Last night in Las Vegas, we saw just what many boxing observers thought we would see. A one sided fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao. It was a beat down to say the least. However, the champion getting his hand raised at the end was the guy everyone picked to lose.
Manny Pacquiao dominated Oscar De La Hoya in every aspect of the fight last night. It was never close and it probably went longer than it should have. The fight was stopped by De La Hoya's corner after the eighth round but could have been stopped two or three rounds earlier. It was a horrible showing by "The Golden Boy".
When this fight was first announced I was in the majority that thought Pacquiao would get hurt by the much bigger and stronger De La Hoya. As the fight got closer and closer I started to believe in Manny's chances. After watching his performance last night, I will never doubt his talent and ability again. Even though De La Hoya is washed up and should never fight again, Pacquiao was very impressive.
The overall speed of Manny's hands are blinding. His footwork is second to none. The aggressiveness that he brings to the ring makes him such a joy to watch. All of those traits are what he used to just beat and batter Oscar for eight rounds. He used combinations along with a great jab to pummel the face of De La Hoya. Even his body work had a huge effect on Oscar. Manny fought a perfect fight against a guy who in reality, had no business in the same ring as him.
Oscar De La Hoya has had a good career. He seemed to lose every big fight he was ever in, but to his credit, he never ducked anyone. His bank account won't be hurting anytime soon. He does however need to retire. There is nothing left for him to prove or anyone else for him to fight.
Manny Pacquiao should be able to hand pick his opponents now for the rest of his career. There is talk that we will see a Ricky Hatton fight next. Manny would be a clear favorite in that bout, but it would be a very entertaining contest and it would sell a lot of tickets.
Many people would like to see Floyd Mayweather Jr. come out of retirement to fight Manny Pacquiao. Count me as one of those people. It will never happen as there is way too much risk involved for Mayweather. He left the sport undefeated and coming back to fight Manny would put his perfect record in jeopardy.
Last night was a good night for boxing because people will be talking about this fight for awhile. It will erase the memory of a horrible undercard in which we saw three prospects fight opposition that was clearly in the ring for something other than a prize fight.
Manny Paquiao is on top of the boxing world right now and rightfully so. It has been a treat to fight fans to be able to see him master his craft. It will be interesting to see who he decides to fight next.