"It's becoming somewhat of an event when Oscar avoids one of Pacquiao's straight right hands" - Jim Lampley
That is the type of night it was for the former champ. Oscar never stood a chance against the pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao. Pacman dominated rounds 1 through 8 before De La Hoya's camp threw in the white towel.
It's sad really because it was a no win situation for DLH heading into the fight with the worst case scenario being an embarrassing knock out. Even if he had been able to pull off a win (which he was considerably favored to do so) it would not have been all too impressive. He'd have been beating up on a guy half his size.
Instead, Oscar came out looking like the underdog, never looking comfortable and never mounting any sort of offense. Manny was landing close to 50% of his punches and they certainly took a toll as DLH's left eye was all but swelled shut by the 6th round.
The 7th round was the beginning of the end and not just the end of the fight. It became very clear that Oscar was no longer capable of fighting at an elite level as Pacquiao unleashed combo after combo on the former star. After the fight Oscar dodged questions about his future but I think we all know the answer. It is sad really as he is still boxing's biggest draw and without him the sport will continue its depth defying plunge into mediocrity.
No comments:
Post a Comment