The Hindu : Sport / Boxing : Pacquiao defeats De La Hoya

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Monday, Dec 08, 2008
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Pacquiao defeats De La Hoya

LAS VEGAS: Manny Pacquiao dominated his bigger and more famous opponent from the opening bell on Saturday night, giving Oscar De La Hoya such a beating he declined to come out of his corner after the eighth round.

The fight was so lopsided and De La Hoya looked so inept that it could spell the end for boxing’s richest and most marketable star. It was only the second time in De La Hoya’s 16-year professional career that he was stopped in a fight, and it was made even more shocking because it came at the hands of a fighter who fought at just 129 pounds months earlier. At the age of 35 he seemed not only well beyond his prime, but unable to offer any answer to the punches that Pacquiao was landing almost at will.

De La Hoya’s left eye was closed shut as he sat on his stool after the eighth round and the ring doctor, referee and his cornermen discussed his condition. De La Hoya offered no complaints when his corner decided he had enough, getting up from his stool and walking to the centre of the ring to congratulate the victor.

“You’re still my idol,” Pacquiao told him. “No, you’re my idol,” De La Hoya said.

Two of the three ringside judges scored all eight rounds for Pacquiao, while a third gave De La Hoya only the first round. The Associated Press scored every round for the winner. De La Hoya was taken to a hospital for precautionary reasons after the fight. — AP

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