Bernard Hopkins Knocks Out Oscar De La Hoya
Bernard Hopkins v Oscar De La Hoya
Just four months short of his 40th birthday, ‘The Executioner’ gradually wore down one of the sport’s all-time greats before finishing the job off with a lethal body shot in the ninth round.
De la Hoya earned his ‘Golden Boy’ nickname when starring at the 1992 Olympics and had won 37 of his 40 pro bouts, claiming world titles at six different weights.
However, he had been unconvincing in his first fight at middleweight when outpointing Felix Sturm and now he was in with the division’s top dog.
Hopkins had lost just two of his previous 47 fights, the last defeat being on points against Roy Jones back in May 1993.
He has been a middleweight world champion since 1994 and unified the WBC, WBA and IBF titles when stopping the previously unbeaten Felix Trinidad in the 12th round in September 2001.
And although both fighters had weighed in for this bout well inside the 11st 4lb limit, with Hopkins having 2lb to spare and de la Hoya 3lb, the former’s greater natural strength proved decisive.
De la Hoya just shaded the opening two rounds behind his fast left jab but Hopkins hinted at what was to come with a couple of strong straight rights in the third.
The middle rounds resembled a chess match as both boxers sought to prise open each other’s superb defence.
De la Hoya targeted Hopkins’ body while the latter looked to rough up his smaller opponent whenever the pair came close together.
The harder, more hurtful punches always just seemed to be coming from Hopkins, however, as the 39-year-old’s greater power shone through.
A crunching right uppercut early in the ninth eventually rocked de la Hoya and then a vicious left hook to the ribs had him reeling on the canvas well past the count of 10 halfway through the round.
“I wanted to show everybody that I could box,” Hopkins said afterwards.
“It was always the plan to come in light to give me extra speed while retaining my power. I knew I could outbox him and I think I did.
“He surprised me a bit by coming straight out and fighting with me. He didn’t run and I give him a lot of credit for that.
“I didn’t see him slow down or take a breather but I was just trying to get inside and rough him up, put my weight on him, push him back and work on his legs.
“He was a crafty little son-of-a-gun. He was slipping and moving around and holding me just long enough.
“But I kept setting him up with the jab and then I connected with a great left to the liver, a perfect body shot. I heard him go ‘Urgh’ as the wind came out of him.”
Hopkins would now like to gain revenge for his loss to Jones with a rematch at super-middleweight or possibly step up even further to take on light-heavyweight kingpin Antonio Tarver.
“At 39, almost 40, it was a very satisfactory win,” added the Philadelphian.
“I told my mother that I wouldn’t fight past 40 but I’d love to carry on and fight Roy Jones again and come back and do my last defence as a middleweight. If not Roy Jones, bring on Antonio Tarver.”
De la Hoya said: “My gameplan was to keep moving and watch out for that right hand, and it was working. I put up a good fight but he just caught me.
“He’s the middleweight champion of the world, I tried to do the impossible and I’m proud of my performance.
“But he caught me right on the button and even though I tried getting up, I couldn’t do it. Believe me, I have what it takes to get up, but he caught me right on the button.”
Controversy had erupted in the hours leading up to bout after it emerged that de la Hoya had suffered a cut on the palm of his hand which required 11 stitches after a freak training accident earlier in the week.
De la Hoya’s camp reportedly admitted he received a painkiller called lidocaine to treat the wound, a drug that is not allowed to be in a boxer’s system at the time of a bout.
However, de la Hoya insisted that the injury had not affected him during the fight.
“I was perfectly fine,” said the 31-year-old from Los Angeles. “I was throwing out my jab okay and landed with a few left uppercuts so everything was fine, I felt perfect.
“He just caught me with a great shot. I’ve been hit before with a punch like that which makes you make a noise like ‘Urgh’, but when I tried getting up I couldn’t breath.”
When asked if he would now consider hanging up his gloves or step back down in weight, de la Hoya replied: “I love boxing, that’s all I can say.”
