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Pacquiao destroys what's left of Oscar de la Hoya
of TheColumnists.com
For some strange reason, I don't like watching speedway car pileups, race horses falling on their jockeys, bull riders being gored and trapeze artists falling when they're working without a net. I know lots of people go to such events just to see such things happen. Not me. I just don't have the stomach for it.
So, I guess that's why I really disliked watching my ring idol--the great Oscar de la Hoya--being turned into a punching bag by Manny Pacquiao last Saturday night on HBO. I'll like it even less when the $55 pay-per-view bill lands in my mailbox next month.
De la Hoya will go down in ring history as one of the greatest welterweights ever. The fact that Bernard Hopkins kayoed him when he went up in weight to challenge a much bigger man won't tarnish his record. Joey Maxim defeated Sugar Ray Robinson in their match for Maxim's light-heavyweight title when Robinson succumbed to the scorching heat and couldn't finish the fight. Nobody remembers that as a black mark against one of the greatest welterweight and middleweight champs of all time.
And de la Hoya's losses to Floyd Mayweather, Sugar Shane Mosely and Felix Trinidad won't hurt him either. Oscar made all those fights close--and they were among the best fighters in the world when he fought them.
But the glow that has always surrounded the "Golden Boy" of boxing--the greatest pay TV money-earner of all time--definitely will be diminished when people remember his effort against Pacquiao, a much smaller man who stepped up two weight classes to fight him at welterweight and came into the ring as the clear betting underdog in a match that many experts considered a mismatch because de la Hoya is so much bigger than the scrappy little Filipino.
As it turned out, de la Hoya was never in the fight. Pacquiao hit him at will for eight rounds, leaving him battered, one eye swelling badly and unable to answer the bell for the ninth round at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, a venue where de la Hoya has fought so often that it's practically his home turf. A kayo win by Pacquiao was an outcome few that could ever happen.
But now it seems like we all should have seen it coming. Oscar is in his late thirties and has fought the best all through his career. He weighed in for the fight at two pounds below the 147-pound limit, the result of a new and aggressive training and dieting regimen that was supposed to give him better speed to deal with the lightning fast fists of the terrier-like Filipino. When he started to fight, it was clear he no longer had the reflexes to deal with the fast, sharp and hard-hitting little guy. He fired a few well-aimed power punches at Manny, but Manny was somewhere else before they got where they were aimed.
TV puts the camera in the fighter's face between rounds. After three rounds, I could read Oscar's mind. He knew he didn't have it anymore. He was through. When his cornermen told him they were going to stop the fight, he didn't object. Why let the little buzzsaw turn a golden boy into chopped liver in front of millions? It made no sense. The fight was over.
Though Oscar had always suggested this would be his last fight, I'm sure he expected to end his career with a redemptive knockout of Pacquiao, who has held world championships in several divisions from flyweight to junior welterweight. But as the fight approached, de la Hoya began to hint he might go on fighting after beating Pacquiao.
Now that his miserable loss has dampened his box office appeal, Oscar should retire and continue his other career as a boxing promoter and media darling. But he wouldn't admit that time had come in his post-fight interviews. He's proud and maybe he thinks he can beat a couple of tomato cans and then retire. That will not look good in the history books.
Losing to Pacquiao is no disgrace. Manny is now the recognized "pound for pound" champion of the world. That means, weight aside, he's the best anywhere. He has lost only three fights, has won 47 and kayoed 36. He's a superstar in the Phillipines and is becoming as rich as King Midas.
For me, it's a major letdown to know that Oscar has lost so much of his luster over the last couple of years. I've followed him ever since he won gold at the Olympic Games. He was always destined to be a superstar because he's handsome, intelligent, gracious and, at his peak, had the all-around skills of the ring immortals--boxing ability, punching power and heart.
If he says goodbye now, most of us will remember the good days and just accept the fact that he hung around a bit too long and was beaten by men he should have taken in his prime. If he goes on, I'm afraid we'll see more and more disgraceful showings and his glow won't be restored, no matter how hard we try to polish him up.
So, here's what I hope will be my final word on Oscar de la Hoya: So long, old pal. You were one of the great ones and I'll never forget you. I hope you're smart enough to know that only pain and humiliation await you if you step into a boxing ring again as a combatant.
©2008 by Ron Miller. This column first posted Dec. 8, 2008.
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