He Will Rock You

By William Trillo
Photos: Bret "The Threat" Newton

Buddy you’re an old man poor man
Pleadin’ with your eyes
Gonna be a big man some day

You got blood on your face
You big disgrace
Kickin’ your can all over the place
                              Brian May/Queen



Manny Pacquiao marching out to the Queen song, “We Will Rock You” was the most prophetic entry song for a boxer you will ever see or hear.

EVER!

What Oscar De La Hoya was about to experience was without a doubt the worst 24 minutes inside the squared circle that The Golden Boy has been on the receiving end of. In turn, the majority of the so called experts in the media watched their prediction of Oscar being too big and strong for the “diminutive” Filipino blow up in their collective faces.

Size was never an issue in this fight, and if anyone was too strong it was Pacquiao who started pounding on Oscar in round one and never let up until Oscar quit on his stool after 8 brutally fantastic rounds.

Pacquiao was at the top of his game, darting in and out, landing punches 2 and 3 at a time and then skillfully moving out of the way leaving De La Hoya to swing wildly and miss. At times De La Hoya’s punches missed so badly that he would fall off balance leaving himself open to more sharp punches from Pacquiao.

The fight began with Manny taking charge and Oscar had no way to reverse the tide. With straight left hands Manny was tagging Oscar at will. Body shots made De La Hoya buckle. If you were a De La Hoya fan this was your worst “Dream” coming true.

In round five Oscar landed his best blows when he grabbed Manny behind the head and punched him 3 times with his free hand. Oscar had thrown the “Marques of Queensbury” right out the window and resorted to dirty tactics…the last act of a desperate fighter.

Round 7 was scored 10-8 for Pacquiao on all cards and rightly so. How Oscar did not go down and out in this round is a testament to his will and courage, but his back on the ropes told a different story. He was done and nothing could save him now.

In between rounds you could see Oscar telling his corner he was alright, but his face and eyes were telling a different story.

How De La Hoya mustered up the strength to go out for another round is anyone’s guess. Not taking his foot off the gas pedal Manny came out with the same ferocity as he did in every previous round and it was clear this fight was over. A tired and clumsy combination of punches by Oscar drew an audible chuckle from many in the crowd and the handwriting was clearly on the wall.

At the end of the 8th round Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer grabbed one of the towels that was draped on every seat in the house to promote the “Dream Match” and waved it to get the attention of his corner. "What's the point?” shouted Schaefer.

And with that the fight was over. The towel that was handed out to promote the Golden Boy was now being used to bring the fight and maybe his career to a dramatic end.

In the other corner a jubilant Manny Pacquiao celebrated a stunning victory, the likes of which maybe even he himself didn’t see coming.

One person who did see it coming was Manny’s trainer Freddie Roach who said all along that he knew Oscar wasn’t able to pull the trigger anymore. To be fair, De La Hoya may have pulled the trigger once or twice on Saturday night, but he was firing blanks.

Look, you have to applaud Oscar De La Hoya for all the accomplishments that he has attained in boxing that is without question. But at the same time you have to think that this changing of the guard may very well be the shot in the arm boxing needs to get back on it’s feet in 2009.

It’s time to shuttle out all the old fighters who are clinging on to that one la$t fight.

It’s time to anoint a new era of boxing and fighters.

The past is gone.


Questions Or Comments? Email William Trillo
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