Homecoming: Oscar De La Hoya vs. Steve Forbes

May 3, 2008

Home Depot Center-Carson, California

This event has been titled "Homecoming" because this De La Hoya's first match back live on HBO, since a March 24, 2001 match against Arturo Gatti. This is De La Hoya's 33rd match that will be aired in some form on HBO, which breaks the previous record of 32 by Roy Jones, Jr., but the majority of those were on HBO PPV. Also, this is De La Hoya first match in the greater Los Angeles area where he grew up, since a June 17, 2000 match against Shane Mosley at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Some tickets for this event have been discounted to $25 as a way to pay back De La Hoya's lower income fans of Mexican descent on this Cinco de Mayo weekend, which is a holiday to celebrate Mexican pride. The crowd at this soccer stadium is expected to be nearly 27,000 mostly Mexican-American supporters of De La Hoya. This is the largest crowd to see an outdoor boxing match in the United States, since a largely Mexican-American crowd filled the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas to watch French boxer Patrick Charpentier get retired with a round 3 technical knockout loss to De La Hoya on June 13, 1998.

All 4 Mayweathers are involved in the story of this match, therefore anyone referred to without a last name is a Mayweather.

Catch Weight (150 pounds) 12-Round Match:

Oscar De La Hoya (38-5, 30 KO's, 150 pounds) vs. Steve Forbes (33-5, 9 KO's, 150 pounds)

De La Hoya had a stellar amateur boxing career that was capped by winning the gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics for the United States at 132 pounds. The win, which earned De La Hoya the moniker of "The Golden Boy", has also earned him induction into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame in April 2008.

He would spring board off his Olympic success to become the greatest draw in the history of pay-per-view, and the greatest revenue earner in the history of boxing. The total gate revenues from De La Hoya matches exceeds $100 million. He has generated roughly $650 million in PPV revenue. The Los Angeles, California native has also generated unquantifiable billions in secondary revenue from his matches. This does not just mean betting on his matches online and in Las Vegas, Nevada casinos, but additional betting from people who travel to Las Vegas to watch De La Hoya in the ring. It includes increased revenue for the travel industry that raises ticket prices for flights to Las Vegas on weekends when De La Hoya is in action. De La Hoya has brought millions of extra dollars into the local Las Vegas economy in the form of everything from increased hotel prices for the weekend of his matches, increased attendance at high end restaurants and clubs, and money spent on all of the other things that are uniquely Las Vegas. (How much is that dinner on Friday costing each member of the Figure Four Empire who makes the trip to Las Vegas for UFC 84? Then, how much will the after party cost? That is only happening in Las Vegas.)

A De La Hoya matches also mean increased business at bars and restaurants showing the events around the country. De La Hoya matches also, mean increased sales in food and beverages at grocery stores from people gathering to watch the matches in the hundreds of thousands of private homes that are buying the PPV's around the country.

De La Hoya's last match was a somewhat controversial split decision loss to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. on May 5, 2007 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Had De La Hoya won round 12 on 1 judges scorecard he would have earned a draw an kept his title at 154 pounds. Many traditionalists felt De La Hoya won the match based on aggression, and Mayweather not doing enough to win a title from a champion. However even in defeat, De La Hoya had one of the greatest financial years ever for a boxer. According to Forbes from July 1, 2006-June 30, 2007, no athlete made more through competing in their sport then De La Hoya. The event generated a live gate of $19 million, which shattered the previous record of $16,860,300 for Lennox Lewis vs. Evander Holyfield II. It obliterated the record for most PPV buys. The record for most PPV buys for a non-heavyweight match was De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad which did 1.4 million buys for $64 million. The record for total buys for a boxing match was held by Mike Tyson vs. Holyfield II at 1.99 million for a total of $100,200,000. De La Hoya vs. Mayweather did 2.4 million buys for $134.4 million. ESPN.com reported that all told the event generated $165 million of direct revenue. The event was named The Ring magazine's 2007 Event of the Year. De La Hoya had a $25 million guarantee for the match, but took home over $42 million for the match for his role as a boxer in the event. He was also the primary promoter of the event, and his take of the event as a promoter is estimated at another $18 million. Off his success promoting this match and several other high profile matches, which included the hugely successful, Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton match in December, De La Hoya was named The Ring's Promoter of the Year for 2007. (Thanks to Mike Sempervive for providing a lot of this research.)

De La Hoya is ranked by The Ring magazine, which he owns, as the number 3 contender to its vacant championship at 154 pounds. However, boxrec.com lists De La Hoya as the top boxer at 154 pounds, despite the fact the East Los Angeles native has not won a match in the division, since defeating Ricardo Mayorga via technical knockout at 1:25 of round 6 at the MGM Grand, on May 6, 2006. Going into the match with Mayweather, De La Hoya was The Ring's number 5 contender at 154 pounds, to its vacant championship at 154 pounds.

Forbes won a world championship at 130 pounds when it was vacant via technical knockout at 2:22 over John Brown on December 3, 2000. He was trained for that match by Roger Mayweather. Forbes successfully defended the title once, before failing to make weight in his second scheduled title defense. This caused the sanctioning body to strip Forbes of his title.

Forbes came back from the title loss to put together a good record and was invited to participate on the reality show "The Contender" Season 2. The matches that season were held at 150 pounds, and even though Forbes is most effective at 140 pounds, he finished second. Forbes has used the fame he gained off that show to spring board him into this match.

For the biggest match of his career, Forbes rehired the trainer that guided him to his world championship, Roger. However, in a pre-WrestleMania conference call with the media Junior said that if Roger trained Forbes to defeat De La Hoya, Junior would fire Roger. A Forbes win would cost Junior his match with De La Hoya in September and an estimated $25 million. Therefore, without calling Forbes to officially quit, Roger stopped showing up to the gym to train the boxer. Forbes next choice would have been Floyd Mayweather, Sr, who had trained him for his last 9 matches. However, Senior is training De La Hoya for this match and the rematch with Junior. Forbes then went to the youngest of the Mayweather brothers, who had trained him for a few matches earlier, Jeff Mayweather. Jeff has experience against De La Hoya. On March 13, 1993, De La Hoya defeated Jeff via technical knockout 1:35 into round 4 at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. Still with Jeff cornering Forbes and Senior cornering De La Hoya this will be the first time the Mayweathers have been in opposing corners.

The Las Vegas resident's last match was a 10-round split decision victory over Francisco Bojado on October 6, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

Forbes is unranked by The Ring, and the number 32 ranked boxer at 147 pounds by boxrec.com.

At 31-years-old, Forbes is 4 years younger then the 35-year-old De La Hoya. De La Hoya has the height advantage standing 5' 10.5" tall, while Forbes stands 5' 7.5" tall. The Los Angeles native has the reach advantage with an arm length of 24" measured from the armpit to the end of the fist, compared to the 22.5" arm length of Forbes. Neither boxers' unofficial weight approaching match time is available, but De La Hoya will be the heavier competitor in the ring. Even though De la Hoya is naturally left handed, both boxers will employ the orthodox stance. According to HBO.com, De La Hoya is a 20 to 1 betting favorite in this match. The line was at 8 to 1, a week earlier.

California uses a modified version of the unified rules of boxing, where both the doctor and referee can stop the match. In case of an accidental foul that causes the match to be stopped prematurely, the match will be determined by the scorecards after the start of round 4. Under the unified rules, in case of an accidental foul leading to a premature stoppage the match cannot be decided by the scorecards, until after the conclusion of round 4. Also, a boxer can be saved from a knockout by the bell in the final round in California, under the standard unified rules of boxing a competitor cannot be saved from a knockout in any round. All of the judges keeping official score of this match from ringside are from California. The referee is Raul Caiz, Jr. Keeping unofficial score for HBO is Harold Lederman.

The feel in the stadium when De La Hoya comes out is of a pro wrestling crowd, complete with signs encouraging De La Hoya to knockout Forbes. This crowd is unlike any crowd that would see De La Hoya box in Las Vegas.

Good round 1 for De La Hoya. He shows off the strong left jab that disappeared in the final rounds against Junior and wins round 1 easily, 10-9. Lederman scores round 1 for De La Hoya, 10-9. Jeff tells Forbes in the corner after round 1, to try and steal rounds by flurrying in the last few seconds of rounds. With about 1:30 to go in round 2, Forbes is beginning to bleed slightly from his right nostril. Round 2 is close and Forbes may have won it by landing the cleaner punches, 10-9. De La Hoya based on activity wins round 2 on Lederman's scorecard, 10-9. With a little over 2 minutes to go in round 3, there is some swelling developing under De La Hoya's left eye. De La Hoya wins round 3 big on Lederman and my scorecard, 10-9. The Los Angeles native is ahead on my scorecard after 3 rounds, 29-28. Lederman has De La Hoya ahead on his scorecard after 3 rounds, 30-27.

Forbes showboats in round 4, because he is blocking many of De La Hoya's punches. However, Forbes does not land many meaningful punches on De La Hoya. Therefore, the busier workrate wins round 4 for De La Hoya, 10-9. Lederman scores round 4 for De La Hoya, 10-9. De La Hoya wins round 5, 10-9. The Olympic gold medalist has a cut on the bridge of his nose that he appeared to sustain in the first 2 rounds, but is not bleeding and has been no factor in the match. Lederman scores round 5 for Forbes, 10-9. With over 1 minute to go in round 6, a cut is opened outside the right eye of Forbes. It was probably caused by an accidental clash of heads in an exchange against the ropes. De La Hoya wins round 6, 10-9. He leads on my scorecard after 6 rounds, 59-55. Lederman scores round 6 for De La Hoya, and has the Los Angeles native ahead in the match after 6 rounds, 59-55. The referee has officially ruled that cut outside of Forbes right eye was caused by a left uppercut from De La Hoya.

De La Hoya looks great winning round 7 on Lederman and my scorecard, 10-9. The Olympic gold medalist has thrown almost every punch in this match as part of a hard combination. If this De La Hoya shows up to face Junior on September 20, The Ring's pound-for-pound best boxer may have real problems. De La Hoya wins a close round 8, 10-9. Lederman scores round 8 for De La Hoya, 10-9. De La Hoya wins round 9 decisively on Lederman and my scorecard, 10-9. The Los Angeles native is showing superior defense in this match. De La Hoya leads the match on Lederman and my scorecard after 9 rounds, 89-82.

The Los Angeles native is showing no significant signs of fatigue and wins round 10 easily, 10-9. In the corner after round 10, Senior asked De La Hoya if he had enough energy. De La Hoya looked shocked and offended by the question. According to CompuBox, in round 10 De La Hoya threw 80 total punches. That is the most punches he has thrown in any round of the match. De La Hoya wins round 11 on Lederman and my scorecard, 10-9. At this point, De La Hoya seems angry that Forbes is still standing. De La Hoya dominates round 12, with Forbes continuing to retreat for most of the round. The future hall of famer wins round 12 on Lederman and my scorecard, 10-9, and the match on both of our scorecards, 119-109.

The official decision from Michael Buffer is that the judges have scored the match: 119-109, 119-109, 120-108, all to the winner by unanimous decision, "The Golden Boy" Oscar De La Hoya. The win moves De La Hoya to 39-5 with 30 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

The final punchstat numbers have De La Hoya landing 253 of the 810 total punches he threw, for a 31% total connect percentage. The jab, whose disappearance was a key factor in the De La Hoya's loss to Junior, was a huge factor in De La Hoya's favor in this match. De La Hoya landed 127 of the 406 total jabs he threw, for a 31% jab connect percentage. That means De La Hoya was landing over 10 jabs per round and throwing over 30 jabs per round, which is excellent. Forbes landed 152 of the 776 total punches he threw, for a 20% total connect percentage. The Las Vegas resident landed 69 of the 470 jabs he threw, for a 15% jab connect percentage.

De La Hoya said in his post match interview that he was disappointed in not getting the knockout. De La Hoya said the contract with Junior is not set, yet. However, De La Hoya made it clear the deal will get done in time for them to meet on September 20 in Las Vegas.

This is the best De La Hoya has looked in the ring in nearly a decade. He is now going into this match in top form to challenge the pound-for-pound best, who is coming off the best performance of his life against Hatton in December. This match was a benevolent infomercial to help sell future buys for his rematch with Junior, and it worked. Even in a mismatch like this, De La Hoya could have gotten a substantially larger gate and millions more in PPV revenue. The worst a De La Hoya PPV has done in over 10 years is 350,000 buys, which would today be more then $17.5 million in PPV revenue. De La Hoya could have put this match in Las Vegas, gotten the larger gate, PPV revenue, and still had a lot of people see the match with innumerable replays, but he generously gave away a PPV match as a thank you to the fans.

De La Hoya is also starting to redefine his list of potential final opponents. After saying Miguel Cotto was not under consideration, because of a promise to his wife to not face Puerto Rican boxers, Cotto is now under heavy consideration. The son of one of De La Hoya's previous opponents, Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. is also now being talked about. However, Chavez is relatively untested and boxing at 135 pounds. Though for a match with De La Hoya, Chavez would move up in weight and HBO can tell a wonderful story of a son seeking revenge to sell over 1 million buys. Another option being brought up is Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao's match with Juan Manuel Marquez on March 15 set the record for most buys for a match at 140 pounds or below at 400,000 making him a proven draw. However, that match was at 130 pounds and on June 28 Pacquiao is only moving up to 135 pounds. Pacquiao though would likely jump at the chance to prove his ranking as the number 2 pound-for-pound boxer in the world and earn a huge payday to move up in weight to face De La Hoya.

Forbes boxed the latter portions of this match to not get knocked out by a Hall of Fame boxer, and did nothing to win.The fact he was an elusive target for De la Hoya, and the large purse are the positives he can take away from this match. It was not that Forbes was terrible, but that De La Hoya was excellent. De La Hoya's dominance caused Forbes to stop trying to win. However, that does not speak well about that they appeared to stop trying to win a match. Still the name recognition from running from De La Hoya for most of 12 rounds, should earn Forbes some solid main event spots on ESPN cards, and potentially some undercard spots on Golden Boy run PPV's as a "thank you" for taking the bad match up with De La Hoya.

This event is going to have an unusually high number of replays for weeks, because it is an infomercial for De La Hoya-Mayweather II. It is good to see a hall of famer perform at that level, again, and it builds anticipation for the match on September 20. It was disappointing from a drama standpoint that Junior was not in attendance at the event. However for security reasons, that was probably a good thing. Anyone who has HBO will have a hard time missing a replay of this if they just flip channels frequently, and it is worth watching.

News and Notes: In GTA: IV, the main character, Niko Belic's, counter punch combo finishes, the spinning backfist ala Shonie Carter. Lifted straight from Carter's first match with Matt Serra, landing the punch always results in an instant knockout. There is going to be an effort to branch out to do more video game pro wrestling and MMA related content on both wrestlingobserver.com and f4wonline.com in the upcoming months. Keep an eye out for some news on that.

Junior's threat of firing his uncle and trainer Roger was very real. Junior has fired both his uncle Jeff and Senior. When Junior did that at separate times, he threw both of the elder Mayweathers out of houses Junior owned but the elder Mayweathers were making payments on at the time. Junior is not necessarily the cartoonish heel caricature he plays on television. He has done a lot of good work for charity. He recently donated over $100,000 to finance the entire National Golden Gloves Tournament this year, which is being held in Michigan where he got his start. This will allow for the revenues generated from this year's tournament to be saved and will help the organization for years. However, as a part of boxing kayfabe that Junior plays into his charity work is down played. Warren Buffett donated $1.5 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation in 2006 alone, and no one is going to pay to see him knocked out. Junior and the boxing media know this, understand this and play into this. The man that has members of his own family thrown onto the streets at a whim is so detestable as to have generated record business to see him hurt badly in multiple sports. The man that is helping to preserve the developmental system of boxing is no buys.

It appears the match between Joe Calzaghe and Roy Jones, Jr. is on for November 15 at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. The weight for that match has yet to be announced.

The Ring Champion at 200 pounds, David Haye, has split with his promoter Frank Moloney, and appears on the verge of signing with De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions. Haye was sitting in the first row next to the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions for Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Calzaghe. That sold out event was co-promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.

Jermain Taylor is looking to face Felix Trinidad next on PPV sometime in the fall. That match would take place at 170 pounds, because Trinidad can reportedly not make a lighter weight. That takes Trinidad off the list of potential opponents for De La Hoya's final match. De La Hoya is not going to move up 20 pounds in 3 months for his farewell match.

The heavyweight title match between Vitali Klitschko, who has not been in the ring to compete, since 2004, and belt holder Samuel Peter appears on hold, until the fall. Klitschko is running for mayor of Kiev, Ukraine. The election is on May 25, and Klitschko will not have time to properly train, until after the election, when he likely would not have time to properly govern the nation's capital.

The replay of the complete Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez trilogy that has been raved about for those who missed it on Saturday, is Tuesday at 7 PM Pacific on Showtime East, an at 10 PM Pacific on Showtime West.

The next recap will come out May 11, covering the previous days ShoBox event featuring Junior Witter defending his title at 140 pounds against Timothy Bradley, Jr.

Sincerely,

Jereme Warneck
Boxing and Video Game Correspondent for wrestlingobserver.com and f4wonline.com
Hidden Valley Lake, CA

I can be reached for feedback and comments at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or as JeremeW on XBOX Live. I read everything.

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