Since this fight was announced, the boxing public has been intrigued with the matchup between Randy Caballero (24-1, 14 KOs) and Diego De La Hoya (20-0, 9 KOs). Diego, whose last name deems him boxing royalty, looked to make a statement with a win over a very tough and experienced Caballero.
Caballero, the former Bantamweight Champion, looked to put an end to the De La Hoya reign. At the sound of the opening bell, both guys came out and began to let their hands go.
Both fighters found success landing both their jab and power punches, with De La Hoya landing the more thudding shots. In the early rounds, Caballero kept up with the pace of De La Hoya but after sustaining an onslaught of body punches, began to fade.
Caballero found success in his counter punching but didn’t seem to cause any real damage. Midway through the fight, De La Hoya began landing a bit more cleanly but at times throw in the occasional and unnoticed illegal blow. Caballero found himself at the wrong end of a few some head-butts and low blows throughout the bout.
As the rounds progressed, Caballeros’ began to clearly fade. Whether it was from the vicious body attacks or the multiple low blows, it seemed at this point that Caballero would need a stoppage to get the nod. In the end, De La Hoya finished just as strong as he began. At times it almost seemed as if Caballeros’ corner could arguably call a halt to the action but elected to let their man finish the fight.
“I trained for this fight, knowing it was going to be a really great battle. All my sacrifice, I fueled into this fight,” said De La Hoya. The conditioning and the sustained body attack seemed to be the fuel that led De La Hoya to his most impressive victory to date.
For Caballero, the feeling of defeat may come as a shock but it comes at the hands of one of the more well known fighters in boxing. “The winners tonight are the fans. When we did this fight, we knew it was going to be a great opportunity to put on a good show,” said Caballero. “Diego is a good kid, and a great fighter and I wish him the best.”
