Manny Pacquiao produced a destructive performance, utilising his superior speed, to secure a dominant stoppage victory and force his ‘idol’ into retirement.
It was around this time that ‘Pac Man’ had found himself on a terrific surge, ending his fights with the likes of Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto inside the distance.
Having already become a seven-division world champion, the Filipino would later cement his Hall of Fame status by claiming the WBC title at super-welterweight.
Even while campaigning at 147lbs, though, Pacquiao was giving up a noticeable size advantage, relying mostly on his speed and technical prowess to emerge triumphant.
That much was evident during his showdown with Oscar De La Hoya who, despite being the bigger man, had drained himself to 145lbs when they collided in 2008.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, had hit the scales at 142lbs, before engineering a ruthless eighth-round finish that saw De La Hoya’s corner put a stop to the one-sided beatdown. The contest was the last time the ‘Golden Boy’ stepped into the ring.
Prior to their encounter, De La Hoya had not competed at welterweight since his fifth-round stoppage victory over Arturo Gatti in 2001.
The American had also suffered defeats to Shane Mosley, Bernard Hopkins and Floyd Mayweather before entering his final professional outing against Pacquiao.
While exchanging a few words of respect after their fight, Pacquiao told De La Hoya that he still views him as a source of inspiration.
“You’re still my idol, you’re still my idol, whatever happens.”
In response, De La Hoya confirmed that the feeling is mutual.
“No, now you’re my idol.”
Following his victory over De La Hoya, Pacquiao orchestrated a brutal second-round finish over Hatton before claiming the WBO world welterweight title against Cotto.
