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Undefeated Olympic Gold Medalist & WBO Lightweight Champion Oscar De La Hoya faces Carl Griffith in the 3rd undercard bout of TVKO HBO PPV
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00:00right now for those who will set the stage a little bit more more insight let's take you back
00:04downstairs go clancy larry merchant and jim lampley all right thank you very much james when last we
00:11saw oscar de la jolla it was in this same arena when he fought jorge faez and knocked him out in
00:16the second round he continues to ascend toward the stardom which has long been predicted for him
00:21larry we talked about the build-up for the main event tonight how about the expectations surrounding
00:26de la jolla going all the way back to barcelona and before have they been too high in retrospect
00:32well it's always flattering and it can be inspiring or it can be a burden depending on
00:37who you are but to set someone up as the second coming of sugar ray leonard is not just high
00:42expectations it's the highest expectation so fans naturally are saying show us and show us against
00:49not just tomato cans and little boys and old men and bad fighters but against good fighters well
00:57de la jolla says he's now going into the second stage of his rocket he wants to fight better fighters
01:03within six months he's fighting for one of the big titles providing he wins here tonight and keeps
01:08winning if he doesn't let this hold him back these expectations if all of the the sideshow of making
01:15him a media star doesn't slow him down and distract from him the sky is still the limit for this rocket
01:21he was knocked down a couple of times in fights preceding the battle against paez we said before
01:26the paez fight that that might be a tough test and as we mentioned he got the easy second round
01:31knockout now he gets ready to fight a tough fighter named carl griffith and again gill we're in the
01:36position of saying well maybe carl griffith is the toughest opponent yet for oscar de la jolla you buy
01:42that no question about carl griffith at 150 amateur fights 33 professional fights only lost three times
01:48only been on the deck once never been knocked out and the guy to put him on the deck was a pretty
01:53good puncher roger mayweather he went up got up and finished the fight so this is a good test to
01:58bosca de la jolla indeed if de la jolla can put this man on the canvas he joins pretty good company
02:03in mayweather and once again shows the punching power which in the view of many makes him a potential
02:08superstar in the sport quickly let's look at the tail of the tape now for oscar de la jolla and
02:13carl griffith jr de la jolla 21 years old you see the four inch height advantage but surprisingly
02:20that doesn't translate to a big reach advantage against griffith as griffith with relatively long
02:26arms is equal in reach to de la jolla they both weighed in at 135 pounds
02:32punch that numbers larry and here are the numbers you can see why there is so much
02:39cause for hope for oscar de la jolla he is an active fighter and a very accurate fighter
02:46jabs that's not de la jolla's main game he throws a lot of hard punches he's going to have to deal
02:54with griffith's jab in this fight rules of the bout once again with harold letterman and the third set
03:02of rules for our third bout of the evening jim husky de la jolla and carl griffith will box tonight
03:07using the rules of the world boxing organization 12 rounds there is no standing eight count the three
03:13knockdown rule is in effect you can be saved by the belt in the last round only only the referee can
03:18stop the fight and in case the cut is caused by an accidental headbutt and that cut causes the fight to be
03:23stop we go to the scorecards if the three rounds have been completed before that it's a technical
03:27draw jim we must give a word of congratulations to tonight's referee in this fight mitch halpern
03:33who did a marvelous job in stopping last week's fight when terry norris fouled uh lewis santana
03:39blatantly in mexico let's hope he doesn't have to make a decision that tough in this fight tonight
03:44now here's carl griffith entering the ring he's from lorraine ohio which is outside of cleveland
03:49ranks number seven in the wbo's rankings number three on the wba list in the lightweight division
03:57a record of 28 wins three losses and two draws we'll take a closer look at that
04:01in just a moment as we mentioned he's 25 years old and he is yet another
04:06self-managed professional fighter
04:10recently had a bout with drugs says he's passed it was supposed to fight delahoy a while back
04:20this is an opportunity to change his life yeah he went to rehab in the months preceding this fight
04:27and uh is proud of himself for having accomplished that and uh spoke very openly about it during a
04:32meeting with him yesterday we remind you fighters records for each of these bouts tonight brought to
04:37you by the ring the bible of boxing and there are the numbers for griffith 12 knockouts in 33 fights
04:4328 wins uh you know you might say off of that that he's a little bit light on punching power going in
04:49against opponent like delahoy yeah yes he is light on punching power actually his most effective punch is
04:55his left jab he can double the jab he can triple the jab but that's the way he sets the guys up but
05:00not a lot of knockout power
05:02carl griffith says of oscar de la hoya quote he can't fight back him up backing up i'll make him
05:12back up for the moment delahoy gets to come forward along with trainer robert alcazar
05:17alcazar having sweated his way through the roberto garcia decision over derrick gainer now brings
05:28de la hoya into the ring you know i'm reminded watching de la hoya and our earlier fights tonight
05:34of how many great mexican-american fighters are being produced across the southwest of the united
05:42states and south texas albuquerque phoenix and into the los angeles area walk over the cameraman there's
05:50no question about that uh larry we've had some of the best fighters in the world and they're coming out
05:55of that one area which is very very interesting you have you have carbo hall canazales with real
06:01top flight of world champions right the relis brothers now as if carl griffith as if carl griffith
06:09needed any more incentive tonight guys within the past few days we've learned that the ibf world
06:15lightweight champion rafael ruelas has tentatively agreed to fight oscar de la hoya in a fight the day
06:22after cinco de mayo may 6th it would be an enormous attraction in southern california where both have
06:27their roots and that's a big fight that we can look down the road toward in addition de la hoya has agreed
06:32to a fight in december and another date in february so he's already got his next three fights lined up and
06:39when you tell a rock-hard veteran like griffith something like that it gives him a burning gut and an anger
06:46off which he can build as he goes for the upset tonight well you know you learn being in this
06:50business a long time don't plan too far ahead i hope that oscar de la hoya isn't thinking down the road
06:57and forgetting about carl griffith because griffith is a stubborn guy that throws a lot of punches
07:02apparently takes a great punch and he could give delahoy a little some problem
07:06do you think de la hoya has been brought along right for a young great prospect has he had the
07:16right kind of opponents well i i think that his original management team was a little too cautious
07:23and now he's he's managing himself and he's the guy that says okay i'm ready to step up i i would
07:28have liked to have seen him in with a little tougher opposition than he's been in with so far let's look
07:33at the record for de la hoya you can see the 14 wins 13 ko's he holds the wbo lightweight championship
07:39we are waiting expectantly for oscar to get a chance to challenge for one of the three major
07:45world lightweight championships rules of the bout quickly harold lederman we've already done that
07:50all right my mistake going in a slightly different order at this time let's go up to ring announcer michael
07:58buppa for the pre-fight introductions ladies and gentlemen top rank incorporated in association with
08:04your king of beers budweiser present world championship boxing here at the mgm grand this
08:12is with the approval of the nevada state athletic commission this contest is sanctioned by the world
08:16boxing organization wbo supervisor at ringside is florida state athletic chairman jimmy resnick
08:22the three judges assigned to score this bout on a 10-point must system are bill graham john rupert
08:30and dalby shirley and when the bell rings the man in charge of the action referee mitch halpern
08:37and now ladies and gentlemen 12 rounds of boxing for the wbo lightweight championship of the world
08:44carl introducing first fighting out of the blue corner wearing the light blue trunks with white
08:52and weighing in at 135 pounds he comes to us from lorraine ohio with a professional record of 28
08:59victories and 12 ko's against only three defeats with two draws he's ranked number seven in the world
09:05by the wbo ladies and gentlemen let's welcome the challenger carl stuff griffith
09:17and his opponent across the ring fighting out of the red corner also weighing in at 135 pounds he's
09:23wearing red with white trim and comes to us from los angeles california east la to be exact this 1992
09:31olympic gold medal champion has a record of 14 and 0 13 by ko ladies and gentlemen presenting the
09:40undefeated wbo lightweight champion of the world the golden boy oscar de la olla
09:54the golden boy oscar de la olla
09:59all right gentlemen this will be a clean fight protect yourself at all times with bay mike at all
10:03times you have any questions no questions all right let's go come on
10:12bill the burden and the inspiration of those high expectations are one in the same you've got to keep
10:19doing it he has to keep performing if that is pressure everybody expects so much from oscar de la
10:27hoya that he doesn't make an error
10:32round one oscar de la hoya against carl griffith jr griffith steps in and throws an overhand right
10:38de la hoya in the first round against paez was quite cautious as he waited for his opportunity then
10:44open up in round two with a sensational left hook and quickly finished matters
10:53oscar has the kind of power which is occasionally shocking to his opponent skill
10:58oh and people that have spot with oscar de la hoya uh they tell me that they they've never been
11:03hit by guys his weight the way oscar can punch i mean his body does not look he's not a too muscular
11:09guy which most most most punches aren't he's got that snap at the end of the punch
11:21griffith throwing the jab stepping straight ahead
11:29de la hoya missing with the left hook one glances off the right temple of carl griffith
11:34the right temple of carl griffith much of what delahoy is able to do in the ring begins and ends
11:39with that quick left hook
11:44i love the way oscar delivers his punches there was a left hook to the body left hook back up on the chin
11:50and another left hook on the chin
11:51i like the fact that he's moving his head a little bit here because that's one of the problems he's
12:06had gill he's growing up and learning to become a professional big right hand by oscar yes he is
12:12moving a little bit more than he had in the past right step back but larry he's going to have to walk
12:19all the way back to l.a because he has been hit you're right he promised that if griffith hit him
12:23he'd walk to l.a i hope he's got a warm coat and a good pair of walking boots it actually snowed outside
12:29in las vegas today
12:37you see that snapping left jab of carl griffith
12:39pretty quick on balance but it doesn't look all that quick in comparison to delahoyas
12:51but delahoy has that flashing left hand you can turn that hook off that jab like lightning
13:02relatively tactical round one delahoyas landed one sharp left hook and one straight right through
13:08the guard of carl griffith griffith the future there's another left hook and griffith's head
13:13snapped back and he's in trouble so just like that de la hoya becomes the second man ever to score a
13:21knockdown against carl griffith joining roger mayweather one of the great right hand sledgehammers ever in
13:27this division
13:41take the deep breath right now real deep just relax you're all right okay you got to do some thinking
13:48you got to get get counted off of you too double your jab up and go in when you throw your right hand in the
13:52body come back for two or three more you understand you're staying outside a little too long asca de la
13:57hoya has become a patient assassin he doesn't rush out there now like he has to destroy his opponent in
14:05the first 15 seconds which is when he's caught a couple of flash knockdown punches he takes his dime
14:12he measures his man and just lets his natural quickness and power do the job and it's just about
14:18all with that left hand larry sets everything up with the right hand comes back with that left hand
14:23there it is again
14:30you know when a fighter's at 250 amateur fights sometimes good you think he can get it get into a
14:35lot of bad habits can he and become contemptuous of opponents because he can get away with mistakes as
14:40an amateur he can't as a pro and sometimes it's very difficult to uh to switch them into the professional
14:46style but i can see oscar is really settling down now to me he looks a lot better than i've seen him in the past
14:57right hand landed and you can see griffith ducking in an exaggerated fashion away from the left hook
15:05already carl griffith very left hook conscious in round number two
15:09and right now he's a little wary he's afraid to throw that snapping left jab griffith because uh
15:16you don't know what oscar to counter with the right delahoy counters with that left hook off that
15:21off that jab uh jim oh he does
15:25or the right and he can do it either way yes i'll leave the expert commentary to you gill
15:30chopping right over the top by de la hoya
15:41griffith finally releases the jab
15:45and there's oscar's left hook
15:46right hand shot
15:56oscar still still has not uh relaxed enough to really get that body motion going side to side
16:03he still stands a little too straight up yeah i agree with you
16:06the top top people in his divisions might exploit that
16:18but they're going to have to take some stuff in order to do it
16:22great offensive fighter how much of that is from de la hoya's eagerness to score the knockout gill
16:28well yes he's a little tight and when you when you're a little tight and you're a puncher and you
16:32get hit on the chin a lot of times you go down but the more he learns to relax and sway back and
16:37forth bob and weave uh he'll be punching even a little harder
16:43and you can't really punch much harder than he's punching now right hand backs griffith into the ropes
16:50there's a left hook and he wobbled him again and griffith pretending to be in rougher trouble that
16:56is the case but nevertheless he was wobbled by that left hook he was lifted right off the floor by about
17:01three inches both feet i thought and don't forget he was a man that can really take a punch good right
17:07hand to the body by de la hoya here's another left hook it's rapidly becoming target practice as griffith
17:15isn't throwing much in the latter stages of round two actually he's afraid to expose himself
17:31two rounds down de la hoya versus griffith it's scheduled for 12
17:44deep inhale real heavy way of my guy doing beautiful okay when it's just time we just need
17:51a little bit more the time okay just keep moving the head keep working the job
17:58and set him up with two punches jab right and left hook or left uppercut okay only three punches
18:06jab right and left that's all what you need make the setup okay real cool in the column everything i said
18:13can
18:15if it looks like a fighter who knows he's taking a bite out of a big apple here
18:38five-year-old carl griffith against 21 year old oscar de la hoya griffith with 150 amateur bouts
18:47and 33 professional bouts and tonight he's been knocked down for the second time in his career as
18:52de la hoya got a knockdown in round number one
19:05well griffith has already thrown more punches this round than he did in the entire last round
19:10another left hook knockdown for de la hoya
19:16four five six seven oscar calls that punch his 45 comes at a 45 degree angle half uppercut half hook
19:26he says it's his best punch it's the one that finished jorge paez and he's going to use it again
19:31and here and mitch hopper and seen it up
19:45well easy work gets another oscar for that performance he just keeps
19:50gradually raising the level of his opposition and looking just as good no matter what the level is
19:57so far in my opinion uh i thought he looked absolutely great tonight and i i would make
20:03him a favorite right now larry against just about any other lightweight in the world
20:08well that's saying a lot gill that was great don't criticize the referee hey
20:14we'll take another look at the finish of the fight that what was so terrific about that gill is he
20:19started the right and he saw that he was moving away and he just stepped in and followed it with the left
20:27take a look at this again you'll watch he starts to write
20:36so immediately back with that punch the gym called you know jim i used to call that punch
20:42it's not fast it's not slow it's half fast half fast that's the way i used to teach my
20:47fighters yeah but the effect is anything but half fast correct oscar de la hoya he calls it his 45 gill
20:57things have changed since my day and it's my days in the business yeah a half-ass left hook
21:02oscar de la hoya with another knockout right now let's go to ring announcer michael buffer for the
21:06official particulars ladies and gentlemen here at the mgm grand garden referee mitch halpern calls a
21:12halt to this bout the winner at one minute and two seconds of the third round by tko victory
21:20still undefeated still the wbo lightweight champion of the world the golden boy
21:26oscar de la hoya
21:35a very happy de la hoya who knocked carl griffith down
21:40three times and then referee mitch halpern had seen quite enough punch stat numbers
21:44and we'll take a look at what will no doubt be a one-sided dossier for de la hoya who landed 79
21:54punches out of 166 you see that carl griffith so tentative in the face of de la hoya's power
21:59landed only 13 punches and those numbers bespeak another lopsided victory for oscar let's go up to
22:05larry merchant congratulations oscar describe to us the ways in which you think you are now
22:13a better professional fighter than you were when you started out after winning the gold medal well
22:19i'm more mature now i feel i can take my time now and if a knockout comes it comes i've i was waiting
22:25a few rounds i was sticking my jabs and moving my head more moving uh side to side and um i feel
22:30that i've been more mature i've been training harder and i'm ready for the big fights you said
22:35that you are now starting the second stage of your career you describe what the second stage is and
22:41what you want to accomplish well i believe there's one and two stages in boxing um i'm there in the
22:46second stage now i feel i can go up against any fighter up there in the world in my weight class
22:51i feel very strong i feel very confident when i train hard only if i train hard i can do good in
22:55fights are you saying that because you were so successful as an amateur that you didn't take
23:03the professional game quite as seriously as you should have on some occasions well when you're on
23:08top of the in the limelight when you're um focusing on your fans when you're focusing on the attention
23:14it's really difficult to focus on boxing but that's what i'm doing now i'm focusing more on boxing
23:19more on my opponents and i'm ready for the top all right we want you to show you the second knockdown
23:23in that last round and and describe it for us as we bring it up well right here i was sticking my jabs
23:30throwing my right hands and i caught him with a 45 degree hook that i call it's a 45 my best shot
23:36that's the strongest shot and i'm surprised he got up but um he was still damaged when he got up and um
23:40i'm just very happy that the referee stopped the fight because he could have got seriously injured
23:44describe how you throw that punch because you threw the right hand you saw it was going to come out
23:49up short then you seem to step forward with the left and fire it with still with a lot of power
23:55well i sometimes tend to throw punches with uh without standing in my in my position without um
24:01without having that balance but um as you can see i'm a very powerful puncher i threw my left hook my
24:06right hand with lots of power i connected them and um like i said i was very surprised that he got up
24:10when do you think you will fight for one of the bigger titles well right now i'm uh i'm gonna go
24:15against johnny avila december 10th on cbs and then i have a fight with hbo in february and uh my big
24:22fight against rafael ruellas which will hopefully be my easiest fight um may 5th thank you very much
24:28oscar james up to you all right larry thank you very much and again another fighter uh stay true to
24:35his prediction oscar de la jolla mentioned that prior to this fight if he got hit solid by carl griffith
24:41that he in fact was going to walk back to los angeles in fact he did have a game plan in place
24:46he said he was going to walk the first two miles back to los angeles have his car hidden behind a
24:51building here in las vegas and in fact drive the rest of the way he didn't have to put that into
24:55action at all and those critics who still doubt whether or not oscar de la jolla has a chin because
25:01he has been decked twice in 14 professional fights prior to tonight he says it only makes him matter
25:06and he comes back stronger so oscar de la jolla remains unbeaten all right the main event is
25:11coming up in just a few moments and we will come back here to the mgm grant and our host position
25:17to set the stage for tony and jones we'll do that after this
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