Oscar De La Hoya vs. Javier Castillejo

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Javier Castillejo, billed as The Quest,[2] was a super welterweight[1] professional boxing match that took place on June 23, 2001 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada. After 12 rounds, De La Hoya defeated Castillejo to take the WBC super welterweight title. With his win, De La Hoya then tied with Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns as a five-division world champion.[3]

The Quest
DateJune 23, 2001
VenueMGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
Title(s) on the lineWBC super welterweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Javier Castillejo Oscar De La Hoya
Nickname "El Lince de Parla"
("The Lynx of Parla")		 "The Golden Boy"
Hometown Parla, Madrid, Spain East Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Purse $800,000[1] $5 million[1]
Pre-fight record 51–4 (34 KO)[1] 33–2 (27 KO)[1]
Weight 154 lb (70 kg)[1] 154 lb (70 kg)[1]
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBC super welterweight champion Former welterweight champion
Result
De La Hoya won in 12 rounds unanimous decision

Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao makes his debut in the United States with his bout against Lehlohonolo Ledwaba.

Background

Javier Castillejo, aged 33, was considered the underdog before his fight with 28-year-old Oscar De La Hoya, with the latter at his prime both "[p]hysically and emotionally".[4]

Fight

De La Hoya won the bout via unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 119–108 in his favor.[3]

Preliminary card

Lehlohonolo Ledwaba vs. Manny Pacquiao

Filipino Manny Pacquiao defeated South African Lehlohonolo Ledwaba via technical knockout for the IBF junior featherweight title.

The eight-round fight is generally considered as a significant event for both boxers' careers.[5][6] At the time, Ledwaba had been ranked as one of the top pound-for-pound boxers, and was scheduled for a bout with Mexican Enrique Sánchez.[7] However, Sanchez was injured two weeks before the undercard bout, and matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz replaced him with Pacquiao, who would thus have his debut in the U.S..[5] The fight also became the first match of Pacquiao to have Freddie Roach as his coach.[8]

Ledwaba considered the bout to be the most difficult fight in his career.[9] He remarked that during the bout, he "tried almost everything. I'm a boxer who used to think. I always tried to outwork an opponent, but it was totally different against Manny. [...] I was flat-footed, but he was on his toes all the time, so he was hard to hit."[5] His promoter Rodney Berman later expressed the thought that Ledwaba's defeat to the then-unknown Pacquiao caused him to lose motivation in boxing; Ledwaba did not have anymore world level fights after the match, and retired from the profession by 2006.[5] For Pacquiao, he won $40,000 for his victory,[6] and later stated that alongside his other early fights, he fondly remembers his fight against Ledwaba because "[t]hat's the one that got me here to the U.S. and after that my career really started."[8]

Other fights

References
  1. Arkush, Michael (June 23, 2001). "PLUS: BOXING; De La Hoya Seeks Title". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. p. 5. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  2. Steinberg, Don (May 20, 2008). "What's in a name?". ESPN. ESPN Enterprises, Inc. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  3. Arkush, Michael (June 24, 2001). "BOXING; De La Hoya Ties Record, Winning 5th Championship". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. p. 6. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  4. Springer, Steve (June 23, 2001). "All Systems Go for De La Hoya". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times Communications LLC. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  5. Wainwright, Anson (July 13, 2020). "Best I Faced: Lehlo Ledwaba". The Ring. RingTV.com. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  6. Giongco, Nick (June 23, 2020). "The day Manny Pacquiao stopped Lehlo Ledwaba and introduced himself to the world". The Manila Bulletin. Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  7. Henson, Joaquin M. (May 21, 2009). "How Roach met Manny". Philstar.com. Philstar Global Corp. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  8. Williams, Luke G. (January 8, 2019). "EXCLUSIVE: 'I like people to cheer for one cause' - Manny Pacquiao interview". Boxing Monthly. Kelsey Media. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  9. Wagiet, Rafiq (April 30, 2015). "SA boxer: Facing Manny Pacquiao was the fight of my career". Eyewitness News. Cape Town: Primedia Broadcasting. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
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