Pacquiao vs De La Hoya - What a win!

We watched the De La Hoya-Pacquiao fight earlier via sopcast and wow, we were blown away by the performance of the Pacman! Saying that the bout was lopsided is a very very big understatement.

BTW, we watched it the fight at MMA-TV channel in sopcast, so better take not of it, in case of any upcoming events. :)

In case you missed it, during the break after round 8, De La Hoya's side turned in the towel giving the Pacman a TKO victory. This is very, very good for the Pacman; wins via decisions are always clouded in intrigues; a knock out victory means a win beyond a shadow of a doubt.

From the get-go, Pacman danced around the ring throwing jabs and hooks, most of which caught by the Golden Boy on the head. De La Hoya wasn't throwing punches like I remembered in his last match about six or seven years ago. I would have wanted him to trade more punches, like he used to. Among the different boxers, he is one of the ones I looked up to for a long time.

Pacman's speed is the key in his success. He keeps to the middle of the ring and darts in and out, landing punches at De La Hoya then just as quickly keeps distance to avoid counterpunches. Whenever he gets to the ropes, he quickly turns and retreats to the center, to prevent from being pinned and become a stationary target for the Golden Boy.

I remember around the sixth -- or was it the seventh? did anybody record the fight? -- round in which Pacman landed a powerful four-hit combo: a hook, a hook, a straight, then another hook. The replay showed the effects on De La Hoya, as his face quite literally bounced off of Pacman's fists left and right. That, for me, was the turning point that finally drove Pacman to pummel De La Hoya down to the point that the ringside doctor had not choice but to recommend to stop the fight.

Tough decision on the part of De La Hoya, forcing to submit. Still, everyone can tell that, even if had enough gas to last four more rounds, there is really no point; Pacman was way ahead in points and the only way for him to win was via knockout -- which is not gonna happen, since he cannot even land most of his punches.

You can also tell from the interviews that, while De La Hoya's face was swollen, Pacman's face was clean and unbruised. Just shows how much he dominated the bout.

More power to Pacman! Now dominating several weight divisions, he showed that his weight gain is not a factor in his speed. If anything, I think he was even much faster now than in his last fight a few months ago. I guess that just goes to show the intensity of his training and his determination to become better, stronger, and faster fighter.

As for De La Hoya, I wish he can still continue to compete in the ring. This is, after all, his first fight in years... It's practically a coming-out-of-retirement match. And it is not just against any fighter; it's against the so-called best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. No shame in losing to a champion. And the cliche about it's not how many times you fall but how many times you come back up applies here. Hope we see more of him in the future, before his age really catches up to him. Come on Golden Boy! You can do it!