BY TIM SMITH
LAS VEGAS - Oscar De La Hoya picked on the wrong little man when he chose Manny Pacquiao, a lightweight champion, as his opponent to make a return to the welterweight division after a seven-year absence.
Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36 KOs) administered the worst beating that the Golden Boy has ever suffered in his 16-year career. De La Hoya's corner asked referee Tony Weeks to stop the fight after the eighth round, giving Pacquiao an eighth-round TKO victory before a packed house at the MGM Grand Saturday night.
"Manny Pacquiao is a great fighter and he put on a great fight. He was the better man tonight," De La Hoya said. "I just couldn't figure out his style. I'm not shocked because at this stage when you face someone like Pacquiao, it's going to be a hard fight.
"My style is to go forward and boxing on my toes. He was waiting for me. My body seemed not to be able to respond. I didn't have the strength to stop him when he was coming forward."
De La Hoya is Golden Boy no more....
De La Hoya is Golden Boy no more
Pacquiao no small challenge for De La Hoya
By J. Michael Falgoust, USA TODAY
Oscar De La Hoya will try his hand again at fighting another fast, naturally smaller opponent regarded as the sport's best boxer pound-for-pound who is moving up to welterweight.
Shane Mosley, a former lightweight champion, moved up to beat the Golden Boy in 2000 via split decision. Last year, Floyd Mayweather, also a former lightweight champion, eked a split decision, too.
Now lightweight champion Manny Pacquiao (47-3-2, 35 KOs) — who began his career in 1995 at 106 pounds — will get his shot in a Dec. 6 welterweight bout at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (HBO Pay-Per-View).
It's supposed to be De La Hoya's final bout in a pro career that commenced after he won the United States' only boxing gold medal at the 1992 Olympics. However, he wouldn't concede that this would be his last hurrah in a conference call Thursday.
Pacquiao no small challenge for De La Hoya....
Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao camps discuss December 6 bout
By Dan Arritt, Los Angeles Times
Representatives for Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao met Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles to begin hammering out a deal for a Dec. 6 non-title welterweight bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, according to Bruce Binkow, an agent for Golden Boy Promotions.
Richard Schaefer, chief executive for Golden Boy, which represents De La Hoya, and Bob Arum, president of Top Rank, which represents Pacquiao, met for two hours but are still days away from making a deal, Binkow said.
Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao camps discuss December 6 bout....
Mayweather Jr. retires, cancels rematch with De La Hoya
By Dan Rafael
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Pound-for-pound king and welterweight world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. announced his retirement from boxing Friday.
"It is with a heavy heart that I write you this message today," Mayweather, 31, said in a statement. "I have decided to permanently retire from boxing. This decision was not an easy one for me to make, as boxing is all I have done since I was a child. However, these past few years have been extremely difficult for me to find the desire and joy to continue in the sport."
The retirement means that Mayweather's scheduled Sept. 20 rematch with Oscar De La Hoya is off.
"I have been informed of Floyd's decision and I wish him good luck," Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com. "I wish him good luck in his retirement. We will move on. Sometime next week I will announce a big fight for Oscar. There are different names out there and I will be working diligently to announce in the coming days Oscar's next fight."
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