
SPORTS FACTS AND FIGURES 71: OSCAR DE LA HOYA PRAISES FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR.
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 18 Aug 2024

Oscar De La Hoya praised Floyd Mayweather, Jr. while talking with Hall of Fame football player Shannon Sharpe in an episode of Club Shay Shay. “Floyd is a great fighter,” De La Hoya said as quoted by Boxing Scene. “I love his patience,” De La Hoya said. “I love the fact that he’s a hard-hitter and he has a chin. People discredit him for not having a chin. He has a chin. And he has a big heart. What makes him unique is obviously his boxing ability, but his ring generalship is what does it for me. He knows how to pick his spots. He knows how to get you tired without even throwing punches. It’s crazy.”
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Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. Fight was a super welterweight battle that was fought on May 5, 2007, at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada between six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya and undefeated four-division champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. The fight had the biggest revenue at that time of over $130 million. Mayweather Jr. won via 12-round split decision (113–115, 116–112, 115–113). The De La Hoya-Mayweather fight set the record for most PPV buys for a boxing match with 2.4 million households, beating the previous record of 1.99 million for Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson II.
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Gilas Pilipinas moved up four positions and is now ranked no. 34 in the FIBA world rankings. The FIBA ranking was updated as of August 10, 2024 and was released after the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament and the 2024 Paris Olympics. During the FIBA OQT, Gilas scored an upset victory against host Latvia and entered the semis despite losing to Georgia in their second game. The Filipinos played Brazil in the semis but lost, 71-60 as Brazil eventually qualified for the Paris Olympics.
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2024 Paris Olympics gold medalist United States remained at no. 1 while Serbia went up to no. 2. Germany retained the no. 3 position, while France moved up five slots to no. 4, while Canada also moved two slots to no. 5. Rounding the top 10 are Spain, Australia, Argentina, Latvia, and Lithuania. Gilas Pilipinas will play next in the November window of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.
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The FIBA Asia Cup then known as the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Championship was inaugurated in Manila in 1960. The tournament was held to find Asia's best basketball team and for qualification to the World Championships and the Olympics. In the next four tournaments, the Philippines won 3 with the Japan beating the Philippines in 1965. Korea, Japan and the Philippines divided among them the next 3 championships until China joined in 1975 at Bangkok with the championship, and they have dominated the league for 40 years.
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During the 2024 Paris Olympics, Uzbekistan topped the boxing competition winning 5 gold medals. China was second with 3 golds and 2 silvers. Third was Chinese Taipei winning 1 gold and 2 bronzes. Fourth was Cuba with 1 gold and 1 bronze. At No. 5 Algeria, Ireland and Ukraine were tied with 1 gold each. The Philippines was at No. 17 tied with Australia and Dominican Republic with 2 bronzes each.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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