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.