DE LA HOYA DOMINATES WINS TKO

Saturday, May 6, 2006

It was a fight nearly two years in the making, but less than two minutes into the much-anticipated battle between the trash-talking slugger Ricardo Mayorga and the pedigreed boxer-promoter Oscar De La Hoya, boxing's Golden Boy made a definitive statement.

Working a series of short, inside punches, De La Hoya thrilled the large crowd at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas by knocking Mayorga to the canvas with a stiff left hook. Mayorga recovered, but the tone of the fight - a technical mismatch between the potent boxer and the wild-throwing brawler - was set. After relentlessly working his opponent inside for four more rounds, De La Hoya found an opening with a left in the sixth, dropping Mayorga again. Returning from his corner with a frenzy of wild combinations, De La Hoya finished the Nicaraguan fighter on the ropes and referee Jay Nady stopped the fight.

In winning the WBC super welterweight belt, the 33-year-old fan favorite did much to dispel murmurs that his storied career was over. Not only did De La Hoya not seem rusty following the 20-month layover since his loss to Bernard Hopkins, he seemed more skilled and lethal than he has in years.

Relying on the defense he has newly learned at the hand of trainer Floyd Mayweather, Sr., De La Hoya seemed to be able to find his spots effortlessly. He landed 44 percent of his punches, while Mayorga mustered only 22 percent, and his jab was particularly efficient.

After the fight, De La Hoya also acknowledged that Mayorga's pre-fight talking - which included jabs at De La Hoya's racial identity and his wife - may have contributed to his ferocity. "That motivated me so much," De La Hoya said. "I'm going to stand up to the bully.