PPV broadcast when Wright's hand injury forced the show to be canceled. |
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Danny Garcia W8 Jose Alfredo Lugo Scores: 80-82, 80-72, 79-73 |
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Records: Garcia, 10-0, 7 KOs; Lugo, 10-6-1, 5 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Garcia, 20, of Philadelphia -- one of the many Golden Boy prospects on the card -- moved up to an eight-rounder and went the distance against Mexico's Lugo, who was way too slow and raw to contend with Garcia's quickness and precision. Garcia still needs to work on not pulling straight back when he is trying to avoid punches, but besides that, he this was a solid performance that gave him good experience. |
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Adrien Broner TKO1 Scott Furney |
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Records: Broner, 5-0, 4 KOs; Furney, 3-7-1, 1 KO |
| Rafael's remark: Broner is going to be so much fun to watch when the Fight Freaks finally get a chance to see him on television, which hopefully will be sooner than later. He's pure aggression. He needed just 1:14 to smash Furney, who went down in the opening few seconds of the fight and then was taking punishment when referee Robert Byrd stepped in. Manager Shelly Finkel is going to keep the 19-year-old from Cincinnati busy: He'll be back in action Dec. 26 in his hometown followed by an appearance Jan. 24 in Los Angeles on the Antonio Margarito-Shane Mosley undercard. |
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Carl Froch W12 Jean Pascal Wins a vacant super middlweight title Scores: 118-110, 117-111, 116-112 |
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Records: Froch, 24-0, 19 KOs; Pascal, 21-1, 14 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: In England, they call this kind of fight a cracker. It was all action as Froch, fighting in his hometown, won the decision to claim one of the 168-pound belts Joe Calzaghe gave up when he elected to remain at light heavyweight. The scores were a little wider than they should have been, but the judges did get the right winner. Froch, 31, and Canada's Pascal, 26, duked it out in a thrilling toe-to-toe slugfest that was especially action-packed through the first five rounds. This is the British fight of the year and should be an honorable mention no matter where you live. Froch and Pascal attacked each other in the opening round like Marvin Hagler and Tommy Hearns attacked each other in the opening round of their classic. Pascal hurt Froch in the fifth round and cut him over his left eye in the in the eighth. Froch shook off the cut and it looked like he might stop the fading Pascal, whose right eye was swollen, in the ninth. But Pascal, who was hammered by right hands, survived to set the stage for the exciting 11th and 12th rounds, which were fought at a ferocious pace even though it was clear both men were gassed. It was a big win for Froch, who is nonetheless a bit delusional to think he's going to convince Calzaghe to return to super middleweight to fight him. Of course, if he somehow could, that would be a major fight in the United Kingdom. Froch's mandatory challenger is Jermain Taylor, which could make for an entertaining and interesting fight. Better than this one with Pascal though? That will be hard to top. |
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Enzo Maccarinelli TKO2 Matthew Ellis |
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Records: Maccarinelli, 29-2, 22 KOs; Ellis, 20-6-1, 9 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: In March, Maccarinelli of Wales was knocked out by David Haye in the second round of their cruiserweight unification fight before Haye moved up for the riches of the heavyweight division. In his comeback fight, Maccarinelli wound up in a heavyweight bout as well, but not by design. He was supposed to tangle with Johnathon Banks for one of the titles Haye vacated upon his move up. However, Banks injured his ankle a week before the fight, forcing promoter Frank Warren to run through various substitute opponents until finally Ellis, a heavyweight, took the fight on a couple of days' notice. Maccarinelli, who was 195 pounds, was outweighed by Ellis, who was 204 pounds. It didn't matter. Maccarinelli put on a devastating body attack worthy of a boxing textbook. He brutalized the 34-year-old Englishman's flanks. Maccarinelli dropped him in the opening seconds of the fight with a series of body blows and then dropped him again in the opening round with more body shots. He continued to work the body until Ellis finally went down for a third time in the second round and referee Dave Parris called it off without a count. It was a good comeback performance for Maccarinelli, who likely will meet Banks in the rescheduled fight early next year. |
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Amir Khan TKO2 Oisin Fagan |
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Records: Khan, 19-1, 15 KOs; Fagan, 22-6, 13 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Khan, the 2007 ESPN.com prospect of the year and 2004 British Olympic silver medalist, was on the fast track to super-stardom when he ran into unknown Breidis Prescott on Sept. 6 and was promptly knocked out in the first round in a stunner. Making his comeback, Khan returned in style as he obliterated the game Fagan, 34, who was born in Ireland and lives in Oklahoma. Khan, who turned 22 on Monday, dominated, dropping Fagan twice in the first round. Khan continued to batter Fagan in the second round until his corner threw in the towel. However, before referee Mickey Vann could acknowledge it, Khan ripped Fagan again and sent him to the canvas for a third time. Khan seemed to still have his swagger after the humiliating loss to Prescott. Perhaps it was confidence from holding his own in sparring sessions with Manny Pacquiao last month that helped him or the teachings of new trainer Freddie Roach, who was unable to be in Khan's corner because he was with Pacquiao for his fight the same night against Oscar De La Hoya. All in all, it was the perfect comeback for Khan, who remains an immensely talented and exciting fighter, regardless of the unexpected loss. |
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Martin Rogan W8 Audley Harrison |
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Records: Rogan, 11-0, 5 KOs; Harrison, 23-4, 17 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: How do you know when your career is over? When you lose to a 37-year-old taxi driver. That's where Harrison is now after a loss to Northern Ireland's Rogan, a participant in the United Kingdom reality series "Prizefighter." Harrison, 37 and the 2000 British Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist, is dead in the water after this loss, his fourth in 27 fights during a hugely disappointing career. Referee Ian John-Lewis gave the fight to Rogan by one round (the referee is the only judge in British nontitle bouts), and Harrison, who did open a cut over Rogan's right eye, had no quarrel with the decision afterward. Harrison said he would go back to the drawing board, but at this point, there doesn't seem to be a board to go to. |
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Luis Carlos Abregu W10 David Estrada Scores: 98-92, 98-91 Abregu, 96-94 Estrada |
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Records: Abregu, 25-0, 21 KOs; Estrada, 22-6, 13 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Abregu, 25, of Argentina, fought his fourth consecutive fight in the United States and his first television appearance as a "ShoBox" headliner. In doing so, he faced rugged trial horse Estrada, 29, who has faced excellent competition, including Shane Mosley, Andre Berto and Kermit Cintron. He was a solid opponent for Abregu to test himself against in his first notable bout, and the result was a split decision. Abregu, who would suffer a cut over his left eye, opened a comfortable lead in the first half of the fight before Estrada mounted a strong comeback that fell short. The fight was closer than the two scorecards in Abregu's favor seemed to indicate. |
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Travis Kauffman TKO3 Malachy Farrell |
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Records: Kauffman, 14-0, 11 KOs; Farrell, 16-2, 12 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Kauffman, 23, and Farrell, 29, both suffered first-round knockdowns but Kauffman was mostly in control until the bout was stopped with 31 seconds left in the third. Kauffman took care of business despite being outweighed by 60 pounds (221-281). Farrell, who lost an amateur bout to Kauffman, dropped his second bout in his past three. |
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Mike Jones KO3 Luciano Perez |
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Records: Jones, 16-0, 14 KOs; Perez, 16-9-1, 14 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Jones is definitely a young fighter to keep an eye on. Besides good size for his division, it's clear the 25-year-old from Philadelphia can punch. He also has a television-friendly style. In the third round, Jones knocked the aggressive Perez down with a combination and then scored another knockdown moments later on a tremendous left hook that snapped Perez's head around in cartoon style. Somehow, Perez beat the count but the referee wisely stopped the Telefutura main event. |
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Rock Allen W8 Humberto Tapia Scores: 80-72 (three times) |
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Records: Allen, 14-0, 7 KOs; Tapia, 13-9-1, 7 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: A 2004 U.S. Olympian, Allen, 27, had little problem routing the slower Tapia. Allen, who won every round on all three scorecards, handed Mexico's Tapia, 22, his fourth loss in a row and fifth in six fights as he boxed circles around him and left him with a battered face that showed the impact of the night's action. |
Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.
