 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | June 5, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBO middleweight title | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| De La Hoya wins via 12-round unanimous decision (115–113, 115–113, 115–113) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Sturm , billed as Collision Course, was a professional boxing match contested on June 5, 2004 for the WBO middleweight championship. [1]
Following a controversial loss to Shane Mosley that cost him the WBA and WBC light-middleweight titles in September 2003, [2] Oscar De La Hoya announced his intentions to move up to the middleweight division to challenge undefeated WBO champion Felix Sturm, followed by a unification bout with Undisputed Middleweight Champion Bernard Hopkins should he defeat Sturm. [3]
As a precursor to their planned fight, Hopkins and De La Hoya agreed to take part in a joint doubleheader pay-per-view event broadcast by HBO dubbed "Collision Course". Hopkins would first take on his mandatory challenger in Robert Allen (who had fought Hopkins twice before in the late 90s).
The Hopkins–Allen fight was to be then followed by the main event between De La Hoya and Sturm, with De La Hoya needing a victory in order to preserve his match with Hopkins.
The first of the featured bouts saw Jose Luis Castillo win the vacant WBC and The Ring lightweight titles, after defeating Juan Lazcano by unanimous decision. [4]
| Title(s) on the line | WBA, WBC, IBF, and The Ring undisputed middleweight championship | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hopkins defeated Allen by unanimous decision | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hopkins and Allen had first fought six years earlier in August 1998 when referee Mills Lane pushed Hopkins through the ropes and out of ring injuring his left ankle in the process whilst breaking up a clinch. After being examined by ringside doctor Flip Homansky, it was determined that Hopkins' should not continue and the fight was ruled a no contest, despite Hopkins wanting to continue. [5]
They would fight a rematch in February 1999, with Hopkins stopping Allen in the 7th round. [6] [7]
The day before the bout, Hopkins threatened to pull out of the bout following the appointment of Joe Cortez as referee. Hopkins had Cortez removed from two of his fights previous, against both Felix Trinidad, in the aftermath of Hopkins twice stomping on the Puerto Rican flag, and William Joppy. [8] Hopkins would eventually back down and fight as planned. [9]
Allen hit Hopkins with a low blow in the fifth round, prompting Cortez to take a point away. Hopkins scored a knockout in the seventh and would control much the fight.
At the end of 12 rounds, Hopkins would be awarded a wide decision victory with scores of 119–107, 119-107, 117–109. [10]
The fight would go the full 12 rounds with De La Hoya ultimately winning the bout by a close unanimous decision with three scores of 115–113 (the judges having De La Hoya winning seven rounds to Sturm's five). The decision was met with controversy as the Compubox punch stats showed that Sturm had a clear edge over De La Hoya in nearly every category. Sturm would land 234 of his 541 thrown punches for a 43% success rate, and though De La Hoya would throw well over 200 more punches than Sturm, landed only 188 of his 792 for only a 24% success rate. Sturm also dominated De La Hoya with his jab, landing 112 jabs to De La Hoya's 58. De La Hoya narrowly outlanded Sturm in power punches, connecting with 130 of 394 for 33%, however, Sturm still managed to land over half of his power punches going 122 of 235 for 52%. After the bell had sounded, Sturm celebrated, thinking he had done enough to earn the victory. HBO commentators Jim Lampley and Roy Jones Jr. both felt Sturm had clearly won, while unofficial scorer Harold Lederman also had Sturm the winner with the score of 115–113, scoring six of the last seven rounds for Sturm.
Though the winner, De La Hoya expressed disappointment, saying of his performance, "Everything went wrong tonight". Sturm, who felt that De La Hoya had been gifted the decision due to his popularity and to preserve the lucrative De La Hoya–Hopkins fight, said "I know Oscar is a big name here and a great champion, but tonight, I think the whole world saw who was the better fighter." Hopkins, after nearly seeing both the biggest match and payday of his career go down the drain joked that his "blood pressure went up slightly" before the decision was announced. [11]
Using the official punch stats as proof, Sturm launched an official protest shortly after the fight in hopes of overturning the decision. However, Nevada Athletic Commission director Marc Ratner turned down Sturm's protest, stating "Scoring is subjective, so unless someone can prove a mathematical mistake or collusion, there is no basis for a protest." [12]
Despite De La Hoya's less-than-stellar performance, his fight with Hopkins was officially announced two days later. [13] For the first time in his career, De La Hoya came into a fight as the underdog, with Hopkins being a 2–1 favorite. De La Hoya was behind on two of the three scorecards before Hopkins ended the fight with a body shot that put him down for the count in the ninth round.
Confirmed bouts: [14]
| Weight Class | Weight | vs. | Method | Round | Time | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middleweight | 160 lb. |  Oscar De La Hoya | def. |  Felix Sturm (c) | UD | 12/12 | Note 1 | |
| Middleweight | 160 lb. | Bernard Hopkins (c) | def. | Robert Allen | UD | 12/12 | Note 2 | |
| Lightweight | 135 lb. |  José Luis Castillo | def. | Juan Lazcano | UD | 12/12 | Note 3 |
^Note 1 For WBO middleweight title
^Note 2 For WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, The Ring, lineal middleweight titles
^Note 3 For vacant WBC and The Ring lightweight titles
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Germany | ZDF |
 United Kingdom | Sky Sports |
| United States | HBO |
Oscar De La Hoya is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including lineal championships in three weight classes. De La Hoya was nicknamed "The Golden Boy of Boxing" by the media when he represented the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics where, shortly after having graduated from James A. Garfield High School, he won a gold medal in the lightweight division, and reportedly "set a sport back on its feet."
Oscar De La Hoya vs. Félix Trinidad, billed as The Fight of the Millennium, was a boxing match held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas Strip on September 18, 1999, to unify the WBC and IBF welterweight championships.
Félix Trinidad vs. Ricardo Mayorga, billed as "Back with a Vengeance", was a professional boxing match contested on October 2, 2004. It pitting together former world champions Felix Tito Trinidad and Ricardo Mayorga, under the promotion of Don King, at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, United States.
Ronald Lamont "Winky" Wright is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2012. He is a two-time light middleweight world champion and was the last to hold the undisputed title at that weight until Jermell Charlo in 2022. In his later career he also challenged for a unified middleweight world title. He announced his retirement from boxing in 2012, following a loss to Peter Quillin.
Adnan Ćatić, known as Felix Sturm, is a Bosnian-German professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, at middleweight and super-middleweight. As an amateur, he won a gold medal at the 2000 European Championships in the light-middleweight division.
Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr., billed as The World Awaits, was a professional boxing match contested on May 5, 2007, for the WBC super welterweight championship.. At the time, the bout was the most lucrative boxing match ever, with over $130 million in generated revenue. Mayweather won by split decision over De La Hoya in 12 rounds.
Félix Trinidad vs. Bernard Hopkins, billed as And Then There Was One, was a boxing match that took place on September 29, 2001, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, between WBC and IBF middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins and WBA middleweight champion Félix Trinidad to unify all three titles and decide the first undisputed middleweight champion since Marvin Hagler. The winner would also become The Ring middleweight champion. The undercard featured championship fights in three other weight classes.
Bernard Hopkins Jr. is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed championship at middleweight from 2001 to 2005, and the lineal championship at light heavyweight from 2011 to 2012.
Bernard Hopkins vs. Roy Jones Jr. II, billed as The Rivals, was a professional boxing match contested on April 3, 2010. The fight was a rematch of the May 22, 1993 bout between the two where Jones defeated Hopkins for the IBF middleweight title.
James Toney vs. Roy Jones Jr., billed as The Uncivil War, was a professional boxing match held on November 18, 1994, for the IBF super middleweight championship.
Oscar De La Hoya vs. Bernard Hopkins, billed as It's History, was a professional boxing match contested on September 18, 2004 for Hopkins' WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, and The Ring middleweight championships, and Oscar De La Hoya's WBO middleweight championship.
Oscar De La Hoya vs. Ricardo Mayorga, billed as Danger Zone, was a professional boxing match contested on May 6, 2006 for the WBC super welterweight title.
Oscar De La Hoya vs. Shane Mosley II, billed as Redemption, was a professional boxing match contested on September 13, 2003 for De La Hoya's WBA (Unified), WBC, IBA, and The Ring light middleweight championship.
Oscar De La Hoya vs. Shane Mosley, billed as Destiny, was a professional boxing match contested on June 17, 2000 for the WBC and IBA welterweight titles.
Wilfredo Rivera is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who fought three times for world titles, losing to Pernell Whitaker twice and to Oscar De La Hoya.
Bernard Hopkins vs. Karo Murat was a professional boxing match contested on October 26, 2013, for the IBF light heavyweight title.
Félix Trinidad vs. Winky Wright was a professional boxing match contested on May 14, 2005.
Oscar De La Hoya vs. Yori Boy Campas, billed as Night of Champions, was a professional boxing match contested on May 3, 2003, for the WBA, WBC, IBA and The Ring super welterweight titles.
Oscar De La Hoya vs. Giorgio Campanella was a professional boxing match contested on May 27, 1994, for the WBO junior lightweight title. The fight was the featured bout on the Top Rank–produced boxing card Rising Stars.