411's De La Hoya vs. Forbes Report 05.03.08

Posted by Ramon Aranda on 05.03.2008

Check out the full report and round by round notes from Oscar's win over Steve Forbes.


Photos by Will Hart

Welcome everyone to 411mania's coverage of "Homecoming" - the Forbes vs. De La Hoya bout from Carson, CA. Below is a recap of the round by round action from Saturday night.

[My scores at the end of every round are unofficial.]

Steve Forbes (33-5, 9 KOs) vs. Oscar De La Hoya (38-5, 30 KOs)
12-Rounds Junior Middleweight Bout

Round 1: Stevie is out firing away at his jab looking to land quick shots from a distance. Now Oscar works to the bodyand paws his own jab. A good combination by Forbes followed up by another set of body shots from De La Hoya. Oscar snaps a stiff jab that knocks Forbes backwards. A combination and a right hand by De La Hoya. Now Steve lands a quick combo that's highlighted by a hard left hook and right hand by Forbes to end round 1. Good competitive round that I give to Oscar 10-9.

10-9 De La Hoya

Round 2: Oscar comes out firing and has Forbes on the defensive. Nice left hook on the inside by Forbes now and a speedy combo lands to the head of Oscar. Oscar continues to pump a hard jab that has Steve's nose bleeding a little bit. They trade jabs with Oscar throwing a harder jab and Steve throwing the quicker, snapier ones. Forbes lands another quick left hook and the round is over. Close round that I'll give to Oscar 10-9.

20-18 De La Hoya

Round 3: Good action to start as both guys land some jabs and right hands. Forbes lands a good right cross and De La Hoya fires a left hook to the body. Steve is throwing a lot of punches and though not many are landing, he's certainly getting some in as Oscar has a small mouse under his left eye/cheek and blood from the bridge of his nose. They trade body shots in the center of the ring now and now back to the jabs with the round closing. Tough round to score since both guys got in some decent amount of offense. Surprisingly it's Oscar's face that looks the worse for wear up to this point. Oscar earns the nod though 10-9.

30-27 De La Hoya



Round 4: Forbes comes out punching and forces Oscar to the ropes. He pounds away to the head and body and backs up. Oscar comes in now with his own hooks and Steve showboats a bit. Oscar traps him on the ropes and blocks most of the punches and showboats some more. Oscar lands a good left hand and the jabs are still landing flush for Oscar. Forbes looks good in this round but doesn't get enough offense done to earn him the round. Oscar takes it 10-9 but Forbes' confidence is growing.

40-36 De La Hoya

Round 5: Forbes is on his toes moving back and throwing his jab. Oscar pounds again to the body and sticks another jab in Steve's face. Now Steve jabs to the body and throws a hook downstairs. Oscar goes to the uppercut but they're all blocked by forbes. Steve invites Oscar to brawl. Oscar throws a 6-punch combination that land on Forbes' gloves. Oscar is the aggressor so far tonight but hasn't been able to land a whole lot against Forbes. Unfortunately for Steve, his punch connects are still pretty low and seems to be content in just making Oscar miss. Steve still did enough to win this one though; 10-9 Forbes.

49-46 De La Hoya



Round 6: They trade left hooks to open the round. Kudos to both guys for blocking a lot of punches. Now Oscar opens up and throws a volley of punches causing a cut on the right eye of Forbes. It appears a left hook opened the cut. Steve jabs to the body and catches a left hook. Forbes lands a quick left to get Oscar off-balance. A good right hand by Oscar ends the 6th. This one goes to Oscar 10-9.

59-55 De La Hoya

Round 7: We see Steve on his toes again as he circles the ring. OScar lands a pair of hooks to the head and he's now got his eyes set on that cut. Oscar again lets off a combination and he's landing more flush. Head, body, head body and forbes gets pinned on the ropes. The blood isn't coming out of that cut from Forbes so much. Good round for De La Hoya: 10-9.

69-64 De La Hoya



Round 8: The action has slowed down a bit here. They both go back to snapping their jabs. Oscar is still digging to the body, looking to slow Steve down some more. Oscar is trying to land a big left hook but Steve is slipping them pretty well. Forbes sneaks in a left uppercut that makes Oscar wince - landing right in his eye. Oscar wins it still with more activity 10-9.

79-73 De La Hoya

Round 9: Oscar lands lefts and rights to the body. De La Hoya connects with a couple of hard rights that force him to back-up. Forbes lands a left hook but Oscar again snaps his jab. Oscar lands another left hook and Forbes simply moves away. Not much action from Forbes in the 9th and Oscar takes it 10-9.

89-82 De La Hoya

(Steve Forbes seems content right nwo just not getting hit and giving Oscar some decent rounds. It's too bad Forbes doesn't have KO power because that's exactly what he needs now.)



Round 10: Steve gets a sense of urgency and pressure Oscar along the ropes, actually landing a pretty good overhand right. Oscar is bouncing around and he lands a hard left uppercut taht appears to have hurt Forbes. Oscar goes for broke and Forbes returns with a flurry of his own. Forbes' right eye is starting to swell up now. Great round for Oscar and Steve looks a bit discombobulated. 10-9 Oscar.

99-91 De La Hoya

(You know for Oscar dominating this fight, he's having some nicks and bruises on his face....he's working for his paycheck tonight.)

Round 11: Oscar is looking pretty loose and is making the fight right now. Forbes lunges in with a straight right and tries to work to the body. Oscar tries to cut-off the ring and using hsi jab to push Forbes back. Now Oscar works over Steve along the ropes and lands a barrage of punches to the head and body. Forbes touches gloves with Oscar after the round. Hey Steve how bout getting back at Oscar instead? 10-9 Oscar.

109-100 De La Hoya

Round 12: Ok here we go, round 12. The action picks up immediately as both guys are unleashing combinations. Oscar lands a solid right hand and Forbes urges the crowd to chear them on. Fight back Steve, don't worry about the crowd. Oscar lands a hard left and contineus to pursue Forbes around the ring. Forbes walks into a jab as he tries to go to the body. Oscar and Forbes end the fight with a semi-flurry. Oscar takes this round too 10-9.

My final score card reads 119-109 for Oscar De La Hoya. Competitive fight early on but not a difficult fight to score. Overall, Oscar lands the more effective punches and manages to outland Forbes on many occasions. Forbes looked more like a sparring partner in there but at least he mae Oscar work 12 rounds.

The scores are read as 119-109, 119-110 and 120-109 for the winner by unanimous decision....



Oscar De La Hoya!

Not a big surprise here but I'm sure Oscar is happy to go a full 12 rounds while keeping his workrate pretty steady. And now its on to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September. Hard to tell from this fight what Oscar will bring to his rematch but it should give him a boost.

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Thanks to everyone for tuning in! See you next time.