Manny wins!!
ROUND 1: And we’re off!
ROUND 1: Oscar dishing out his jab. De La Hoya pressing forward.
ROUND 1: De La Hoya looks gigantic in front of Pacquiao. PacMan looks like a boy.
ROUND 1: De la Hoya doles out his jab. Pacquiao picking his spots.
ROUND 1: Pacquiao unleashes a combo then moves out quickly.
ROUND 1: De La Hoya is raking the body.
ROUND 1: Pacquiao grazes Oscar with a hook.
ROUND 1: Pacquiao is finding his range. He stays outside, finds an opening, leaps in and strikes.
ROUND 1: De La Hoya wobbles Pacquiao against the ropes.
ROUND 1: Pacquiao is using solid lateral movement. Pacquiao wobbles Oscar with a left.
ROUND 1: Pacquiao finishes the round on his bicycle.
ROUND 2: De La Hoya backs Pacquiao up with a left but Pacquiao fires back with his own left.
ROUND 2: De La Hoya isn’t moving enough and is getting caught flush with left leads.
ROUND 2: PacMan now has De la Hoya backing up.
ROUND 2: De La Hoya throws a three-punch combination but Pacquiao blocks the majority of it.
ROUND 2: Pacquiao lands another left lead. His speed is overwhelming Oscar.
ROUND 2: Pacquiao is potshotting. A body shot forces him to lower his guard.
ROUND 2: Pacquiao lands an uppercut to a stationary De La Hoya.
ROUND 2: Oscar’s feet are in sand. De La Hoya is a much more elusive target.
ROUND 2: Manny hooking with his right. You don’t hook with a hooker, Manny.
ROUND 2: Manny lands a jab just before the bell.
ROUND 3: Dan Rafael puts it perfectly: The difference in hand speed is amazing.
ROUND 3: De La Hoya lands a thudding jab but Manny Pacquiao walks through it.
ROUND 3: Pacquiao lands a head-snapping left lead. De La Hoya waddles forward.
ROUND 3: De La Hoya seems frustrated. He’s throwing bombs but most miss.
ROUND 3: Pacquiao working his jab. De La Hoya looking to hook off of it.
ROUND 3: Finally, De La Hoya is utilizing his jab.
ROUND 3: De La Hoya lands a right to the body. Manny responds with his own body shot.
ROUND 3: De La Hoya works the jab then follows it with a hook. Better round for Oscar.
ROUND 4: De La Hoya lumbering forward to begin Round 4. He leaps in with a combo but misses wildly.
ROUND 4: Pacquiao lands a pair of left hands to De La Hoya’s exposed chin. De La Hoya’s hands are way too low.
ROUND 4: Pacquiao, the smaller fighter, is outjabbing De La Hoya.
ROUND 4: Pacquiao has lost all respect for De La Hoya as he leaps in with uppercuts.
ROUND 4: Pacquiao is on his toes, peppering De La Hoya with hooks and crosses.
ROUND 4: Pacquiao digs in and unloads body punches. De La Hoya seems stunned.
ROUND 4: Pacquiao is handing circles around De La Hoya.
ROUND 4: Pacquiao is dropping his hands but he can’t pull the trigger. Freddie Roach called it!
ROUND 5: Round 5, Manny on his bicycle.
ROUND 5: De La Hoya’s guard is higher and he’s pumping the jab. He looks a little better now.
ROUND 5: A two-punch combo wobbles Oscar.
ROUND 5: Oscar looks downright old.
ROUND 5: Forget pull the trigger, De La Hoya doesn’t even have a gun.
ROUND 5: Pacquiao leaps in with a left. De La Hoya sees it coming but he can’t get out of the way.
ROUND 5: Oscar trudges forward, right into incoming fire.
ROUND 5: Oscar lands a body shot and follows it with four hooks.
ROUND 5: Both men trade at the bell. Oscar looks extremely frustrated.
ROUND 6: Both men trading jab to begin Round 6.
ROUND 6: Pacquiao coming forward but he looks a little winded. He’s expended a ton of energy in the first five rounds.
ROUND 6: De La Hoya moving back now. he’s waiting for Pacquiao to move in.
ROUND 6: Both men trade body blows. Pacquiao raises his fists.
ROUND 6: Pacquiao just misses with a right hook. The follow-up left doesn’t miss its mark.
ROUND 6: Pacquiao lands a thudding right hand to De La Hoya’s skull.
ROUND 6: Pacquiao blitzes De La Hoya with a four-punch combo just before the bell.
ROUND 6: Dan Rafael says Oscar is totally shot. I’m not so sure. Obviously, this isn’t the Oscar of 10 years ago, but Pacquiao’s just the better man tonight.
ROUND 7: Pacquiao using his jab beautifully now. De La Hoya just can’t find his feet.
ROUND 7: De La Hoya putting his jab out there. Pacquiao waltzes around it.
ROUND 7: A hook/uppercut combo backs up Oscar. Pacquiao is trying to finish him!
ROUND 7: Pacquiao’s punches are landing with authority. Oscar looks pathetic.
ROUND 7: De La Hoya has no legs underneath him.
ROUND 7: Oscar has stopped punching back.
ROUND 7: De La Hoya waves him in. Bad idea.
ROUND 7: De La Hoya throws an uppercut but misses badly.
ROUND 8: Pacquiao working his jab. De La Hoya still not punching.
ROUND 8: Pacquiao lands a left, then a right.
ROUND 8: De La Hoya comes to life but Pacquiao responds with his own fire.
ROUND 8: Pacquiao lands a four-punch combo to De La Hoya’s ribs.
ROUND 8: This is Oscar’s last stand. he has no answer and looks out of his league.
ROUND 8: Pacquiao looking for one more left hand to finish the fight.
ROUND 8: Oscar lands a half-hearted combo. Pacquiao mocks him. Pacquiao tries to finish the fight just before the bell.
ROUND 8: Lots of discussion going on in the corner.
ROUND 8: De La Hoya quits!
ROUND 8: Pacquiao crying in his corner!
ROUND 8: Total devastation, as Dan just put it.
** Couldn’t afford to buy the Pay Per View, but just a great fight by Manny.
hey randy – it might interest you to know that i just saw the fight in a packed sports bar here in mexico. i was the token filipino, of course, which made it even more fun & gave me an interesting viewpoint from a different corner.
the locals sang along with the mexican anthem and was very much into it. a group even asked me afterwards where i was from (being the only asian cheering for manny) and they laughed when i told them.
i always love it when i’m around smart sports fans. these guys knew their boxing.
there was one american lady expat who clearly had a few drinks and started railing in spanish (from the few words i know) that she was upset because manny was a corrupt politician. i wanted to go to her and say “not yet!”
you know what, maybe i should write about this.
for the record, i like oscar too. he seems like a classy guy but i had to root for manny because we’re the same … he’s a celtic fan like me (ha!)
Hi macky – that must have been a pretty exciting way to watch the fight. I know sport fans can get pretty excited/upset, so I’m glad there were no issues. I wish I could have seen the fight. We’ve had friends order the Pay Per View and have a party in the past, but not this time.
I thought it was pretty classy of both fighters after the fight – Manny said to Oscar, “you’re still my idol” and Oscar replied “you’re mine”.
Manny sure has made a name for himself. Some are calling him the best pound for pound of all time. Of course, everyone does that in sports. The “best” ever. It was nice to see Manny get a big pay day. Guaranteed at least 11 million.