Beautiful destruction: Pacquiao v De La Hoya

Manny Pacquiao had already announced himself to the world by the time he faced Oscar De La Hoya. He’d already accumulated world titles from straw weight to lightweight. Along the way he shared brutal battles with Mexican legends Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez.

To many, a jump from 135 to 145 to face De La Hoya was a step too far. Giving up 6 inches in reach and 51/2 inches in height is a big ask in itself. But to a future Hall of Famer who by then had campaigned at middleweight? Madness.

But in December 2008, Pac Man dismantled his bigger opponent in a chilling fashion. The MGM Grand watched Pacquiao reduce De La Hoya to a walking punch bag. The Filipino put on a clinic of skill, speed, movement and precision punching. De La Hoya endured an eight round shellacking before quitting on his stool.

In this 4 minute highlight reel you can enjoy some of Pacquiao’s esoteric genius. At the highest levels, it’s difficult to lead with the cross. An elite operator will see it from a mile off. But Pacquiao peppered De La Hoya with his unorthodox southpaw cross all night.

Pay close attention to that punch. His rear foot leaves the floor which moves him into range in an instant. This leaves him unbalanced. But his supreme agility and fast feet allows him to skip past his opponent after landing the punch. He also throws the shot after moving his head to the right. This head movement and weight distribution would usually suggest a lead hand punch.

Pacquiao lands this shot with a mixture of erratic genius, odd timing and deception. It turns De La Hoya’s well-honed experience of range and pattern recognition against him.

Pacquiao’s ring craft and coach Freddie Roach’s gameplan is masterful. His constant foot and head movement never allows the bigger man to set his feet. After tormenting with the lead cross, Pacquiao mixes it up by going to the body with the lead hand. From that point the contest is over. What follows is target practice.

To me, this video is the epitome of boxing at it’s best. It is brutal art. We are fortunate to have been around to have watch this all-time great in action. Pacquiao's run of fights from David Diaz to Shane Moseley are a boxing masterpiece. There was more brilliance after that, but that span showcased a genius at his peak.