Oscar De La Hoya vs Manny Pacquiao: Fight Result

Manny Pacquiao Defeats Golden Boy by TKO

© Bill Scherer

Dec 6, 2008

The question going into the fight was whether Pacquiao, 29, could avoid De La Hoya's powerful left hook and still be effective for an entire twelve rounds. The world will never know because De La Hoya, 35, couldn't avoid Pacquiao's straight left from the opening bell to the final bell, in round eight.

With his left eye turning purple and swollen almost shut, De La Hoya sat in his corner and faced the reality that there was little he could do but take more punishment. When referee Tony Weeks waived off the fight, on the advice of Oscar's corner, De La Hoya lept to his feet, faster than he had moved all night, and immediately met Pacquiao in the middle of the ring to congratulate his conqueror.

From the first bell Pacquiao fought with discipline and skill. Hands high to avoid Oscar's hook, Manny darted in, unreeled combinations, then darted back out, never giving Oscar the chance to fire back.

Sometimes Pacquiao fired a single straight left and landed it. Sometimes he fired two straight lefts in quick succession, and landed them. Sometimes he landed to Oscar's body and folded him up. All night, Manny dominated.

During the post fight presser, Bob Arum of Top Rank had a quip for the press.

"The press is never wrong. They said it would be a mismatch. It was a mismatch." Of course, the mismatch was in Pacquiao's favor. Arum made sure that proper honor was given where due. "If this is Oscar's last fight, it's important that we remember what he did for boxing and all the great things he did for the sport."

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, made sure Manny kept up his controlled aggression.

"After the seventh round I told Manny that Oscar was going to try to knock him out since that was his only chance. But, I told him, don't carry him, it's your job to knock him out. And that's what he did."

We gave him great sparring partners with good left hands so he could take away the left and that's what Manny did, he took away Oscar's left."

According to Pacquiao, even though he controlled the fight, he never got cocky.

"I was never too confident because I never knew if he was going to throw a hard shot. I don't know what round it was, but he grabbed me and hit me with a left hook and an uppercut. I felt those punches."

De La Hoya was unable to attend the post-fight presser as he had gone to the hospital for observation.

Attendance at the MGM Grand Garden Arena was 15,001. Mostly Filipino, and completely fired up.

Manny Pacquiao

Freddie Roach

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