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Oscar De La Hoya vs. Wilfredo Rivera

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Title Wave
DateDecember 6, 1997
VenueCaesars Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Title(s) on the lineWBC welterweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Oscar De La Hoya Wilfredo Rivera
Nickname The Golden Boy
Hometown East Los Angeles, California, U.S. San Juan, Puerto Rico
Purse $6,000,000 $350,000
Pre-fight record 26–0 (21 KO) 27–2–1 (18 KO)
Age 24 years, 10 months 28 years, 7 months
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 147 lb (67 kg) 147 lb (67 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBC
Welterweight Champion		 WBC
No. 4 Ranked Welterweight
Result
De La Hoya wins via 8th-round technical knockout

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Wilfredo Rivera, billed as Title Wave was a professional boxing match contested on December 6, 1997, for the WBC welterweight title.[1]

Background

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Just two days after his victory over Héctor Camacho in September 1997, it was announced that WBC welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya's next title defense would come just under three months later on December 6 against Wilfredo Rivera, the WBC's number-four ranked welterweight contender.[2]

Just weeks before the fight, renowned trainer Emanuel Steward, who had trained De La Hoya for his two previous fights against Camacho and David Kamau was dismissed by De La Hoya's camp after it was deemed that Steward, who was simultaneously training WBC heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, was not spending as much time training De La Hoya for his fight against Rivera. Instead, legendary 75-year old trainer Gil Clancy was brought out of a 20-year retirement and hired as Steward's replacement by De La Hoya.[3] Steward revealed that the reason for his dismissal was a "family situation" as De La Hoya's father Joel, felt that Steward should have had De La Hoya sparring no less than 125 rounds during training, a tactic Steward felt was "crazy" as De La Hoya had already fought four times during the course of the year.[4]

The featured undercard bout featured reigning WBC super welterweight champion Terry Norris defending his title against Keith Mullings, a journeyman fighter who sported a 1–4–1 record in his last six fights. Norris, a heavy 7–1 favorite, was reportedly set to drop down in weight to face De La Hoya the following year for a reported $4.5 million payday after his expected victory over Mullings and assuming De La Hoya would next defeat his mandatory challenger Patrick Charpentier.[5] However, Norris, after controlling the early portion of his fight against Mullings, was knocked down late in the eighth round and then had the fight stopped in the ninth following a brutal assault from Mullings, costing him the De La Hoya fight.[6]

The Fight

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Though Rivera was a game opponent, De La Hoya controlled nearly the entire fight from the opening round. De La Hoya, having staggered Rivera with a left hook in the second round, followed up with another that opened up a gash over Rivera's right eye, which would hinder him throughout the remainder of the bout. Then in the fourth round, De La Hoya sent Rivera down with a sharp right hand. Rivera was able to answer the referee's 10-count at five, but the gash above his right eye, which his corner had managed to close, was reopened and another cut was opened on his right cheek. Rivera would survive until the eighth round, when the fight was stopped after the ringside doctor concluded that Rivera could not continue due the cuts he had suffered.[7]

Fight card

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Confirmed bouts:[8]

Weight Class Weight vs. Method Round Notes
Welterweight 147 lbs. Oscar De La Hoya (c) def. Wilfredo Rivera TKO 8/12 Note 1
Super Welterweight 154 lbs. Keith Mullings def. Terry Norris (c) TKO 9/12 Note 2
Super Welterweight 154 lbs. Yori Boy Campas def. Raúl Márquez (c) TKO 8/12 [1]
Cruiserweight 190 lbs. Vassiliy Jirov def. Art Jimmerson TKO 2/10
Super Welterweight 154 lbs. Daniel Santos def. Jerry Booker TKO 3/8
Super Featherweight 130 lbs. Zahir Raheem def. Terry Smith TKO 4/6
Heavyweight 200+ lbs. Eric Esch def. Doug Phillips UD 4/4

^Note 1 For WBC Welterweight title
^Note 2 For WBC Super Welterweight title
^Note 3 For IBF Junior Middleweight title

Broadcasting

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Country Broadcaster
 United States HBO

References

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  1. ^ "Oscar De La Hoya vs. Wilfredo Rivera". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  2. ^ De La Hoya to Fight In Atlantic City, N.Y. Times article, 1997-09-17, Retrieved on 2024-10-30
  3. ^ De La Hoya Adds Clancy as Trainer, N.Y. Times article, 1997-11-21, Retrieved on 2024-10-30
  4. ^ De La Hoya Replaces Steward as Trainer, L.A. Times article, 1997-11-14, Retrieved on 2024-10-30
  5. ^ De La Hoya Meets a Legend as He Plans His Own, N.Y. Times article, 1997-12-03, Retrieved on 2024-10-30
  6. ^ De La Hoya Remains Unbeaten After Stopping Rivera in the Eighth Round, N.Y. Times article, 1997-12-07, Retrieved on 2024-10-30
  7. ^ De La Hoya Definitely a Cut Above, L.A. Times article, 1997-12-07 Retrieved on 2024-10-30
  8. ^ "BoxRec - event".
Preceded by Oscar De La Hoya's bouts
6 December 1997 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
vs. Mark Hammon
 Wilfredo Rivera's bouts
6 December 1997 		Succeeded by
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