Mayweather splits with the WBC title
De La Hoya loses decision
LAS VEGAS -- Floyd Mayweather Jr. wanted a piece of Oscar De La Hoya for more than three years. When he finally got the fight of his lifetime last night, for the most part he watched and worked from the ring's perimeter.
But, by the keen eye of two of the three judges, Mayweather's 12 rounds of window-shopping, ducking, and shot blocking were enough for him to capture the WBC super welterweight title last night.
Mayweather (38-0) won by split decision among the three judges: Jerry Roth scored in De La Hoya's favor, 115-113; Tommy Kaczmarek gave it to Mayweather, 116-112; and Chuck Giampa scored in Mayweather's favor, 115-113.
De La Hoya (38-5) carried the fight all night, persistently forcing Mayweather to the ropes and corners.
"I felt I won the fight," said the disappointed De La Hoya, who surrendered the title to the 30-year-old Mayweather. "I landed the harder, crisper punches. When I landed them, I could see I was hurting him."
The pro-De La Hoya crowd was stunned, raining down with steady boos after the decision was announced, and eventually chanting a pejorative in unison before a cloud of disappointment settled over Golden Boy's fans.
Some 40 minutes after the fight ended, De La Hoya's business partner, Richard Schaefer, came back to the ring, claiming a mistake had been made in the tallying of the points. According to Schaefer, who was seeking a representative of the state's fighting commission, the confusion was based on points awarded to the respective corners.
Schaefer, a former banker who is considered one of the sport's more level headed managers and deal-makers, continued to make his claim to anyone else who would listen, with only cleanup workers and security personnel remaining in the stands.
Some 15 minutes later, after closer scrutiny of the scoresheets, a bedraggled Schaefer said, "My opinion is the decision stands."
By then, Mayweather was well into his celebration with friends and family.
"I fought the best fighter of our era -- and I beat him," said a jubilant Mayweather, who reiterated his plan to retire in the moments immediately after the fight. "He was rough and tough, but he couldn't beat the best."
The stat sheet had De La Hoya outpunching Mayweather, 587-481. But it also had Mayweather nearly doubling De La Hoya when it came to punches landed, 207-122. Even if that disparity were true, it would not reflect the fact that De La Hoya's shots were more powerful and more frequently pushed Mayweather to the outside, where he sometimes flashed a smile following a steady rain of left-right combinations.
"Look at the stats . . . I was having fun tonight," said Mayweather, who said he fought at 147 pounds, a slice below the 154-pound classification.
By far the aggressor, De La Hoya's failing may have been that he never was able to rock Mayweather, stagger him, get his knees to crumple. But neither did Mayweather ever rock De La Hoya. While Mayweather was content to dance and have the defending champ dictate terms, the fight came up considerably short of its hype.
The sellout crowd of 16,200 inside MGM's Grand Garden Arena, as expected, was emphatically behind De La Hoya. The arena's huge in-house television screens flashed images of the 34-year-old Golden Boy as he arrived in the parking lot, roughly 90 minutes before first bell, and the cheers erupted.
Moments later, the same four large screens flashed images of Mayweather's arrival, holding hands with two of his young children as he made his way into the building. Despite the paternal touch, jeers erupted. Some greeting for a guy who lives just down the street, in a 12,000-square-foot mansion. Homeboy, discounted.
Once again it validated that De La Hoya was truly the main event amid the megahype. It was a point that Mayweather contested throughout fight week, often making note that he had the undefeated record, not his opponent, and in general discrediting De La Hoya at every opportunity.
"Then make it a fight," De La Hoya said a couple of days before the bout, directing his comments to Mayweather. "Make it a fight that people are going to enjoy. Let's fight. That's all I have to say to him. If you want to make it an exciting fight, then let's fight, that's all."
Truth was, Mayweather was content to let De La Hoya make it a fight, and in the end content to take home the title.
Mayweather was the first to enter the ring, wearing a giant white sombrero, no doubt on loan from Roger Mayweather, his trainer/uncle. The elder Mayweather earned the name "Mexican Assassin" in his fighting days, and often wore the big white hat into the ring. He wore the same sombrero as he left the ring.
De La Hoya came clad in a regal red velvet robe, and upon arriving at the turnbuckle, he acknowledged the adoring crowd with a gloved left hand, saluting all four corners of the building.
There's no telling where the two combatants go from here. De La Hoya, who prior to last night had fought only once in 2 1/2 years, mused during the week that he could fight on for a while longer. He even dropped heavy hints that he could book a rematch with Felix Trinidad, the man who dealt him his first career loss Sept. 18, 1999.
Schaefer said he has considered taking De La Hoya to some boxing global hot spots, including Mexico and Asia, where the event itself would matter even more than the quality of the combatants.
As for Mayweather, he emphatically stated he will retire, looking forward to a life of managing fighters and recording artists.
"I'm through with this sport," he said a couple of days before the fight. "I'm retiring. I can't wait to wake up Sunday morning, no matter what, and take my kids to Chuck E. Cheese's. I'm through, man."
Among the celebs in the crowd: John Madden, Al Michael, Tommy Lasorda, John McCain, Michael J. Fox, Roberto Duran, Tom Jones, Tommy Hearns, Charlie Sheen, Charles Barkley, Eva Longoria, George Lopez, Mike Tyson, Mark Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, Will Farrell, Leonardo DiCaprio, Eddie Murphy, Michael Jordan, Denzel Washington, Jack Nicholson, Magic Johnson, Tobey Maguire, and Jenny McCarthy, who hours earlier had cavorted at 
