Men whom Manny retired

There were five fighters whom former eight-division world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao retired in his storybook 26-year pro career that began in 1995 and ended in 2021. In all, Pacquiao faced 64 opponents in 72 total bouts with the list including those whom he took on more than once – Juan Manuel Marquez (four), Erik Morales (three), Tim Bradley (three) and Marco Antonio Barrera (two).

The five who never fought again after losing to Pacquiao were Dele Desierto in 1995, Sung Yul Lee in 1996, Oscar De La Hoya in 2008, Bradley in 2016 and Lucas Matthysse in 2018. Almost making the dubious cast was Ricky Hatton who fell like a log and took the full count in losing by a second-round knockout in Las Vegas in 2009. Hatton returned to the ring after three years and was stopped by Vyacheslav Senchenko in Manchester, never to fight again.

Of the five whom Pacquiao retired, De La Hoya was the most celebrated. The fight happened at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and the protagonists agreed to battle at the 147-pound welterweight limit. Six months before, Pacquiao scaled 134 1/2 for David Diaz and seven months previously, De La Hoya tipped in at 150 for Steve Forbes. The Golden Boy was up to 160 when he tangled with Felix Sturm in 2004. At the weigh-in for the Pacquiao meeting, De La Hoya scaled 145 pounds. Pacquiao checked in at 142.  It was the lightest De La Hoya had tipped in since 1997.

Someone said De La Hoya had tell-tale IV marks on his arm when he walked into the ring to battle Pacquiao. It seemed like he was drained and dehydrated from bringing down his weight. De La Hoya later confessed that he felt like a “dead man walking” as he marched into the ring. But backing out wasn’t an option and neither was making excuses.

Before 15,001 fans, Pacquiao put on a performance of the ages, totally dominating De La Hoya to the extent that in the seventh round, the three judges scored it 10-8 despite no knockdown. De La Hoya surrendered on his stool before the start of the ninth round and was whisked to a hospital as a precaution, skipping the post-fight press conference. Tris Dixon of Boxing News said, “De La Hoya was caught in a storm of punches without an umbrella. For every punch De La Hoya threw, it seemed five or six were returned. Even when Oscar landed two punches in the eighth, Manny simply banged his head in complete contempt.” The judges had no difficulty choosing the winner. Adelaide Byrd and Dave Moretti scored a shutout, 80-71, while Stanley Christodoulou saw it 79-72.

De La Hoya was 35 when he lost to Pacquiao and retired. He said it wasn’t an easy decision to hang up his gloves. “I get the itch every single day,” said De la Hoya, now 51. “But I’m smart enough to realize I can’t compete anymore, not at the highest level, if I did ever get the crazy idea of coming back.”