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Oscar De La Hoya has recorded some of the greatest fights that we as fans have ever seen. However, his loss at the hands of Manny Pacquiao was one that left a bitter taste in his mouth. Ahead of his highly anticipated comeback, 'The Golden Boy' has shone some light on that fateful night.
The youthful Manny Pacquiao drew the curtains on Oscar De La Hoya's career, which spanned over 15 years. He forced De La Hoya to pass the proverbial torch to the younger generation. When asked to comment on their fight, here's what Oscar De La Hoya had to say:
"I was a drained fighter. It's crazy because I was seeing everything coming, I just couldn't block it. I couldn't do anything. It's like I was weak," admitted Oscar De La Hoya.
Oscar De La Hoya breaks down what makes Manny Pacquiao special
Although Manny Pacquiao singlehandedly brought Oscar De La Hoya's career to an end, the latter bore no ill-will towards the Filipino. Offering credit where it's due, the 48-year-old admitted that 'Pac Man' was gifted with stupefying conditioning:
"When he's on his toes, and he throws punches, it's like people can't see them because they're coming from different angles. And you expect for him to stop, but he doesn't stop. Your opponent, like he's thinking, 'Okay, he's gonna stop.' But he doesn't stop. That's what Manny Pacquiao has, he has great conditioning."
It was this conditioning that was Oscar De La Hoya's downfall when they went toe-to-toe in the squared circle. Repeatedly forcing the Mexican-American veteran into the corners, Manny Pacquiao delivered some serious hurt, to which the former had no response.
Looking like a shadow of his former self, Oscar De La Hoya was forced to bow out of the fight after sustaining unprecedented punishment in the 8th round. This later came to be recognized as the infamous 'Round that Ended His Career'.
Although a lot of time has passed since his last outing in the ring, Oscar De La Hoya will certainly hope to shake all the ring rust off before he steps in to fight Vitor Belfort.
Do you think Oscar De La Hoya can redeem himself come fight night? Sound off in the comments!
Watch the full fight below:
