“Mayorga made the biggest mistake of his life by talking the way he has from the beginning of this promotion. He definitely got under my skin but he certainly did not get in my head. He doesn’t realize that he’s made it worse for himself and on Saturday night, he is going to know what I am talking about.” – Oscar De La Hoya

Fight fans have been hearing for months how Ricardo Mayorga was going to hurt Oscar De La Hoya in the ring with his punches and outside of the ring with his endless streams of insults and put-downs.

Saturday night the verbal insults came to an end along with the hopes of Mayorga to put an end to the career of De La Hoya.

De La Hoya was clearly ready for the fight and looked to be in excellent shape despite being out of the ring for over a year and a half. De La Hoya weighed in looking fit and determined. The war of words had gotten under his skin, but not into his head. The MGM Grand in Las Vegas was rejoicing with chants of “Oscar, Oscar, Oscar!” as De La Hoya pummeled the vulgar, rude, overmatched Mayorga into submission. Fans witnessed a display of De La Hoya talent unseen since his early career fights. The one-time southpaw had a ferocious left-hook in his suitcase and unpacked it just in time to connect with Mayorga’s empty skull. It was a fantastic display of puncher versus boxer as the fight started off with De La Hoya dropping Mayorga to the canvas after only one minute. Fans inside the packed Las Vegas venue swooned with ecstasy as good versus evil played out on the sin-city stage.

By the end of the fifth round as the hopelessly overmatched Mayorga resorted to hitting De La Hoya behind the head in an attempt to gain some ground in the fight, Jay Nady warned him sternly and fans could see the end coming. The sixth round came and the hopes of the proud man who was all to happy to show us how he loves drinking beer and smoking cigarettes, came to an end. Oscar wobbled him with yet another left hook and, sensing the end was nigh, De La Hoya ruthlessly swung lefts and rights in a furious attempt to end the fight. Jay Nady mercifully stepped in and saved Mayorga from even more humiliation as the “Golden Boy” reclaimed any dignity that he had surrendered in the many press conferences leading up to this fight.

De La Hoyas performance will long be remembered and this fight was in many ways a perfect showcase for his enduring talents. Anyone who doubts De La Hoyas pedigree should have their head examined. With all apologies to Evander Holyfield, Oscar is the “Real Deal”.