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De La Hoya vs Pacquiao: The Entertainment Inside the Ring
by Nadya Vlassoff
It was
the Golden Boy versus Pac-man. The pride of
L.A. versus the Filipino superstar, two of the
finest boxers on the planet that were set to
match up in one of the most hyped up and expensive
Welterweight fights in recent years. On Friday,
December 4, Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao
took to the weigh-in at the MGM Grand Hotel
on a star-studded night in Las Vegas where they
were introduced by comedian George Lopez. Amazingly,
Manny Pacquiao, who has been hailed as the best
pound-for-pound fighter in the world, was about
to face his toughest opponent ever on an international
pay-per-view stage, one that could catapult
him into definitively being boxing's "the" big
thing if he scored a victory over the now veteran
De La Hoya. But was the entertainment value
worth the money?
 A clash of two eras, young and aging, no one can argue the pedigree of each fighter. Oscar De La Hoya is a 10-time world champion across five weight divisions, and the 1992 Olympic Gold medalist in the Lightweight division. Manny Pacquiao is the fastest rising fighter and the only Asian boxer to win a championship across four weight divisions, laying claim to belts in the Flyweight, Super Bantamweight, Super Featherweight, and Lightweight divisions. It was a match made in boxing heaven. Tickets sold out within hours while pay-per-view charged close to $55 to buy the fight.
But De La Hoya had only won three of his last seven fights while Pacquiao went into the fight the underdog since odds makers thought the Filipino fighter wouldn't stack up well to the taller De La Hoya. So why would so much money go into such a fight? Prior to the showdown in Vegas, USA Today writer J. Michael Falgoust noted how the bout was tracking at 90% for pay-per-view buys, which would put the fight slightly below the PPV buys for the De La Hoya - Floyd Mayweather showdown last year. Regardless of the final numbers, which are still in the millions, Oscar and Manny was an obvious money fight. And why do boxing fans shell out their dough?
Entertainment value is the first reason. In the premiere American boxing location of Las Vegas, the world's best fighters have duked it out in front of thousands of fans and millions more worldwide for years. Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Mike Tyson, Shane Mosley, Fernando Vargas and so on, have all stepped into the Vegas ring and either extended their legacies or had them cut short by the better man. An estimated 15,000 fans flocked to the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas strip to watch, in person, as an aging legend and a rising superstar squared off in a fight that should have been closer than it was.
 Pacquiao
won the bout in 8 rounds, scoring a knock out
when De La Hoya conceded victory and wouldn't
answer the bell for Round 9. It may have been
the smart thing to do since he took a heavy
beating, especially to the head, throughout
most of the match. For De La Hoya's fans, however,
it was a disappointing way to see their hero
bow out.
While De La Hoya's career took as much of a
beating as his face did in recent years, it's
hard to say if this will be his last fight.
The smart trainer says, yes. But for many fighters,
boxing is a way of life and, unfortunately,
to go down in defeat is just not a viable option
for some who can't hang the gloves up for good.
Although Manny Pacquiao revealed that he didn't
want to state publicly how much money he was
going to make from the fight, boxing, especially
in the lighter divisions, is still an incredibly
lucrative and entertaining sport.
What De la Hoya has done for boxing is more than just modernize the way a boxer slips a left hand to land a knockout blow. It's what he did to Fernando Vargas in September of 2002 where two of his successful left hooks landed Vargas on the mat and De La Hoya a hefty paycheck. Oscar De La Hoya is the most successful pay-per-view ticket ever, which is not an easy feat considering how expensive pay per view fights can be.
 So what did the fight offer to both the fighters and boxing fans? First, it was a huge stepping-stone in Pacquiao's career that propelled him even higher into the upper echelon of boxing advertising deals. Second, although De La Hoya's career is most likely on its last legs, the allure of seeing him for possibly his last pro fight was more than enough to attract fans. And third, as always, the fight offered the spectacle of a big money match-up. But deeper than that, it gave fans their money's worth in an entertaining showdown that saw two amazing fighters giving it their all as the torch was passed to a new era of boxers. A winner in many respects, Oscar will most likely continue to promote the sport and fighters in many other ways with the help of his aptly named company, Golden Boy Promotions.
And what of the female fans? Aside from the wives of the two boxers, the rest of the female population, both in attendance and watching worldwide, were equally as excited. From the female perspective, De La Hoya's Golden Boy charm is still intact but that can't help him be the main draw. What it comes down to is the evolution of the sport, from the great heavyweights known for thunderous crosses and brutal hooks to the new crop of Lightweights, Welterweights, and Middleweights who now throw harder and faster than anyone in history. In many ways boxing has always been a finesse match-up , where smart fighters know when to throw the perfect punch and dance to the barrage of fists like Salsa champions inside a ring. It is the most beautiful forbidden dance in the sporting world and must be appreciated as such.
Boxing itself is not the sport it was. While it can still bring in the big money, a newer, fiercer sport is taking shape. The emergence of Mixed Martial Arts has offered a different take on what boxing once was. Boxing is a finesse sport where technique and timing are everything and fancy footwork is all part of the show. MMA does not follow the same guidelines and has gone on to create fighters who will go to higher levels of physical endangerment in order to win a match.
 From
a financial perspective, MMA is nowhere near
where boxing is in terms of monetary earnings.
Similar to boxing, fighters are vying for sponsorships
and big-name bouts where they get more exposure
and bigger payoffs from things like pay-per-view
and a cut of profits. But while MMA has gained
a shockingly high amount of popularity in the
last several years, it's still too early to
compare the legacy of boxing to its fledgling
counterpart. Was Brock Lesnar's victory over
randy Couture more entertaining? It depends
on who you ask. As well, we can only wait and
see if boxing superstars begin to abandon the
sport that gave them purpose for one that can
give them even popularity.
After Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao gave fans their money's worth, with the sun now setting on Oscar's career, the entertainment value of boxing is still solid and lucrative for now since the even bigger payday is a showdown between Pacman and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
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