On December 6, 2008, reigning WBC lightweight champion Manny ‘Pac-Man’ Pacquiao stepped up two weight divisions to face Oscar ‘The Golden Boy’ De La Hoya, who stepped down one, in a welterweight contest at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. Although a non-title fight, ‘The Dream Match’ , as it was billed, was a heavily publicised pay-per-view event; it was intended to represent an unofficial ‘passing of the torch’ from De La Hoya, a former six-division world champion, to Pacquiao, a five-division world champion.

In any event, while the fight did much to bring Philippines-born Pacquiao to the attention of the western world, it proved to be a distinctly one-sided affair. Pacquiao, 29, dominated De La Hoya, 35, right from the opening bell, using his superior hand speed to land a series of straight left hands. In the fifth round, Pacquiao opened up still further, seemingly aware that his opponent could do little, or nothing, to hurt him. Rounds six and seven followed a similar pattern, with De La Hoya looking slow and ineffective and coming under increasing pressure from Pacquiao.

In the eighth round, De La Hoya took further punishment and, at the end of the round, referee Tony Weeks warned this corner that if he continued to take punches the fight would be stopped. However, De La Hoya failed to answer the bell for the ninth round and retired on his stool after trainer Nacho Beristain threw in the towel, Pacquiao being declared the winner by technical knockout.

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On January 24, 1976, in what would be named ‘Fight of the Year’ by ‘The Ring’ magazine, George Foreman fought Ron Lyle for the North American Boxing Federation (NABF) Heavyweight Title, previously vacated by Ken Norton, at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada. Fifteen months previously, Foreman had lost his unbeaten record when knocked out by Muhammad Ali in the legendary ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ in Kinshasa, Zaire and, barring exhibition matches, was fighting for the first time since.

Towards the end of the opening round, Lyle caught Foreman flush on the jaw with a hard, overhand right that sent the former champion staggering across the ring; only the bell saved him from further punishment. However, in the second round, Foreman hurt Lyle with a left-right-left combination and had his opponent pinned in a corner when the bell sounded prematurely, after just two minutes, due to a timekeeping error.

Round three proved to be relatively uneventful, but round fourth was anything but. Lyle landed a straight right, followed by a series of hooks, which knocked Foreman off his feet. Following a mandatory eight-count, Lyle moved in, looking to win the fight, but left himself open to series of heavy blows, culminating in a right hook that sent him crashing to the canvas. The pair continued to slug away for the remainder of the round and, right on the bell, Lyle dropped Foreman again, with another right hook. In the fifth round, Lyle hurt Foreman with a left hook, but, despite looking dazed, Foreman survived. He eventually backed Lyle into a corner and unleashed a sustained barrage of blows, causing his opponent to wilt, face first, to the canvas where he was counted out.

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