LAS VEGAS – A tension hung over the ring in the MGM Grand for eight rounds as “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins engaged in a taught, strategic battle, each waiting to land the one blow that would turn the middleweight championship of the world.
That blow was Executed in the ninth round, with one vicious body punch.
Hopkins (45-2-1, 32 knockouts) dug a brutal left to De La Hoya’s liver and followed it with a short chopping left to the head to drop the Golden Boy to the canvas. De La Hoya rolled onto his side in agony, and referee Kenny Bayless stopped the bout at 1:38 of the ninth.
“When I threw the hook to the liver, I heard him say, ‘Ahh!’ said Hopkins.
De La Hoya pounded his fists on the mat as Hopkins jumped onto the turnbuckle in celebration. For the 19th time, Hopkins had defended his title. For the first time in De La Hoya’s career, suffered a TKO.
“It was a great shot,” said De La Hoya. “I’ve never been hit by a shot like that before when it makes you make noise. It was a great punch.”
It appeared to be an even fight through eight rounds. Neither fighter seemed to hurt the other, and punch stats had the fight a virtual draw. Hopkins was ahead on two of the three judges’ scorecards.
Many thought De La Hoya (37-4), who was guaranteed $30 million, made a crucial mistake in taking this fight. A 2-1 underdog for the first time in his career, it also marked only the second time was fighting as a middleweight. Never before had he been hit with power punches the likes of those thrown by Hopkins.
“It was chopped liver with Hopkins sauce,” said Hopkins, who earned at least $10 million.
It was a stunning end to a fight that nearly got severed earlier in the week. Just hours before the fight, word leaked out that De La Hoya had sustained a cut on the bottom of his left ring finger, which required 11 stitches to close, on Wednesday.
ESPN reported that De La Hoya suffered the V-shaped cut underneath the finger when his cut man, Ron Chavez, accidentally sliced him while removing tape after his training session.
De La Hoya’s camp requested that he be permitted to use extra gauze and wrapping on the hand. Hopkins’ camp appropriately denied that request.
As the challenger, De La Hoya entered the ring first wearing a black robe with gold trim. He was preceded by a Mariachi band and wore plain black trunks with gold piping.
Hopkins, dressed in a copper robe with white trim, entered to strains of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” Hopkins’ copper trunks bore enough advertising to qualify him as a NASCAR mechanic.
After each fighter landed one blow in the first round, De La Hoya won the first exchange, which came late in the second. He landed a straight right that drove Hopkins back.
De La Hoya landed a low blow in the fourth that had Hopkins racing out of his corner to start the fifth. Hopkins started to work the jab. The tension in the ring was palpable as each fighter began looking to the other to make the first mistake.
That mistake came in the ninth, seconds after Bayless separated the two combatants – who did not want to be split. Bayless had to call the two together and warn them to obey his commands.
His night’s work was almost over.