- 7 weeks ago
Oscar De La Hoya defends the WBC Welterweight title against No 1. Challenger Patrick Charpentier on HBO Boxing from El Paso, Texas
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00:00...gets ready for the entree. The main event, Oscar De La Hoya against Patrick Charpentier,
00:06and it is the culmination of what has already been here, a five-day love-in for Oscar De La Hoya in El Paso.
00:14The hysteria began in March with the announcement that De La Hoya would be coming to predominantly Mexican-American El Paso.
00:1934,000 tickets were bought up that week.
00:22When De La Hoya arrived in town this past Tuesday, he was met by a throng of supporters at the airport,
00:26already an hour behind schedule, he spent another hour touching hands and signing autographs.
00:31The following day, an expected outdoor public workout was moved to a supposedly secret indoor location,
00:36and still a thousand fans showed up.
00:39Same story Thursday, when organizers held the customary media-only Free Fight News Conference,
00:44and 1,500 De La Hoya fans tried to gain entry.
00:47It was as if Elvis and the Beatles had come to El Paso together.
00:50Yesterday's weigh-in uneventful, other than the by-now obligatory crush of screaming women
00:55battling for a closer look at Oscar.
00:57When asked to explain his heartthrob appeal, De La Hoya said simply,
01:01I think all women respond to a fighter with a good left hook.
01:06And De La Hoya arriving here at the Sun Bowl Stadium earlier this evening
01:11to try to bring the fans what they want, an exciting victory.
01:15We mentioned that the crowd, expected to be near 50,000,
01:20would be one of the largest in the recent history of American boxing.
01:23Here are the biggest live gates for boxing matches in the United States over the past 50 years,
01:29and you can see that De La Hoya-Charpentier in El Paso will rank fifth on that list,
01:35despite the fact that the Frenchman is almost totally unknown in this country.
01:40Earlier this evening, threatening weather conditions here, notably high winds,
01:45which caused organizers to remove the canopy from above the ring.
01:49This is a taped shot from earlier today, and you can see the havoc that the wind wreaked with that canopy over the ring,
01:56so that was taken away.
01:57The truss, which holds the heavy lights that are necessary for our telecast,
02:02was moved down to half its normal height because it was rocking back and forth in the wind
02:06and scaring the Dickens out of all of us.
02:09Weather graphic as we get ready for the main event.
02:11Temperature still near 90 degrees here at ringside winds, 10 to 20 miles per hour,
02:16gusting up to 40 outside the stadium.
02:19We're told that those gusts may be larger inside the stadium because of the bowl effect.
02:24All of that because of Oscar De La Hoya's unique bond to the Latino American audience which dominates this region.
02:33Of course, expectations for the Golden Boy have always been enormous,
02:37but it may come as a surprise to those of you who are not hardcore boxing fans
02:42that Oscar De La Hoya's identity as the Golden Boy is not unique.
02:46There was another one not that long ago.
02:48Ever since I won the gold medal in Barcelona,
02:57I recall one of my uncles actually calling me his Golden Boy.
03:01The Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya.
03:06Unknown to many, Oscar's not the first Golden Boy.
03:10In 1937, Golden Boy was an acclaimed Broadway play written by Clifford Odets.
03:15Two years later, William Holden made his acting debut in the movie version.
03:20He played a prolific young violinist who turns to boxing to make a living.
03:25You're good for only one thing now, slugging, slugging my way to the title.
03:31Even Sammy Davis Jr. got into the act, playing the Golden Boy in a Broadway musical.
03:36And ten years after the movie release, a different kind of real-life Golden Boy appeared.
03:41A handsome, young, Mexican-American prize fighter from California named Art Aragon.
03:46Wearing his famous gold attire, California's Golden Boy about seeing Art Aragon.
03:55Johnny Allen of the N Daily News wrote in this column before one of my fights,
04:02he wrote, the coffers will be filled with gold tonight because Art Aragon is fighting.
04:06And the other people said, wait, this is clever. Golden Boy. Golden Boy. And that's the way it came about.
04:13William Holden, a fan of Aragon's, helped market the nickname.
04:17In a publicity shoot, Holden passed on the robe that he had worn in the movie.
04:21And the name fit perfectly.
04:24The Golden Boy goes where the gold is. The gold for me is right here.
04:27Well, there's certainly nobody been in the boxing game around here in a long, long time that has drawn the crowds that you have.
04:32Don't forget it.
04:33I was brash, overly cocky. I was too, too cocky.
04:38I mean, they should call me cocky boy instead of golden boy.
04:42Art was Mr. Personality. Everybody loved the guy or hated him, but they always made a lot of noise.
04:47Greatest damn little bundle of joy when it comes to boxing I've ever seen.
04:52Art was so popular. There's never gonna be nobody like Art. Nobody.
04:56Aragon fought as a lightweight and welterweight. He beat champions Laurel Salas, Don Jordan, and Jimmy Carter, but never won a title belt himself.
05:05Known for his great chin and tremendous finishes, he's still most remembered for his flamboyant personality.
05:11I wanted to get shared like everybody else, you know. But every time I'd go in the ring, boo!
05:15So finally, I told him, who the hell, who needs this?
05:18One fight, I wanted to get even. And I went like this to the audience.
05:25And the athletic commission fined me 500 bucks.
05:27You didn't have to be a fight fan to know about Art Aragon because he would do things that would hit the papers.
05:34And no matter where he went, something happened.
05:37But Art, when he would fight, he would bring out people that nobody else would bring out.
05:41Despite the movie and play that preceded him, Art played the role of anti-hero, a bad guy who filled the seats.
05:49Every fight he had was a sellout. Mexican fans came out to watch Aragon lose.
05:55And they were disappointed so many times. He liked to have been the villain.
06:00I think that Muhammad Ali copied from him because he gave you a show.
06:05And he had charisma.
06:07The women loved him.
06:08The thing about him is that when he got in that ring, no matter what had happened, he gave it its all.
06:16In his last fights, Aragon took tremendous beatings from Carmen Basilio and other world-class fighters.
06:21But he finally earned the respect of Mexican fans, fighting with his heart and taking his lumps.
06:26He retired with a record of 95 victories and 19 losses.
06:29As far as Southern California was considered, he was a mold of his own.
06:38These old icons are sort of forgotten about.
06:41You got Oscar De La Hoya. He's the good guy, Golden Boy.
06:45Art was the bad guy, Golden Boy.
06:47Today, a bail bondsman in Southern California, Aragon's still remembered as the ring's original Golden Boy.
06:53Tarnished, but nevertheless golden.
06:56A far cry from today's Golden Boy, who's sparklingly blemish-free.
07:00The good guy, Golden Boy of the 21st century.
07:03So, Oscar De La Hoya continues on this freight train of success, which, beginning with the Olympic gold medal in Barcelona,
07:14continuing with the unbeaten career, winning world titles in several weight classes as he has,
07:19all of it, Larry Merchant, has fueled a continually raging fire of enormous expectations.
07:27Has he, in your view, lived up to them?
07:29So far, yes. And yes and yes, once again.
07:33We seem to have to remember in this atmosphere that although Oscar De La Hoya is regarded as a hero or a heartthrob or both,
07:42that he is a terrific fighter who defended titles five times last year
07:48and who figures to add another yes to his collection tonight.
07:54And yet, when I flew to El Paso from Los Angeles on a plane filled with his fans,
08:01I kept hearing them asking each other over and over again,
08:05when is he going to fight a good fighter?
08:08They came here not for a good fight, but for a good fiesta.
08:13Which brings me back to the original golden boy, Art Aragon, because he did step up finally to fight a true champion in Carmen Basilio.
08:25And as the story is told, in the first round, he landed his absolute best shot and Basilio didn't blink.
08:33But Aragon went back to his corner and said to his handlers,
08:38you better get me out of here before this guy kills me.
08:41It took eight rounds.
08:43We don't expect to hear that from Oscar De La Hoya tonight.
08:46No, but we could conceivably hear it from Patrick Charpentier,
08:49because the book on Charpentier, the Frenchman, despite the level of success that's brought him here,
08:55is that he is relatively slow, extremely willing, thinks of himself as a hard puncher,
09:01and will come straight forward, something that De La Hoya loves in an opponent.
09:05So, all things being considered, Roy, should this be brief?
09:09It could be, but the one thing you have to always consider is,
09:12if he has a hard head, how will Oscar's hand hold up?
09:15If his hand can hold up to the pressure, then I'm sure he'll probably get him out pretty quick.
09:19Yeah, De La Hoya coming off of the left wrist injury,
09:22and it means a lot to Oscar, because his two best punches are the jab and the left hook.
09:26Yeah, and those are the two punches that you use to get any fighter going,
09:29a good right-handed fighter.
09:30Those would be the most important punches for him.
09:32So, if he can keep his hand healthy,
09:34make sure he doesn't hit him with too many shots high on the head,
09:37I think he'll be okay.
09:38Well, nevertheless, Charpentier will be entertaining for a while.
09:41He's an interesting personality who arrives here with the most unusual inspiration,
09:47and certainly the most unusual hobby we've ever found in a fighter.
09:52We went to France to learn more about Patrick Charpentier.
10:01France, a country best known for fine cuisine, romance, the arts, joie de vivre,
10:08and a history of battling in wars against long odds.
10:10All this has been instilled in Patrick Charpentier, who grew up in Orléans,
10:15the pivotal city of France's 15th century liberation from England during the Hundred Years' War.
10:21The French freedom fighter leading the comeback charge was Joan of Arc.
10:25She was someone who was unique in her passion to wage war and express herself in combat.
10:35There is a comparison to be made with me because I am an underdog Frenchman,
10:39and she inspires me to make it to the top.
10:43Charpentier hasn't faced the life-and-death struggles of his hometown icon,
10:47but he has had great success in his homeland,
10:50holding both the French and European championships.
10:53Despite these achievements, prize-fighting was never his first passion.
11:00I really liked cycling. I wanted to be a cyclist above all.
11:04But as there were no cycling schools when I was 12,
11:07so I turned to boxing, and comeback sports struck my interest.
11:14It started because he was a bit rowdy, and this helped him quiet down,
11:18and he liked it immediately.
11:19He was a wild kid letting off steam.
11:23Despite fame in France, Charpentier has not yet spread his roots too far.
11:28His priorities remain close to home.
11:33To me, family is life. Boxing will never be my life.
11:38It's a period of my life.
11:41Family is the heart. It's rooted inside of us,
11:43and I will not stray from that morally or physically.
11:46And the 27-year-old welterweight hasn't strayed from the French tradition of pushing to be different.
11:52He has an unusual hobby that separates him from other boxers.
11:56I started with two or three aluminum cans.
11:59After six years, I now have over 300.
12:02This is my chance to collect something that no one else does,
12:05and it's always nice to have something original.
12:09His offbeat collection is only one element of his urge to stand out.
12:14He also distinguishes himself with an annual makeover.
12:17I change my look once a year, every 1st of July.
12:21I started doing it five years ago to be unique.
12:24This is what characterizes me, but the media is having a hard time.
12:27They need a lot of archives to keep up with all the changes.
12:31Almost as challenging as tracking his morphing mug shots
12:34is keeping up with the booming state of French boxing.
12:37France has never before had more than two champions at one time.
12:41In fact, they've only had 18 title holders in 86 years.
12:45But tonight, there are five, and Charpentier is motivated to become number six.
12:51Patrick is fighting for himself, also for his wife, for his putteran.
12:57But he's also fighting for the French nation.
13:01He wants to continue the tradition of the French fighter
13:05that in two or three last year beat American people,
13:10beat American fighters.
13:13But against Oscar de la Hoya,
13:15Patrick Charpentier is driven by more than just this
13:18new surge of fighting vive la France.
13:21Tonight, in the fight of Charpentier's life,
13:24his inspiration rings through from centuries ago.
13:28My inspiration from Joan of Arc,
13:31she went to battle until the end,
13:33until she was burned while defending her region.
13:35I think that's beautiful.
13:37I may have some of the same motives when I step into the ring,
13:40making sacrifices and making big risks
13:43in order to reach my goal and claim victory.
13:45This year's makeover for Charpentier,
13:51expected to begin tonight, courtesy of Oscar de la Hoya's fists.
13:54Tale of the tape, de la Hoya with a two-year age advantage,
13:58one and a half inches taller.
14:00They both weighed in close to the limit.
14:02Charpentier one pound under.
14:03He's gained six pounds since yesterday's weigh-in.
14:06De la Hoya having gained nine.
14:08And Oscar with a three-inch reach advantage over the Frenchman.
14:11Punch stat numbers, Larry.
14:14The numbers for the punches landed are similar,
14:19but of course against a vastly different class of competition.
14:23De la Hoya, a resourceful, very accurate puncher.
14:26The defensive stats on this fight may be more pertinent.
14:34As you can see, de la Hoya gets hit many fewer punches than Charpentier.
14:40And rules of the bout with the fight judge and pharmacist, Harold Letterman.
14:43Once again, the Oscar de la Hoya-Patrick Charpentier fight
14:47is scheduled for 12 rounds using the unified rules of boxing
14:51for a world championship fight.
14:52There is no standing eight count, no three-knockdown rule.
14:56Only the referee can stop the fight,
14:58and you cannot be saved by the bell in any round,
15:00including the 12th and final round.
15:02Jim.
15:03All right, Harold.
15:07Haven't yet received an official attendance figure.
15:15Estimated at about 45,000, as we showed you on the graphic earlier.
15:18Fifth largest American live boxing gate in the last 50 years.
15:24And all of the others, Jim,
15:27were in fights that were believed to be competitive going in.
15:32That's what makes this an exceptional crowd.
15:35Oh, and there we see Charpentier.
15:41I couldn't help but muse in watching that feature on him, Jim.
15:48Whether there was a tomato can among his collection.
15:54Tomato can being the universal designation
15:57for a very average to less than average fighter.
16:06But he's really handled the scene here very well, I thought.
16:10A couple hours ago, he was walking around, waving to people.
16:14In case you're wondering why we're denigrating this man's record,
16:21I would point out to you that his last four wins were over
16:25Leroy Owens, Virgil Petrosh, Wayne Boutreau, and Rene Urunga.
16:33De La Hoya, even on his most lopsided knife,
16:38hasn't fought opposition as anonymous as that in quite some time.
16:42Probably the biggest win of his career
16:50was over a fighter named Gary Jacobs back in 1996.
16:55You saw Gary Jacobs here on HBO
16:58against Brunel Whitaker a few years ago.
17:00He was strictly an opponent.
17:02A very clever defensive fighter who Charpentier stopped.
17:07And the record for Patrick Charpentier.
17:1027 wins, 4 losses, 1 draw, 23 knockouts of his own,
17:16but he has been cut.
17:18He has been stopped.
17:20There's nothing new here
17:22in the way of the frontier for De La Hoya to conquer.
17:24I was in a restaurant this afternoon, Jim.
17:36I stopped in for some lunch.
17:38The waiter told me Charpentier had been there the evening before
17:42and had tried that great southwestern dish.
17:47Chili, green chili stew.
17:52Great man.
17:54Here comes De La Hoya.
17:56What is this?
17:58I guess he fancies himself a Toreador now.
18:15What has been done?
18:17Pretty much blowing.
18:17Warrior yoga.
18:18VRサbeiten.
18:18Jorge, coeur, Papá.
18:20trend.
18:20It has been hard.
18:20It has been hard.
18:24It has been hard.
18:24It has been hard for me, publishes and bearers.
18:29Oh
18:59Oh
19:29Did you see that invitation for him to become a bigamist Jim will you marry us is one of the signs
19:48If there's a law against it they change it here
19:59Well if you're gonna wear that outfit into the ring you'd better be an unbeaten fighter and Oscar is
20:0927 wins no losses no draws 22 KOs
20:14The knockouts have come a little bit slower at the welterweight level
20:19But he scored one against Wilfredo Rivera in his last bout
20:22And of course everyone expects another tonight
20:26A couple of years ago NBC sports developed research that indicated more than half of the audience for Olympics
20:36Telecast was women I wonder if the same would be true for an Oscar De Laue a fight
20:44Check out our website at
20:46www.hbo.com
20:48And now let's go up to Michael Buffer for the official introductions
21:02Ladies and gentlemen top rank incorporated along with your undisputed undefeated king of beers
21:10Budweiser this bugs for you
21:12Present the main event of the evening
21:15Sanctioned by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation
21:19Boxing coordinator Dick Cole
21:21Supervising inspectors
21:23Greg Alvarez
21:24Craig Hubble
21:26Henry Molina
21:27Bob Simpson
21:28And Henry Villagomez
21:31Your positions at ringside
21:33Dr. Raul Rivera
21:35And Dr. Tom Alast
21:37Timekeeper and counting for the knockdown seconds will be Mark Ortega and Frank Adams
21:42The three judges assigned to ringside scoring the belt on a ten point must system are
21:49Alfred Asaro
21:50Alfred Asaro
21:51David Chung
21:52And Gail Van Oy
21:54And when the bell rings your referee in charge of the action
21:58Lawrence Cole
21:59And now from the Sun Bowl El Paso, Texas
22:03Are you ready?
22:05For the 51,000 in attendance and the millions watching around the world
22:23Ladies and gentlemen
22:25Let's get ready to rumble
22:29Introducing first
22:39Fighting out of the blue corner
22:41Wearing blue, white and red
22:43Wearing 146 pounds
22:45His professional record
22:4727 victories
22:49With four defeats and one draw
22:51And 23 of his victories are by knockout
22:54From Vimeuter France
22:57Here is the WBC number one ranked welterweight in the world
23:03The challenger
23:04Mesdames and Messrs
23:06Patrick Chapentier
23:18And fighting out of the red corner
23:20Wearing white with gold
23:22And weighing 147 pounds
23:24In 1992
23:26He captured Olympic gold
23:27And now as a professional
23:28He has a perfect record
23:3027 straight victories without a defeat
23:33Including 22 knockouts
23:35And four world titles
23:37From East Los Angeles, California
23:39Presenting
23:41The former junior lightweight
23:43Former lightweight
23:45Former super welterweight world champion
23:47And now
23:49The reigning
23:50And defending
23:51Undefeated
23:52Weatherweight champion
23:53Of the world
23:54Felicia
23:55Of the world
23:57El Niño de Oro
23:59Godden boy
24:00Osmo
24:01el Rahoya
24:04Gentlemen, I gave your instructions earlier in the dressing room.
24:20I want you to protect yourselves and obey my commands at all times.
24:23Understood?
24:24Touch them up.
24:25Good luck.
24:25Bonne chance.
24:28Charpentier says that the question for De La Hoya is,
24:32does he know how to suffer?
24:35Nobody has made him suffer in the ring yet.
24:40Is Charpentier the fighter who can do that?
24:46You saw De La Hoya avoid eye contact with his opponent during the referee's instructions.
24:51It's always been his custom in the past.
24:53State of Texas regards Lawrence Cole as its best referee.
24:57De La Hoya has had four first-round knockouts in his career.
25:02That's true.
25:11Charpentier's hands very high, Roy, to deal with De La Hoya's jab.
25:17Yeah, but he reached for that first jab.
25:19And he's already wide open for Oskar's left hook.
25:24And there you saw Oskar try to hook because he throws open.
25:26first left hook of the bout for De La Oya
25:30De La Oya's handlers, Gil Clancy included
25:36thinking that the left hook to the body
25:38is likely to be available here tonight
25:40Chapantier tends to extend his hands
25:43when he tries to come forward
25:44Chapantier short with a couple of jabs
25:49De La Oya twice to the body, right and left
25:52left hook to the body, left upstairs
25:55doesn't seem to be favoring the left wrist, Roy
26:00no, not at all, he's already making the left hand
26:02very active in this fight
26:03Chapantier mindful of pulling the right hand
26:12back quickly after he extended to throw the right cross
26:15De La Oya quite often uses the first round
26:18to sort of look and feel his opponent out
26:20and becomes more aggressive when the second bell rings
26:23Chapantier so far making De La Oya take the lead
26:31Chapantier using his right elbow to try to block the left hook to the body
26:40De La Oya surely will take note of that
26:43and think of coming back upstairs
26:45because his hands are on the side of his face so much
26:48Chapantier, I think De La Oya's left uppercut would be a big factor here too
26:52crowd responding to every De La Oya movement
26:57very few clean punches landing here
27:00cautious first round for both fighters
27:03straight right hand lands for De La Oya
27:07two left hooks to the body
27:09if Oscar can progressively make the right hand more of a factor from fight to fight
27:20it will increase the degree to which he's a nightmare for his opponents
27:24you don't come in against De La Oya, Roy, thinking
27:28I have to stop his right hand
27:30no you don't do that
27:32I don't think Chapantier came in to do that
27:34Roy Jones mentioned the left uppercut
27:54Oscar De La Oya threw his first one with about eight seconds left in the round
28:03you'll notice when we get to Chapantier that he stands in the corner
28:07you'll notice Oscar's doing the same
28:10and Oscar's doing the same thing right now
28:12our interpreter in Chapantier's corner is Yves Jean-Baptiste
28:23up, uppercut, uppercut, left hook
28:29more jabs, more jabs
28:31but be careful with him, ok?
28:33work on his damaged shoulder
28:35ok remember he has a damaged shoulder so work on it
28:38boom, devant
28:39sans levé la tête, le t'affinatier
28:41well, a couple of years ago Oscar De La Oya had an injured right shoulder
28:48hasn't been a factor for a while
28:50Charpentier's strategy may be to try to extend the fight for as long as we can
28:58since Oscar's been out of the ring for some time
29:01made he get overeager
29:03well, I think Oscar hit him with a straight right hand over the top of his jab that hurt him already in the first round
29:08so I don't think he really can take Oscar's punch
29:10it's just Oscar has to take his time to set him up for one
29:13well, he indicated that because of the size of the crowd and the passion they've shown for him
29:19he wouldn't mind if they see a few rounds
29:21he wasn't necessarily looking for an immediate chance at a knockout
29:25and he has had six second round knockouts in his career
29:31including the big one over Rafael Velas
29:35Catantier...
29:49is so conscious... conscious of De La Hoya's left hand
29:55he'll only throw his own left
29:56He can only throw his own left.
29:58He's thrown maybe a couple of right-hand punches in the fight,
30:01but by and large, he wants to keep that right next to his chin.
30:04Yeah, he takes the Oscar's power earlier.
30:06He doesn't want to take any chances
30:07and get caught with a big punch here earlier.
30:26Oscar backing the Frenchman up with his jab,
30:38looking for a chance to land the power punch.
30:44Chapentier still extremely protective of the right side of his jaw.
30:52Oscar might think more of dropping the right hand
30:54over Chapentier's jab.
30:56Yeah, he's dropped it a couple of times,
30:58but he's trying to break Chapentier's defense up
31:00with his left jab right now.
31:03Hard left.
31:04Max Chapentier into the ropes.
31:16Roy, when you talk about De La Hoya's punching power,
31:18his speed is obvious.
31:20It's easy to see how fast he is with his hands.
31:22But I always tell people,
31:24his power comes from terrific technique.
31:26He really has been well-schooled in how to throw punches.
31:28Yeah, he has.
31:30And I think speed is also power, Jim.
31:32Anytime you see a guy deliver punches with the speed that Oscar does,
31:34there has to be power there.
31:36But he does throw beautiful punches.
31:38He was taught well by somebody,
31:40and he throws textbook punches,
31:42so they have to be powerful.
31:44Particularly the left hook.
31:46Left hook to the body.
31:48Uppercut misses short.
31:50De La Hoya landing a straight left,
31:52right through Chapentier's guard.
31:54Chapentier is like a heavy bag here.
31:56He's just dead enough to do anything he wants to do,
31:58whatever he gets with it.
32:00Well, De La Hoya,
32:02Father of,
32:03one-time lightweight fighter himself,
32:05and a huge force in Oscar's career.
32:08In fact,
32:09when Oscar fired trainer Emmanuel Stewart less than a year ago,
32:13it was because his father insisted he do it.
32:17And you see the staggeringly one-sided CompuBox numbers
32:21through two rounds.
32:23Make sure your punches are inside.
32:30You're a little wide.
32:32You're working real well.
32:34It's just a matter of time.
32:36Don't get crazy now.
32:38Just be calm.
32:40That's it.
32:42A little more movement.
32:46I'm gonna get it.
32:48Okay.
32:49Louie!
32:51Louie!
32:53Louie!
32:55Louie!
32:56Louie!
32:57Louie!
32:58Charpentier throws a left hook and a right hand.
33:19So maybe the Frenchman is going to open up and become a tiny bit more aggressive
33:23after plodding through the first two rounds, throwing jabs almost exclusively
33:27and using his right hand to protect against Oscar De La Hoya's left hook and left jab.
33:32Yeah, he came out as though he really wants to start fighting this round.
33:35Let's see how long will that last.
33:39De La Hoya's corner men, trainer Robert Alcazar, Gil Clancy, the whole camp,
33:45they like to refer to Charpentier as the piñata.
33:47And that's why.
33:57The Frenchman's handlers told us he's never been knocked down.
34:03I thought that was a left hook as he pulled away, Roy.
34:06It was a good left hook.
34:07He threw a right hand and followed a left hook in the back.
34:09That was another good straight right hand.
34:11I don't think he was hurt badly, but there he is, days now.
34:18One, two, three, five, six.
34:21No three knockdown rule.
34:22De La Hoya doing a terrific job of using the right to set up his left hook.
34:26He actually had a left hook up that time.
34:28Yep.
34:29It was a perfect uppercut.
34:30And now the jab comes right through the center of Charpentier's guard.
34:38Frenchman down twice in the round.
34:40Very sharp punching by Oscar De La Hoya.
34:47There he is.
34:49And that'll do it.
34:50Referee Lawrence Cole has seen enough
34:52after a perfect, short, straight right hand finishes the count.
34:58He's got it right there.
34:59He's right over both places.
35:00His hand's on the side of his face.
35:02You always can hear the guy down the middle
35:03when his hand's on the side of his face.
35:07And we talked about the technique.
35:09You can't throw a right cross better than that.
35:11No, you can't.
35:17So they get what they want in El Paso.
35:22And the instant that Charpentier made himself
35:24just a little bit more aggressive,
35:26he became more available, and that was that.
35:30Most of the time, when the guy starts trying to throw punches,
35:35it opens them up to be hit with bigger punches.
35:37If you judge, even in a one-sided fight like this,
35:41you judge a fighter by how he goes about.
35:45In this case, the Toreador, how he goes about taking the bull out.
35:48And I don't think you can improve upon what Oscar De La Hoya just did.
35:54Well, conventional wisdom in the sport is there's only one other fighter in the same league.
36:01Well, Oscar De La Hoya, everybody believes that to be Trinidad,
36:06De La Hoya himself says the toughest opponent for him would be Lopez.
36:11And there are people who agree with him.
36:14But the only place to prove it is in the ring,
36:17and we don't see that happening soon.
36:20And in the pound-for-pound sweepstakes so often bandied about
36:23in the boxing magazines that cover the sport,
36:27among the boxing writers in the sport,
36:28sometimes here on this telecast,
36:31the only name that gets mentioned in the same sentence with De La Hoya
36:33it's not a boy jump.
36:36I would put that vice versa.
36:39I would too, Larry.
36:48Here's another look at knockdown number one, Larry.
36:52There you can see the left hook.
36:55Quick left hook.
36:57An 8-inch left hook.
36:59There you see it again from a different angle.
37:03As Charpentier elected to come in and fight him a little bit
37:08and cut that left hook.
37:11The next knockdown, which we'll see momentarily,
37:15is the uppercut.
37:16Is the uppercut as Charpentier was protecting his outside
37:20from the left hook.
37:23Body, body, right up the middle.
37:25When you're not getting any resistance,
37:35this looks almost too good.
37:39How will De La Hoya do when somebody comes out
37:41and is willing to stand in there and fight him?
37:44How will he do when somebody is hitting him
37:46the way he's hitting Charpentier now?
37:50That's what we haven't found.
37:51It's remarkable, this much into his career,
37:55there's not a single memorable fight that De La Hoya has fought
37:59because nobody has given him that kind of stiff resistance.
38:04And the third knockdown, the perfect right cross.
38:11And at that point, it had become target practice
38:14because Charpentier, dazed from the first two knockdowns,
38:17no longer able to defend himself in the same way.
38:21Balance, timing, technique, all of it on display.
38:25Let's go to Michael Buffer
38:29for the official particulars on this one.
38:32At one minute, 56 seconds of round number three,
38:35referee Lawrence Cole, following the third knockdown,
38:39calls a halt to the bout.
38:40The winner, by knockout victory,
38:43still undefeated and still the reigning
38:47WBC welterweight champion of the world,
38:52De La Hoya accepting praise from promoter Bob Arum,
39:17trainer Robert Alcazar.
39:22And now Oscar with a word for the crowd.
39:30First of all, thank you very much for all your support.
39:35I felt great tonight.
39:40I thank the city of El Paso for giving me the strength,
39:45the opportunity to fight here in front of all these
39:48wonderful, beautiful fans.
39:52And I promise you one more thing,
39:54that I will be back.
39:57I will be back.
40:02Y que viva Mexico!
40:03So, like MacArthur at Corregidor,
40:13De La Hoya vows to return to El Paso.
40:16Final punch stat numbers,
40:18probably the most one-sided we have ever programmed here before.
40:23De La Hoya landing 80 of 155.
40:26Considerable number of them power shots.
40:29Chapantier landing 5 out of 111.
40:35Chapantier throwing almost exclusively jabs,
40:3896 out of his 111 attempted punches, jabs.
40:41He didn't want to risk much because maybe deep in his heart
40:44he knew what was coming once he did.
40:47De La Hoya throwing 84 jabs to set up his power punches
40:50and landing at a pretty high percentage.
40:52But at the end of the day, straight right hands,
40:54left hook, left uppercut,
40:56all of those things doing the damage for De La Hoya.
40:59Larry Merchant is with the champion.
41:00Thank you, Jim.
41:02And congratulations, Oscar.
41:04Thank you very much.
41:05And, Larry, I'm just going to say one thing.
41:07This fight here meant a lot to me.
41:11I was training very, very hard.
41:12And there was just one focus on my mind today,
41:15of course, to get a victory.
41:16But this fight here is dedicated to my little boy,
41:19my little boy Jacob, who's three months.
41:21And I miss him.
41:22And this is for you.
41:25He came out in a shell, Oscar.
41:28Did you think that he was going to try to extend this fight
41:32and wait till late in the fight
41:34in order to try to make something happen?
41:37Well, I believe that Patrick Charpentier
41:40was trying to measure me up.
41:42He was trying to work his jab.
41:44He was trying to work his combinations
41:46and see what I did wrong,
41:47see what mistakes I would make,
41:48and then come for the attack in the later rounds.
41:50He looked in great shape.
41:51He felt very solid and strong.
41:53But like I said, I mean,
41:54before I was saying that my speed is coming,
41:56it's even faster.
41:57My power, I feel it's so, so strong right now.
42:00So, you know, I'm ready for the guys now.
42:02No problems with your left hand?
42:04No problem at all, Larry.
42:05And I feel very, very strong with the left hand.
42:08All right, we want to take a look at the three knockdowns
42:10and ask you to dissect them.
42:12Here's the first one.
42:14Well, right here I was just waiting.
42:15He was catching me with a few jabs
42:16that I just got very careless.
42:17But as you can see, I was trying to go over his...
42:20Right here I connected with a good left hook
42:22after his jab that worked effectively.
42:26I really didn't study much of him,
42:27but I was trying to size him up
42:29and trying to work the body here, as you can see.
42:31And that's the second knockdown.
42:33He's the second good uppercut that I caught him with.
42:35And it was solid, very solid.
42:37So the first two knockdowns were a hook,
42:40an uppercut, and here's the third one.
42:42It was a right hand over, right there.
42:44Right there.
42:45Over the jab that we've been working on that.
42:48We've been trying to size up the very slow jab
42:51that comes to my face, move back on it,
42:54and come back with the right hand.
42:55And it works effectively.
42:56Oscar, you've said you want to be known as a great fighter.
43:00How do you define that?
43:02Is it somebody who wins the most titles,
43:05fights all the best fighters and beats them,
43:07makes the most money?
43:09What combination of those things do you regard
43:11as making a great fighter?
43:14Well, I believe at this point
43:15it's a combination of everything.
43:17But most importantly,
43:18it's fighting the very best champions out there.
43:20And I want to fight whoever wants to sign a contract with me,
43:23I will fight.
43:23Just bring it on.
43:24Bring it to the table.
43:25We will fight.
43:26I'm calling all the champions out there.
43:27For the first time in my life,
43:28I'm calling out a champion.
43:30Let's do it.
43:31Trinidad, Corte, whoever, let's do it.
43:33But none of those fighters
43:35appears to be on your dance card
43:38for the next year.
43:40So when does it happen?
43:41And you're calling them out into what?
43:44A real negotiation in which there's give and take?
43:46Are you telling your promoter,
43:49make the fight whatever it takes?
43:52Well, what I'm saying is
43:53sort out your problems with your managers,
43:55your promoters,
43:56and talk to Bob Arum
43:58and let's sign the fight.
43:59You know, I have Chavez in September.
44:01That's a definite.
44:01That's my personal fight that I want.
44:03In November, let's fight the big boys now.
44:05Let's go up.
44:05We have to go up to weight.
44:06Let's do it.
44:07Let's fight 147.
44:08I still feel strong at this weight.
44:09But let's keep on going.
44:10Let's fight the very best champions out there
44:11because I want to be recognized
44:13as the very best.
44:14Thank you very much, Oscar.
44:16This has been a great night,
44:18a great week for Oscar De La Hoya.
44:21But I do think it's worth reminding all of you fans
44:25that Sugar Ray Leonard,
44:28who was the last great welterweight champion
44:30from the ages of 23 to 25,
44:34fought an outstanding champion in Wilfredo Benitez,
44:37fought one of the best fighters of all time
44:40in Roberto Duran twice,
44:42and then fought the outstanding Tommy Hearns.
44:47As yet, Oscar De La Hoya, who is 25,
44:50has not been in those kinds of firefights yet.
44:54Hopefully, it will happen sooner rather than later.
44:58Jim?
44:59All right, Larry.
45:00And you mentioned the De La Hoya dance card,
45:03which, as expressed by promoter Bob Arum,
45:05for the moment appears to include
45:07a rematch with Julio Cesar Chavez in September.
45:10You'll recall that De La Hoya easily vanquished Chavez
45:13on a fourth-round TKO June 7, 1996.
45:16Then, after the first of the year,
45:18a possible match against Yori Boy Campus,
45:21maybe at Campus's championship level of 154 pounds,
45:24or maybe at De La Hoya's championship level of 147.
45:27And then beyond that,
45:28what they've mentioned is a possible fight
45:30against Obacar or Frankie Randall.
45:32Again, just to underline what Larry said,
45:35what the world is waiting for,
45:36and Oscar knows it,
45:38is Felix Trinidad, Ike Corté, or Jose Luis Lopez.
45:42We'll have a final word on what happened here in the ring
45:44in just a moment.
45:45Let's look ahead to some upcoming programs on HBO.
45:47I have a biggest fear of tripping on stage
45:51or somehow my naked ass being out in public.
45:55I cannot be bombing in front of the homeless.
45:57Let me just say that.
45:58That is inappropriate.
46:00You know what I'm really afraid of?
46:01Whoopee.
46:02Using the urinal right next to Melton Burrell.
46:05That is a big fear.
46:06You know how they always tell you
46:07to picture the audience with no pants?
46:10I'm always scared the audience pictures me
46:12with no pants.
46:14All eight of the things I fear about Comic Relief
46:17can be summed up in three words.
46:20The promo taping.
46:24Legend to legend.
46:28Classic to classic.
46:35Face to face.
46:39Elton John and Billy Joel.
46:41The World Tour.
46:42Their only stop in the USA.
46:44HBO.
46:45Elton and Billy.
46:47Face to face.
46:48Live in Vienna.
46:49Premieres Saturday, June 20th.
46:51Only on HBO.
46:54What is this place
46:56where warriors do battle
46:58on a ground they hold sacred?
47:00Where victory is a lover
47:02and defeat the hated?
47:04Where champions and challengers
47:06rise like blades of grass to the sun
47:08in the hope of claiming a golden prize
47:11that says to the world,
47:12on this day,
47:14I was the best one.
47:16This place is Wimbledon.
47:20Starts Monday, June 22nd.
47:22And then in August,
47:27we'll commemorate the 50th anniversary
47:29of the passing of Babe Ruth.
47:30In this next edition of Sports of the 20th Century,
47:33we'll show and explain
47:34why America's greatest sports icon
47:35is still so well-remembered.
47:37A half-century following his death,
47:39Babe Ruth, August 16th.
47:41World Championship boxing returns next month
47:43with a light heavyweight unification matchup
47:45featuring champions Roy Jones Jr.
47:47and Lou DelVal live,
47:49July 18 at 10 o'clock p.m. Eastern Time.
47:52Here in El Paso tonight,
47:54before a crowd of 45,000, maybe more,
47:57Cesar Bazan won a split decision
47:59over Stevie Johnston in a rousing battle.
48:02Bazan, in his very first title fight,
48:04wins the World Lightweight Championship.
48:07Johnston fought bravely and well,
48:09and in the opinion of all of us,
48:11deserves a rematch.
48:13And then, with a screaming crowd
48:15showing its passion for him,
48:17despite light opposition,
48:20Oscar De La Hoya,
48:21in what amounted to almost an exhibition,
48:23easily stopped Patrick Charpentier,
48:26a third-round knockout for De La Hoya
48:28in a fight in which Charpentier
48:30only landed five punches.
48:32Coming up immediately following
48:33tonight's coverage of World Championship boxing,
48:36stay tuned for Arliss on the East Coast
48:37and Speed 2 Cruise Control on the West Coast.
48:41So now for Larry Merchant,
48:43Roy Jones, and Harold Letterman,
48:45I'm Jim Lafley,
48:46saying so long from the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.
48:50The executive producer of HBO Sports
48:52is Ross Greenberg.
48:53Tonight's telecast of World Championship boxing
48:55was produced by Rick Bernstein
48:57and directed by Mark Payton.
49:00The feature producers,
49:01Greg Backer, Dave Leadsen, and Max Siegel.
49:03The associate producer,
49:04Kirby Bradley and Kendall Bridges-Reed.
49:06Assistant to the producer, Matt Boland.
49:09Production manager was John McCallie
49:10and the technical supervisor, John Roche.
49:14And tonight, with sadness,
49:16we say goodbye to our senior audio man,
49:19Bob Dixon,
49:19who has handled the audio
49:21for almost every World Championship
49:23boxing telecast.
49:24For 20 years,
49:25he's been taking your ears
49:27into the boxing corners
49:28with matchless quality,
49:30going off to Browner Pastures
49:32to work the Olympics for NBC.
49:33We wish him all the best.
49:35Bob, we're going to miss you.
49:37We'll be right now.
49:55This has been a presentation of HBO Sports,
50:15the network of champions.
50:25Roy Jones Jr. returns Saturday, July 18th, only on HBO.
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