- 1 week ago
Undefeated Olympic Gold Medalist Oscar De La Hoya moves up to to face former IBF Featherweight Champion Jorge Paez for the vacant WBO Lightweight Title on HBO Boxing. Plus an interview with Sugar Ray Leonard.
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00:00the fugitive coming in october on hbo next on hbo live from las vegas former olympic star oscar
00:10de la hoya and two-time world champion james tony go against high quality opponents it's
00:15de la hoya versus jorge paez and tony against prince charles williams next
00:30the following is a special presentation of hbo sports
00:39the past the present the future three phases of life three editions of boxing champions
00:51tonight they all come together to manning oscar de la hoya symbolizes the future of boxing
01:00an olympic gold medal a golden smile and an unblemished record de la hoya already has
01:07aspirations of winning titles in six different weight divisions first he must face the toughest
01:12opponent of his professional career former ibf featherweight champion jorge paez
01:18one of the most colorful flamboyant and durable fighters in boxing
01:23highest has been the victim of only one knockout in his 63 professional fights
01:28among present champions ibs super middleweight title holder james tony
01:34ranks as one of the sport's top attractions
01:37when last seen on hbo tony once again justified his quest
01:43to be recognized as boxing's best pound for pound
01:46that's a very very bad cut over the eye he's gonna have to go out and try to end this fight
01:55as fast as he can and two minutes later he did
02:00oh there's a solid right hand and i think the referee's gonna stop it right now and he does
02:05a great great performance by james tony
02:09tony it's a reminiscent of the historic performance by sugar ray
02:18champion from the past the recently dethroned light heavyweight king prince charles williams a come
02:25from behind warrior who over the last decade has suffered only one defeat and so tonight two
02:31champions from the past one of the premier champions in boxing today and a potential future champion all
02:39come together on world championship boxing
02:44which is the first day of the years so now it's a fast and so it's been a beautiful
02:52uh...
02:53to have thomas
02:55weeps
02:56weep
02:57no
02:58go
02:59go
03:00go
04:01In the brand new arena at this brand new Vegas landmark hotel, this arena built to house
04:08as many as 17,000 spectators tonight, configured to seat 9,000 and we expect few empty seats
04:14as it's a near sellout for this outstanding doubleheader featuring Oscar De La Hoya and
04:21James Toney, two of the biggest names in the sport.
04:23Hello again, everybody.
04:26I'm Jim Lafley.
04:27Welcome to this evening of World Championship Boxing on HBO in which we'll be seeing James
04:32Toney defending his IBF super middleweight championship against a former light heavyweight champion, Prince
04:37Charles Williams.
04:38Before that, Oscar De La Hoya meeting Jorge Paez in a 12-round fight, De La Hoya's first fight
04:44at 135 pounds.
04:46Working with us as always, HBO boxing expert and former world heavyweight champion, George
04:50Foreman.
04:51George, later on this evening in the Tony Williams fight, we have James Toney who in the past
04:56year or two has moved up from 160 to 168 pounds.
05:00That's not unusual.
05:01But Prince Charles Williams, a former light heavyweight champion, comes down from 175 to
05:07168 to make money.
05:08That is unusual.
05:09Which of the two is likely to be more comfortable at this weight?
05:12This is totally beneficial for James Toney.
05:15Prince Charles, his main asset was to recuperate.
05:18And sometimes when you lose all that weight, you don't have anything to recuperate from.
05:22You've already lost it in the gym.
05:23So believe me, it's not easy to come down and have that recuperative power.
05:26On the other hand, as a former light heavyweight, Prince Charles is hoping that his punching
05:30power will be enough to carry him through the fight.
05:31Not at all.
05:32You lose all that when you lose that weight.
05:34Sometimes all of a sudden you have two picks.
05:36All right.
05:36But first, we're going to take another look at Oscar De La Hoya, a fighter you like a
05:39great deal.
05:40De La Hoya fighting for the first time at 135 pounds and working with us as always, HBO
05:46boxing analyst Larry Merchant.
05:47Larry, Oscar De La Hoya achieved so much celebrity coming off the Olympics in Barcelona where he won
05:53that gold medal.
05:54But now he's been knocked down in the first round in two of his past three fights.
05:59How much has that done to diminish his image as a future superstar in the sport?
06:05You mean as the second coming of Sugar Ray Leonard.
06:07Well, that's what he and his handlers are hoping for.
06:09Well, there is image damage.
06:11But in the end of the day, it's going to be the substance that counts.
06:14The substance about Oscar De La Hoya right this minute is that he is still a terrific prospect.
06:19Whenever a terrific prospect zooms at us off the launching pad of the Olympics, sides are
06:26always drawn up between great expectations and skepticism.
06:30And as we observe almost too closely his progress through the early days of his apprenticeship
06:35as a professional, the pendulum swings back and forth between those two camps.
06:41So right now, it might be said that he's on the road more likely to become another Mark
06:46Breland or Howard Davis, terrific amateur fighters, gold medalists who went on to become just pretty
06:52good professionals, rather than a Sugar Ray Leonard or Purnell Whitaker, who were great
06:57as amateurs and as professionals, but both of whom had their skeptics when they were at
07:04De La Hoya's stage of his professional career.
07:08One indication, Jim, of that image damage is that I've just learned that the odds which
07:14favored him at 10 to 1 just yesterday have plummeted to 5 to 1 and were still going down
07:22just an hour ago.
07:24So there's a lot of late Piazvani coming in in the sportsbooks here in Las Vegas, and
07:28that reflects the skepticism about Oscar De La Hoya.
07:32Oscar De La Hoya will enter the ring first for this fight.
07:35Last fight, May 27th, a third-round TKO of Giorgio Campanella.
07:41He has said that as he reaches this stage of his career, there will be less showbiz,
07:46less hoopla accompanying events like this entrance into the ring, that he is ready to devote himself
07:52more to the business of boxing and of looking as good as he can in the ring rather than out of it.
07:59That's exactly right, Jim.
08:01This is De La Hoya's, the start of De La Hoya's campaign to win back fans.
08:08He used to come down before a fight almost like he was throwing roses to fans and laughing
08:15as if he was going into something that had a preordained ending.
08:21But you see how serious he is.
08:23He is now a professional, two years since the Olympics.
08:27This is serious business.
08:29The laughing should start after the fight.
08:31At age 21 and a half, Oscar De La Hoya has had 13 professional fights so far, and you see
08:37the spotless record, 13 wins, no losses, 12 knockouts.
08:40But, as we mentioned, he has gone down in the first minute of two of his last three fights.
08:49It first happened this past autumn against a fighter named Narciso Valenzuela.
08:54You'll see the clock come in that shows you there in the first minute of round one
08:57when De La Hoya was put on his butt by a Valenzuela punch.
09:01That was regarded as an aberration, but it happened again.
09:04May 27, two months and two days ago against Giorgio Campanella.
09:07Again, in the first minute of the fight, De La Hoya down again.
09:10He came back to win both fights with vicious knockout-style performances,
09:15but they did little to enhance his credibility nevertheless
09:18because so much attention has been paid to those mishaps.
09:23What those knockdowns tell you is that he has to modify his aggressive style somewhat
09:28and get stronger, and that can happen only with time.
09:34Meanwhile, Jorge PƔez, former IBM featherweight champion,
09:37has been one of the busiest and most durable boxers in the sport.
09:41He does nothing to limit the showbiz in his performances,
09:45claiming that unusual actions in and out of the ring help to calm him down.
09:51And after all, Larry, he comes from a circus family,
09:54a circus background, a childhood circus career.
09:57This is showbiz in for him, but he takes care of business in the ring as well.
10:04He's a tough little guy.
10:06He had one of the best answers to a question I ever heard.
10:09I asked him what he did with all his money,
10:11and he said,
10:12everything I could, George.
10:15What'd you do with all your money, George?
10:17Everything?
10:18Yeah, I know.
10:19I could.
10:19Hayes, when he takes off the hat,
10:26you'll see the haircut,
10:29which finds the name of a Mexican presidential candidate
10:32carved into the back of his head.
10:34It's the name of the candidate who succeeded
10:35the assassinated Senor Colosio
10:38as the candidate of the PRE party in Mexico.
10:43And, of course, it's typical for Jorge to enter the ring
10:46with some inscription in his scalp.
10:48The record 53 wins, 6 losses, 4 draws.
10:51He's knocked out 35 opponents, as we mentioned.
10:54In those 63 fights,
10:56he has been knocked out only once.
10:59As much as he looks like a bizarre
11:01Las Vegas lounge act of some kind,
11:06politically, he's just correct.
11:10Zedillo is the name of the candidate
11:12for the PRE party
11:13in the upcoming Mexican presidential election.
11:17Tale of the tape.
11:18And you'll see the age disparity
11:19between Oscar De La Hoya and Jorge Paez.
11:22De La Hoya is seven years younger,
11:24five and a half inches taller.
11:26When they weighed in yesterday,
11:27Paez was a half pound under the limit.
11:30They are equal in reach.
11:32Punch that numbers, Larry.
11:34Take a look how active these fighters are
11:36and how accurate they are.
11:37And roughly they throw the same amount of punches
11:40and are very accurate.
11:42Paez is much the shorter.
11:44The interesting thing will be,
11:46as we look at the jab count
11:48that they've had in recent fights,
11:51is whether De La Hoya will rely more on his jab
11:54because of his tremendous height and reach advantage.
11:58And rules of the belt
12:00with our unofficial ringside scorer,
12:01Harold Glederman.
12:02Oscar De La Hoya and Jorge Paez
12:04will box tonight using the rules
12:06of the World Boxing Organization.
12:07There is no standing eight count.
12:10The three knockdown rule is in effect.
12:13You can be saved by the belt
12:14in the last round only.
12:15Only the referee can stop the fight
12:17in a case a cut is caused
12:19by an accidental headbutt
12:20and that cut causes the fight to be stopped.
12:22We go to the scorecards
12:24if the three rounds have been completed.
12:26Before that, it's a technical draw.
12:28Jim.
12:28Thank you, Harold.
12:29Right now, let's go up the ring
12:30and bring it on to Michael Bumper
12:31for the pre-fight introduction.
12:35Ladies and gentlemen,
12:36good evening and welcome
12:37to the Grand Garden here
12:38at the MGM Grand of Las Vegas, Nevada,
12:42where tonight,
12:43Mr. Bob Arum's top-ranked incorporated
12:45in association with
12:47your undisputed, undefeated king of beers,
12:50Bud Weiser,
12:51proud to be your Bud,
12:53presents an evening
12:54of professional world championship boxing.
12:57All the bouts are sanctioned
12:58by the Nevada State Athletic Commission,
13:00Chairman, Dr. Elias Ghanem,
13:02Commissioners, Matt Caraselli,
13:04Luther Mack, Dr. James Knave,
13:06and Christian Rivera,
13:08Executive Director, Mark Ratner,
13:10Chief Physician, Dr. Flip Homansky,
13:12attending ringside physicians,
13:14Dr. James Wishgame,
13:16Dr. William Berliner,
13:17Timekeeper, James Cavan,
13:19counting for the knockdown seconds,
13:21Mike Lacella.
13:22This first bout is sanctioned
13:23by the World Boxing Organization,
13:25President,
13:26former light heavyweight champion
13:27of the world, Jose Torres,
13:29Supervisor at ringside,
13:31Mr. Ed Levine.
13:32The three judges scoring this bout
13:34on a ten-point must system are
13:36Chuck Jampa,
13:38Jerry Roth,
13:40and Jon Stewart.
13:41And when the bell rings,
13:43the man in charge of the action
13:44working in a world championship bout
13:47for the 99th time,
13:49referee Richard Steele.
13:51And now, ladies and gentlemen,
13:56man your battle stations.
13:58This is the battle of champions,
14:0112 rounds of boxing for the bacon,
14:03WBO,
14:05lightweight championship of the world.
14:11Introducing first,
14:12fighting out of the red corner,
14:14wearing the blue trunks with white trim,
14:17weighing in at 135 pounds,
14:19undefeated with a record of 13-0,
14:2312 KOs.
14:25It's 1992.
14:27Olympic gold medal champion
14:29comes to us tonight
14:30from Los Angeles, California,
14:32East L.A. to be exact.
14:35Ladies and gentlemen,
14:36the current WBO,
14:38junior,
14:39lightweight champion of the world,
14:41the golden boy,
14:43Oscar
14:44Te La Oya.
14:56And his opponent across the ring,
14:58fighting out of the blue corner,
15:00wearing the red trunks
15:01with green and white trim,
15:03weighing in at 134 and one-half pounds.
15:07His professional record,
15:0853 victory,
15:1135 by KO,
15:13against six defeats with four draws.
15:16Ladies and gentlemen,
15:17from Mexicali, Mexico,
15:19he's the number one ranked WBO contender,
15:23the former featherweight champion of the world,
15:26Jorge Marromero.
15:28All right,
15:41I'm supposed to both fighters
15:42in the dressing room.
15:44I'm partial to him again.
15:45I'll be my commands at all times.
15:46Shake hands, good luck.
15:49Jim,
15:50last weekend,
15:53a former Olympic gold medalist
15:55from Nigeria,
15:56Robert Lengola died here
15:58in Las Vegas
15:59in the aftermath of a fight.
16:01It reminds us
16:02of how dangerous
16:03this game can be.
16:05And it also reminds us
16:06that sometimes
16:07after such an event,
16:10officials can get
16:11very touchy
16:12and try to end fights
16:14very fast.
16:17We'll keep an eye
16:18on the activities
16:19of referee Richard Steele
16:20as Jorge Piaz
16:22begins the first round
16:23stalking Oscar De La Hoya.
16:25Now, George,
16:26Piaz is an unconventional fighter.
16:28He may be open
16:28a lot of the time,
16:29but he's so off rhythm
16:30that you may not be able
16:32to find him
16:32when he's open.
16:33That's right,
16:33but you can cut
16:34all of that out
16:35if you make him
16:36be the aggressor.
16:37You can do a lot
16:37of clowning things
16:38backing up the coming forward.
16:40You can only do one thing,
16:41leave with your head
16:42clowning.
16:43For the moment,
16:44De La Hoya
16:45seems to turn
16:45to allow Piaz
16:47to be the aggressor.
16:48Will Piaz
16:49take the bait?
16:50It appears he's
16:51going to be cautious
16:51at least at the start.
16:52There's a lot of popular
17:05support for Piaz here.
17:06And indeed,
17:16that's part of the story,
17:17a battle for the hearts
17:18of Mexican fans,
17:20many of whom appreciate
17:22Piaz's blood-and-guts background,
17:24his up-from-the-barrio-Mexican upbringing,
17:27more than De La Hoya's
17:29glittering amateur career
17:30and Olympic gold medal.
17:34The thing about
17:34a young fighter,
17:35they've got to be careful.
17:36When you hit them,
17:37they always try
17:37and hit you back.
17:39If Piaz happened
17:40to land a shot
17:40on Asuka,
17:42he should just forget it
17:43and go back
17:43to what he's done
17:44backing up
17:45and usually jammed.
17:48Asuka not allowing himself
17:49to get in danger here
17:51as he did
17:51in the first rounds
17:52of two of his
17:53three preceding fights.
17:54Takes a right hand
17:55to the head.
17:55Piaz spent most of his career
17:57fighting at lower weights.
17:58There are few who believe
17:59he will have brought
18:00much punching power
18:01up here to 135.
18:04Thus far, Asuka,
18:06now kicking in his steps forward.
18:07He's starting to get off
18:08a little bit.
18:09Do not come forward,
18:10forget it,
18:10until the rounds
18:11start to mature.
18:16Piaz landing
18:16to the left-hand side.
18:19De La Hoya
18:19punching sparsely.
18:23Now sticking the jab,
18:24throwing the right hand.
18:25You can see how
18:26utterly conventional
18:27De La Hoya
18:28is in style
18:29compared to the wild
18:30winging shots
18:31of Jorge Baena.
18:39Asuka,
18:39if he maintains
18:40his position,
18:42keep using the left jab.
18:43Even if you have to win
18:44every round
18:44with a left jab,
18:45it's possible.
18:46Forget about exchanging
18:47right now
18:47because you can't
18:48get that target.
18:49It's moving
18:50a little too much.
18:51Some van whistling
18:52as it's been
18:54an extremely cautious
18:55first round,
18:56particularly
18:56from De La Hoya.
19:03Another left-hand shot
19:04landed inside
19:05by Piaz.
19:06De La Hoya lands
19:07a straight right,
19:08not a lot behind it.
19:09Now right up the front
19:10at the end of the round
19:11is De La Hoya's
19:12best punch
19:13at the center.
19:14And as we go
19:15to the corners,
19:16our interpreter
19:17is Hector Garcia.
19:19Watch out
19:19for the left hook.
19:20Be careful
19:21for the left hook.
19:22Bring down
19:22and more angles.
19:23Use more angles.
19:24Use more angles.
19:24Use more angles.
19:36Up, up, up and down.
19:38And there.
19:38Try to hide
19:43from this guy
19:43a little bit.
19:47He's scared.
19:47The man's careful.
19:49Hey, David.
19:51Tell him
19:51don't walk straight
19:52to the right hook.
19:52Use more angles
19:53and cut the ring down.
19:54Don't walk straight in.
19:55Okay?
19:55Okay?
20:00Jim,
20:00beautiful.
20:01Nice.
20:02Jim,
20:03before this fight,
20:04I mentioned
20:05that I thought
20:06that De La Hoya
20:07had a start
20:07to modify
20:08his aggressive style
20:10and we saw him
20:11doing that
20:11in the very first round.
20:13A little bit more defensive.
20:16Wear the fight,
20:16other fighter down
20:17and then take him on
20:18later in the rounds.
20:19He's walked out
20:20into some big punches
20:21early in fights
20:22and he's learned
20:22something from it.
20:24De La Hoya
20:25sticking with the jab
20:26in round one.
20:27Oscar threw 51 punches
20:29and 36 of them were jabs.
20:31Now a left hook
20:32seems to stagger
20:33Paez momentarily.
20:35De La Hoya
20:35follows with a flurry.
20:37Another left hook
20:38and down goes
20:38Mario Paez.
20:39Paez.
20:40Two,
20:41four,
20:42five,
20:44six,
20:45ten,
20:46eight,
20:46nine.
20:49Oscar De La Hoya
20:50with a second round
20:51knockout
20:52of Jorge Paez
20:54who had only been
20:55knocked down once
20:56in 63 previous fights.
20:59We just saw the image
21:00and the pendulum
21:02swing to the other side.
21:04He fought brilliantly
21:05because he was,
21:07he had modified
21:07right his style.
21:08He was cautious
21:09in the first round
21:10and he seized
21:11the opportunity
21:12when he saw it.
21:1449 seconds
21:15of round two.
21:16George,
21:16two spectacular left hooks.
21:18The thing about it,
21:19he got them
21:20not within the exchanges
21:21of punches.
21:22He just picked his time
21:24through his punches.
21:25They weren't in the exchanges.
21:26He did it properly.
21:27So he showed a patience
21:28that he hasn't been able
21:29to show before.
21:30A good defensive left jab
21:31to set all of that up.
21:32Great.
21:33Spectacular.
21:34Short, beautiful left hands
21:35and now he's smiling.
21:37Well, it could not
21:42have gone better
21:43for those in the
21:45Oscar De La Hoya camp
21:46and now the memories
21:48of those two knockdowns
21:50against De La Hoya
21:51in the first rounds
21:51of two of his last three fights
21:53begin to fade a little bit.
21:55This was just the kind
21:56of performance he needed
21:57to re-enhance
21:59his credibility.
21:59And no doubt
22:05many of those
22:06who are cheering now
22:07are the ones
22:08who were chanting
22:09Jorge, Jorge
22:10in the first round.
22:11The great thing about it,
22:12he got a second round knockout
22:14by not many aggressors.
22:16He was on the defense
22:17most of the fight.
22:18Then the opportunity
22:19presented itself,
22:20he went for the finish.
22:22Missed a lot of shots,
22:23but he threw a lot of shots.
22:25Particularly good
22:26because when Paez fell,
22:27he fell on his neck.
22:32There you go.
22:33Now, Richard Steele
22:34blocking your vision
22:35just a little bit
22:36as Oscar landed
22:37that finishing left hook.
22:39That was the shot
22:40that hurt him.
22:40It wasn't the last one
22:42that got him.
22:43When you see a fighter
22:44fall on his neck
22:45as Paez did,
22:46he is hurt.
22:47It was the first left hook
22:49that set up all of this
22:51and then the second
22:52left hook there
22:53put the man down.
22:55And he did it spectacular
22:56by using jabs,
22:57going backwards.
23:01Paez needed room to clown
23:02and he just took away
23:04his own room
23:04by being the aggressor
23:05thinking Oscar
23:06is afraid of him.
23:07There at that left hook.
23:09He's got great technique
23:10on the left hook,
23:11doesn't he, George?
23:12He stands square
23:13and he believes in his power.
23:14When a guy has power like that,
23:15all you got to do
23:16is believe in him.
23:17All right,
23:20let's go up the ring
23:21and out to Michael Buffer
23:22for the official particulars
23:23on the second round
23:24de la Hoya knockout.
23:26Ladies and gentlemen,
23:27referee Richard Steele
23:28reaches the count of ten.
23:30The official time,
23:3239 seconds
23:33of round number two.
23:35The winner,
23:36winning his second world title,
23:38the new WBO
23:40lightweight champion
23:42of the world,
23:43the golden boy,
23:45Oscar Della.
23:46De La Hoya!
23:48De La Hoya!
23:49De La Hoya!
23:52Incidentally,
23:52if you're wondering
23:53why you haven't heard us
23:54talking about a title,
23:55we at HBO
23:56don't recognize
23:57the WBO,
23:58the World Boxing Organization,
23:59as a major
24:00sanctioning body.
24:01To us,
24:02it was another prize fight
24:03for Oscar Della Hoya,
24:05perhaps on the way
24:06to a major title.
24:07I think Oscar Della Hoya
24:09is a major champion.
24:10The HBO title
24:10is sprinkling enough.
24:13Final punch stat numbers,
24:15you can see that
24:15De La Hoya landed
24:1620 of 66 in the two rounds,
24:18a 30% percentage,
24:19but that doesn't really
24:21tell the story.
24:21Pia is only able
24:22to throw 26 punches.
24:24Oscar was the busier
24:25of the two,
24:26and working behind
24:27that jab,
24:28he both protected himself
24:29and set up the assault
24:31that brought the knockout.
24:32Let's go to Larry Merchant
24:33in the ring
24:33with Oscar Della.
24:35All right,
24:35Oscar, congratulations.
24:38Tell us your thoughts
24:39coming into this fight
24:40in terms of
24:41how you wanted
24:42to modify your style
24:43because you did seem
24:45to be more stable,
24:47a little bit more cautious
24:48in the first round.
24:49Well, what I was trying
24:50to do is
24:51kind of get his game plan,
24:53see what he has,
24:54see what he has to offer
24:54for myself,
24:55and I was just studying him
24:57and trying to be careful
24:58out there because I knew
24:59he wasn't going to start
25:00all fast
25:01and he was going to
25:02just try to throw
25:03lunging punches
25:04and wild shots like that.
25:05So the first round
25:06was kind of
25:06a little filling-out process
25:08and the second round
25:09we just did it.
25:13Was that on account
25:14of the two knockdowns
25:15in those three fights
25:16that you felt
25:17you had been perhaps
25:18a little too reckless
25:19early in fights,
25:19trying to do too much
25:20too quick?
25:21Exactly.
25:23First round,
25:23my past fight,
25:24my last fight
25:25with Valenzuela also,
25:27we were coming out
25:27too strong in the first round,
25:29kind of being
25:29overconfident.
25:30And now with this fight,
25:32as you can see,
25:32I was much,
25:33even more focused
25:34than my previous fights
25:35and I just felt
25:37really great.
25:37I felt as if
25:38I was just here
25:39with Paez
25:40and nobody was here
25:40in the room.
25:41I was just concentrating
25:42and focusing on Paez.
25:44Are you suggesting
25:45by that
25:46that there was
25:46a little bit
25:47too much playing
25:49to the crowd,
25:50too much showbiz
25:50before,
25:51and that you had
25:52to settle down
25:52and be a professional
25:53prize fighter?
25:54Well, as you know,
25:55as people know
25:56that they call me
25:57the golden boy,
25:57I have the golden boy image
25:58and I kind of had
26:00to stop to that
26:02for a while
26:03because I had
26:05to focus on my opponent,
26:06I had to concentrate
26:06on boxing
26:07and I had to just
26:09really show the people
26:10that I can focus
26:11and I can really
26:12do a good job
26:12with excellent opponents
26:14like Paez.
26:14All right,
26:15we're going to try
26:15to run off the reel
26:17of that round
26:18and show your knockout
26:19and we'd like you,
26:20when it comes up,
26:20to describe what happened,
26:22what you saw,
26:22what you did.
26:23Well, I knew right here
26:24Paez was going to
26:24just throw lunging punches
26:26and I did catch him
26:27with good left hook,
26:28good right hands
26:29and right here
26:30I hit him with a good
26:31left hook
26:31on top of the head
26:32right there
26:32that really did
26:33a lot of damage
26:34and the final left hook
26:35right here coming up
26:36is what put him down
26:37and I believe right there
26:38where his neck
26:39kind of got twisted a bit
26:41and it just went down
26:42as you can see,
26:42he was out
26:44and I'm really glad
26:45that fighters like Whitaker,
26:47fighters like Ruelas
26:48couldn't knock him out
26:49and I knocked him out.
26:50Well, that is a milestone
26:52for you,
26:53let me then ask you further.
26:57Mexican fight fans,
26:58American Mexican fight fans,
26:59no boxing
27:00and a lot of them
27:02were turning to be
27:03skeptical about you
27:05just as they were
27:06about Sugar Ray Leonard
27:07when he was a young fighter.
27:08Did you feel that?
27:09Did you feel you had
27:10to do something
27:11sensational tonight
27:13to win those fans back?
27:15Well, coming into this fight,
27:16I knew that the whole world
27:17was going to be watching
27:18Afro-Americans,
27:19Anglos,
27:20Mexican-Americans,
27:21Mexican fighters
27:22and I knew I had to
27:23prove to them,
27:24I have to prove to them
27:25that I have to do
27:26a good job
27:27and that I am
27:27a good game fighter
27:29for them.
27:30How about proving it
27:31to yourself
27:31after perhaps some doubts
27:33might have crept in
27:34in the last months?
27:36Well, my father knew,
27:37my trainer knew,
27:38myself,
27:38we knew that Pies
27:39really wasn't going to last.
27:40I mean, I wasn't going to
27:42predict a knockout,
27:43I was not going to
27:43predict anything.
27:44I knew Pies had a lot
27:46of experience
27:46and I was ready
27:48for this fight.
27:49But to prove to myself,
27:50I did have to prove to myself
27:52for the public,
27:53for everyone,
27:54and that's what I did tonight.
27:55Talk to us about
27:57your strength at 135
27:58because it seemed to us
28:00that you were staying
28:01at an artificially low weight
28:03at 130 pounds,
28:05a weight you had fought at
28:06for four or five years,
28:07you were five foot ten inches.
28:09How much stronger
28:10are you now
28:11and will you hold
28:12this weight for a while?
28:13I feel much, much stronger
28:15at 135.
28:16When I was fighting
28:17130 pounds,
28:18I was draining myself.
28:20I couldn't eat for two days
28:21before making the weight
28:22and it was just very,
28:23very tough for myself,
28:24for my body physically
28:25and also mentally
28:26for my mind.
28:27And now that I'm eating more,
28:28I can train,
28:29have a nice dinner,
28:30nice meal,
28:31and feel very, very strong
28:32for the match.
28:34Do you feel now
28:35that you are equipped
28:37to take on
28:38some of the bigger names,
28:40bigger fighters,
28:41legitimate lightweights,
28:43et cetera,
28:44and how soon
28:44do you want to fight them?
28:46Well, I'm sure
28:47Mr. Barberum
28:48has plans for us
28:49to fight
28:49all kinds of fighters
28:50out there.
28:51Most definitely
28:52we will fight Ruelas,
28:53Rafael Ruelas
28:53for the IBF title.
28:55We will go on
28:55a world tour after this
28:57and we have just
28:58many, many plans
28:59and I'm sure
28:59Mr. Barberum
29:00can explain that
29:00to you some more.
29:02I'm...
29:02Just one other thing.
29:04You walked in
29:05and you looked
29:06very grim
29:06when you walked in,
29:07not as if you were
29:08throwing rose petals
29:09to the crowd
29:10with your smile
29:11and you saved
29:13the smiles
29:13for afterwards.
29:14Is that how
29:14it's going to be
29:15from now on?
29:16That was the objective
29:17to come into the fight,
29:18focus,
29:19kind of having
29:20some blinders
29:20when I walk in
29:21so I will not
29:22pay attention
29:22to the crowd
29:23and afterwards
29:24I can greet the people,
29:25have that golden boy image
29:26and smile
29:27and just be nice
29:28to everyone.
29:29Thank you very much,
29:30Oscar.
29:30Jim?
29:31All right,
29:32thanks a lot, Larry.
29:32Just to clear up
29:33one thing,
29:33there are two
29:34Ruelas brothers.
29:35Oscar's comments there
29:36are directed
29:37toward Rafael Ruelas
29:38who is the IBF
29:39lightweight champion
29:40and he incidentally
29:41was the one
29:42previous fighter
29:42who did knock out
29:44Jorge PƔez.
29:44George,
29:45you've always liked Oscar.
29:46You like him
29:47even better now?
29:47Oh, boy,
29:48that answer he gave
29:49about who he represents.
29:51This truly is
29:51an American golden boy.
29:53He won that gold medal
29:54for the whole country
29:55and it seems like
29:55he's representing himself
29:56for the whole country.
29:57I love that kid.
29:58If he wasn't so expensive,
30:00I would adopt him.
30:01I don't think
30:02you can afford it,
30:03George.
30:03No way.
30:04Do you think
30:05that those knockdowns
30:06in the first round
30:07of two of his
30:07three preceding fights
30:08are going to turn out
30:09ultimately to have
30:10been a blessing in disguise?
30:11I think so.
30:12He's shown now
30:13that he can be defensive.
30:14He doesn't,
30:15he's not like a,
30:16he doesn't have to rush in,
30:17take his time.
30:18Some guys will come to him
30:19and when they do,
30:21you're going to see him
30:21put out the lights
30:22of a lot of young fighters.
30:23Well, let's take another look
30:24at the 39 second,
30:25second round of the fight
30:27and you take us through it,
30:28George,
30:29concentrating on technique.
30:31Yeah.
30:31Delahoyer's not taking
30:33any steps forward.
30:34He allows this guy
30:35out to bob and weave
30:36knowing that you can't
30:36land a good shot
30:37on a moving target.
30:38So let him come forward.
30:39That's when you expose
30:40your head.
30:41That's when you expose
30:42things,
30:43stepping forward.
30:43He didn't,
30:45no matter what happened,
30:46he didn't go forward.
30:46Although he figured,
30:47hey,
30:47I'm the bigger puncher,
30:48I can knock this guy out,
30:50but I'm not going forward.
30:51This is an extremely
30:52difficult thing
30:53for a young fighter to do.
30:54Especially when a guy
30:55hits you,
30:56you continue to go backwards.
30:58I love it.
30:58Only a Sugar Ray Leonard
30:59could do something like that.
31:02Well,
31:02maybe not only a Sugar Ray Leonard,
31:04maybe only a Sugar Ray Leonard
31:05and an Oscar De La Hoya.
31:07Whoa.
31:07Now we're talking
31:08and using them
31:09in the same language,
31:10in the same sentence.
31:11That's what I've been expecting
31:12for a long time.
31:13Now,
31:13Oscar doesn't get excited.
31:15This guy makes him
31:16miss a few times.
31:17He still doesn't decide,
31:18I'm going to hit you
31:18with something.
31:19Takes it.
31:20You don't bother his ego.
31:22There's no problem.
31:22This is the first round,
31:24incidentally,
31:25which we have queued up
31:26on tape here.
31:27So we're looking at
31:28De La Hoya's cautious
31:29first round performance
31:31rather than the
31:32no-holds-barred explosion
31:33of left hooks
31:34that brought it into the fight.
31:35When a young fighter gets hit,
31:37he tries to pay the other guy back.
31:40When he was hit,
31:40he just took his time
31:41and continued to back away,
31:43which is, like I say,
31:44extremely difficult
31:45to hold a young puncher back.
31:46He did so with great precision.
31:50And he landed a good left hook
31:51here and there,
31:51but he didn't go out
31:52and try to finish it.
31:54When the bell,
31:54when he hit a 10-second count,
31:55then he tries to send
31:56the guy back to his corner,
31:57hurt you,
31:58which is what you call
31:59experience.
32:00Yeah, that's a good point.
32:01He did that.
32:01In the last 10 seconds,
32:03the first round opened up
32:04just a little bit
32:04and landed an uppercut
32:06with the left hand,
32:07which appeared to hurt Piaz.
32:08Kind of a message
32:09going into round two.
32:10He tries to come forward
32:11a little bit,
32:12then he remembers his corner
32:13telling him,
32:13take your time.
32:14Then he goes back
32:15on the defense.
32:15Piaz is a hard target
32:22to hit.
32:22He's constantly dynamic,
32:24so you can't hit him
32:25with two shots
32:25or one shot.
32:26Take your time.
32:27As he comes forward,
32:29he will give you
32:29his chance.
32:30You're looking back
32:37at round one
32:38of Oscar De La Hoya's
32:40second round knockout
32:42of Jorge Piaz.
32:43It was here in round one
32:45when George Foreman
32:46and later Larry Merchant
32:47noticed that Oscar
32:48had switched
32:49to a more cautious style
32:51than the style
32:51which saw him getting
32:52knocked on his can
32:53in the first round
32:54of two of his three
32:55preceding fights.
32:56It's awful interesting
32:57because as he backs up,
32:59he continuously keeps
33:00this guy in the middle
33:01of the ring.
33:01He goes back
33:02to the middle.
33:03So he's using
33:04a defensive style
33:05of retreating,
33:06but at the same time,
33:07he's saying to Piaz,
33:09I want you
33:09in the middle of the ring.
33:13Many at ringside
33:14and in the crowd
33:15at large
33:16were whistling
33:17and expressing displeasure
33:19at this point
33:20with what they regarded
33:21as a too cautious
33:22first round,
33:23unaware that Oscar
33:24was using this
33:25to set up the fireworks
33:26of round number two.
33:28There was the
33:28uppercut.
33:29It was the right hand,
33:30not the left hand,
33:30but the most explosive punch
33:32of round one
33:33for Delahoyan.
33:33You want an inning
33:34on a bad note.
33:35And round two
33:36becomes an entirely
33:37different story.
33:38That's right.
33:38Now he knows,
33:39hey, I can catch this guy.
33:40I can land combinations.
33:41Now I'm going to make him
33:42open up a little bit.
33:43If he swings at me,
33:44I'm going to pay him back
33:45and when this fight proceeds,
33:47you'll see him decide,
33:48hey, I'm not going to...
33:49Keeping his right hand
33:50right next to his chin.
33:52A little high
33:52along his eyebrow.
33:53There you go.
33:57The hook.
33:58He's a finisher.
33:59He's a finisher.
34:01Once he gets you hurt,
34:02you can't do.
34:04Finishing is a matter
34:05of psychology.
34:07George Foreman
34:07has said all along
34:08that Oscar De La Hoya
34:10has the stuff
34:11necessary to do that.
34:13And I think
34:13that he was matched
34:14with a great fighter today.
34:15He had to have it all together.
34:17You want to hear
34:17from another great fighter?
34:18Yes, I do.
34:20Watch this.
34:20I just found one right here.
34:22Multiple world champion,
34:23one of the greatest
34:24of all time,
34:24Sugar Ray Leonard,
34:25who works here,
34:26incidentally,
34:27as a consultant
34:27to the MGM Grand Hotel
34:29as they launch
34:30their boxing ventures.
34:31First of all,
34:31congratulations.
34:33Spectacular arena,
34:34great surroundings,
34:34great night.
34:35You must be very proud
34:36of what you guys
34:37are building here
34:37at the MGM Grand.
34:38You know,
34:39there are more fights,
34:40more championship fights
34:40to come, Jim.
34:42We're very proud
34:42of this turnout.
34:44I think it demonstrates
34:45the kind of type of following
34:46that Oscar De La Hoya has.
34:48Oscar De La Hoya
34:49at this stage of his career.
34:50Your thoughts?
34:51Well, tonight,
34:52especially tonight,
34:53he seems to be more poised.
34:55I think the weight
34:56becomes a factor
34:57because he's not struggling
34:58to make the weight.
34:59He's a lot more comfortable.
35:01He gets into the ring now.
35:02He's more focused.
35:03He's not trying to create
35:04or maintain that
35:05golden boy image anymore.
35:08He has to fight these guys.
35:09But I expected more
35:10from Paez.
35:11I thought Paez's style
35:12being awkward
35:12would make it difficult
35:13for Oscar.
35:14But Oscar took his time.
35:16He set his man up.
35:17It was a picture-perfect
35:18left hook
35:18that put Paez down.
35:20Let's talk about
35:21maintaining the golden boy image
35:23because you can remember
35:24this stage of your career,
35:25which was really
35:26before the Benitez fight
35:27and ultimately
35:28the loss to Duran,
35:29which established you
35:30as a superstar in the sport.
35:31And there were some
35:32who were saying,
35:32oh, well,
35:33he's another Olympic gold medalist
35:34who isn't going to be
35:36a great pro.
35:37Oscar has been hearing that
35:38and he seems aware of it.
35:40Certainly,
35:40he responded positively tonight.
35:42But how dangerous
35:43can it be
35:44to try to satisfy
35:45the public
35:46as opposed to
35:47learning your craft?
35:49Well,
35:49it's going to be
35:49a very difficult task
35:51for Oscar
35:51until he really faces
35:52the top guys
35:53in the division.
35:54You know,
35:54I face the same thing.
35:55They call me TV image,
35:57television made,
35:58network made.
35:59And he has to prove
36:00to himself,
36:01not really to everyone else,
36:03and get in the ring
36:03with the best oppositions.
36:05And until then,
36:06he's going to always
36:07have that type of,
36:08I don't know,
36:09criticism,
36:10stalking.
36:11Has he had the benefit
36:12of your advice
36:12and expertise?
36:14Well,
36:14he's doing pretty good
36:14for himself,
36:15Jim.
36:15I'm very impressed
36:16with this fight tonight.
36:18He put on a great fight
36:19against Baez.
36:21I'm very impressed with him.
36:22Ray Leonard has had
36:23a big year,
36:23incidentally.
36:24Got married
36:25to the lovely
36:26Bernadette Roby.
36:27Got a brand new house
36:28in Pacific Palisades
36:29and he's taken up golf.
36:30I expect to see you
36:31on the seniors tour.
36:32I will be there
36:33pretty soon.
36:34No,
36:35you're a long way
36:36from 50, Ray.
36:36I know the numbers
36:37on this.
36:38Thanks very much.
36:39Great to see you again.
36:40George,
36:41let's turn our attention
36:41to...
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