By Rick Morris
With few exceptions, the finish comes decisively for most great fighters. Tonight, we saw the end of Oscar De La Hoya -- at least, as a boxer who can plausibly be in the "greatest pound-for-pound" discussion.
Manny Pacquiao simply took him apart with his superior speed and a non-stop motor. As mentioned in our preview, Golden Boy came way down in weight and Pac Man came way up to meet at the 147 limit -- and the speed of the smaller man's frame ended up trumping the power of the larger man. This liveblog at AOL Fanhouse paints the picture as it happened. It's worth noting that HBO's Harold Lederman concurred on his round-by-round cards that Oscar was getting decimated.
In the end, De La Hoya couldn't get off his stool for the ninth round and the rout was complete. It's unlikely he'll fight again now that he's been exposed by a much younger star in his prime. Tonight, a Hall of Fame boxer heads into the sunset while Manny Pacquiao firmly seizes the mantle of the best pound-for-pound fighter -- and Christmas comes early in the Philippines!
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