By CompuBox
The Golden Age of Boxing -- at least the era defined by Oscar de la Hoya's majestic box office appeal -- is over.
From the first round until the last it was a Dream Fight for Manny Pacquiao and something far less pleasant for his more celebrated opponent. Pacquiao’s educated footwork, dynamic combinations and relentless fighting spirit was too much for the aged De La Hoya to handle.
Pacquiao conducted a master class in boxing technique and strategy, neutralizing De La Hoya’s vaunted left hand while emphasizing all of his considerable assets. Whatever De La Hoya tried to do, Pacquiao did it better and in more convincing style. In the end, size still matters in boxing, but youth does as well.
The numbers Pacquiao piled up mirrored his astonishing dominance in the ring. The Filipino legend – and yes, that term now applies to Pacquiao – was 224 of 585 overall (38 percent) to De La Hoya’s 83 of 402 (21 percent) but the fight’s yawning gap occurred in the power numbers. In that category Pacquiao was a mind-blowing 195 of 333 (59 percent) to De La Hoya’s 51 of 164 (31 percent).
An integral part of De La Hoya’s blueprint was the jab – he had hoped to average 35 per round – but against Pacquiao’s speed, movement and southpaw stance it was impotent. While the 35-year-old De La Hoya managed to throw 29.75 per round, he landed just 13 percent of them (32 of 238) while the shorter Pacquiao managed to nearly match him (29 of 252, 11 percent).
The round-by-round breakdowns further amplified Pacquiao’s command. He swept De La Hoya in terms of total connects and landed power punches while De La Hoya was just 3-2-3 in jab connects. The first round was the only session in which De La Hoya’s deficits in connects were in single digits (11-8 total and 9-6 in power shots). From the second round on, the gap grew at an alarming rate and Pacquiao’s success in power connects was the main source.
In rounds two and three, Pacquiao outlanded De La Hoya 37-15 in power shots but from rounds four to eight the gulf swelled to 149-30, an advantage that ended up disfiguring De La Hoya’s face as never before. Worse yet, Pacquiao’s accuracy was searing as Pacquiao never dipped below 50 percent in power shots, peaking at 68 percent (32 of 47) in round four. Pacquiao’s success also inhibited De La Hoya’s desire to attempt power shots. In the final five rounds Pacquiao landed more than De La Hoya attempted and the totals from that segment showed he landed nearly twice as many power punches (149) than De La Hoya tried (79).
The seventh round illustrated just how lopsided the fight had become. Pacquiao attempted 103 punches (a fight high), and 45 of his 47 connects were power punches (the most ever scored by a De La Hoya opponent in a single round in 31 of his fights tracked by CompuBox). De La Hoya was a meager 7 of 24 overall and 4 of 9 in power punches. Most other fighters would have been rescued from such a battering but De La Hoya’s standing in the sport was such that he was granted one more chance to come back. Because he couldn’t, the fight was stopped in the corner.
When De La Hoya he walked across the ring and congratulated Pacquiao, he passed the symbolic torch to the Filipino star as the sport's financial epicenter. Pacquiao, who had already won titles at flyweight, junior featherweight, junior lightweight and lightweight, entered the ring as boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighter but his performance against "The Golden Boy" vaulted him into a stratosphere previously considerable unthinkable for the humble native of General Santos City. One prominent observer compared Pacquiao favorably to the legendary Henry Armstrong in terms of his weight-jumping exploits and his future seems even brighter than his formidable past.
While a full-time career as "The Golden Promoter" awaits De La Hoya, Pacquiao will go about the business of padding his already overpowering ring resume. Ricky Hatton, Antonio Margarito and even the currently retired Floyd Mayweather Jr. were mentioned as possible opponents, and every one of those fights would be considered an "event." Given the state of boxing these days, it needs all the "events" it can get.
