I sadly watched Oscar De La Hoya age eight years in eight rounds on Saturday night. It reminded me of seeing Mike Tyson quit on the stool against Kevin McBride in the MCI Center three years ago. Older fans probably recall Larry Holmes using Muhammed Ali as a punching bag. As my stunned brother put it, Oscar appeared "listless." Fans always expect the same guy who expertly vanquished the competition for years to forever climb through the ropes. But everyone gets old. In basketball, baseball, and football, it's painful for fans to see their favorites hang on past their primes. In boxing, it's painful for boxers to hang on past their primes. If Oscar didn't get that memo by way of Manny Pacquiao's left hand, all he needed to do was catch a glimpse of his opponent's cornerman, Freddie Roach, who won as many bouts as De La Hoya did as a pro and has Parkinsons to show for it.

Manny Pacquiao, widely regarded as the sport's pound-for-pound best, destroyed a fighter who less than two years ago came within a round of defeating Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Starting his career as a 106 lbs. boxer, Pacquiao had no business defeating a fighter who has held titles at 147, 154, and 160, among other weight classes. Yet, he made it his business to do so. In the process, he probably put the Golden Boy out of business--as a fighter at least. That's bad for boxing, as there is no pugilist who transcends the sport as Ali, Tyson, and De La Hoya did. Boxing fans may eat up the Pac Man, but the average person on the street has no idea who he is, and, because of his inability to communicate effectively in English, probably never will. To be the man you must first beat the man. Pac Man beat the man but he can never be the golden boy. Alas, I am a boxing fan and not the average man on the street so I am wild with anticipation about a fight between Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton. It's just a little harder to sell such fights to the wider public without a marquee name upon the marquee. Juan Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, and, now, Oscar DeLaHoya--they don't call Pacquiao the Mexicutioner for nothing.

I can't disagree with anything you say here. There's a nice round-by-round summary of the fight over at the LA Times website for anyone who missed seeing the fight.

I put it in as my URL for this post.

DPO

I too watched this fight on Saturday.

Man, one guy I watched the fight with was quite an apologist for de la hoya. he kept claiming lederman was wrong, that de la hoya wasn't hurt, yelling at his friends that they were too pro-pacqi, it was insane.

but dan, I think your wrapup here is spot on.

I too was that guy on Saturday night. So if I am spot on here, I confess that I wasn't seeing the fight clearly until the fifth round or so. I thought the opening rounds were competitive, but as the rounds progressed it became clear that the story didn't have a happy ending for ODLH.

Great an@lysis.

It was truly sad. It always is when a once great champion looks average at best.

But time/age catches up with us all and the desire one once had as a yout sometimes softens over time and with the effort it takes to stay on top.

When I see these kinds of developments, it makes me wonder if Tommy Terrific is done. He's been at the pinnacle of his sport but is now older and will have to go through a long recovery while trying to balance two needy girlfriends and a psuedo family life.