Misplaced Pages

Night of Champions

Date	May 3, 2003
Venue	Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
Title(s) on the line	WBA, WBC, IBA and The Ring super welterweight titles
Tale of the tape
Boxer Oscar De La Hoya Luis Ramón Campas Nickname The Golden Boy Yori Boy Hometown East Los Angeles, California, U.S. Navojoa, Sonora, Mexico Purse $11,000,000 $100,000 Pre-fight record 35–2 (27 KO) 80–5 (68 KO) Age 30 years, 2 months 31 years, 8 months Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) 5 ft 7+1⁄2 in (171 cm) Weight 154 lb (70 kg) 153+1⁄2 lb (70 kg) Style Orthodox Orthodox Recognition WBA, WBC, IBA and The Ring Super Welterweight Champion The Ring No. 5 ranked pound-for-pound fighter 4-division world champion WBC No. 15 Ranked Super Welterweight Former IBF Light middleweight champion
Result
De La Hoya wins via 7th-round technical knockout

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.

Background

After defeating rival Fernando Vargas in September 2002 to become the unified WBA, WBC, Ring and lineal super welterweight champion, Oscar De La Hoya began negotiations to face Shane Mosley, who had issued De La Hoya his second defeat in a disputed split decision in 2000, in a rematch tentatively scheduled to take place in September 2003. Before facing Mosley, De La Hoya opted to take a tune-up bout against Yori Boy Campas during the weekend of Cinco de Mayo, agreeing to the fight in early January 2003.

Campas, who had held the IBF's version of the super welterweight title just over four years prior, was installed as a massive 25–1 underdog and given virtually no chance of defeating De La Hoya, with many who bet on the fight predicting he would not last more than six rounds. To drum up interest in the fight, Campas and promoter Bob Arum would concoct a bizarre story in which Campas claimed to have been given a potion supposedly used by Mexican forces prior to defeating the Second French Empire during the Battle of Puebla, which purportedly gave them, and subsequently Campas, enhanced strength and courage.

The fights

Morales vs. Velárdez

In the co featured bout, WBC featherweight champion Erik Morales defended his title against No. 15 ranked Fernando Velárdez.

Morales knocked down Velardez in the 1st, 4th and 5th rounds when the fight was stopped without a count.

This was the Morales' final bout at featherweight. He would vacate the title in October, moving up to super featherweight.

Main Event

De La Hoya dominated Campas, landing 264 of 498 thrown punches for a success rate of 53% while Campas only landed 75 of his 348 thrown punches for a paltry 23% rate. While Campas was never knocked down, De La Hoya constantly punished Campas to the point that his face was red and swollen, causing his trainer to jump on ring apron late in the seventh round and ask referee Vic Drakulich to stop the fight. Drakulich obliged and stopped the fight at 2:54 of the round, giving De La Hoya the victory by technical knockout.

Fight card

Confirmed bouts:

^Note 1 For WBA, WBC, IBA and The Ring Super Welterweight titles
^Note 2 For WBC Featherweight title
^Note 3 For WBC Light Flyweight title
^Note 4 For WBO Mini Flyweight title

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster
United States	HBO

References

1. "Oscar De La Hoya vs. Luis Ramon Campas". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
2. De La Hoya and Mosley Talk, N.Y. Times article, 2003-02–21, Retrieved on 2024-11-17
3. Oscar to Fight Campas in May, L.A. Times article, 2003-01–10, Retrieved on 2024-11-17
4. Campas at His Outer Limits, L.A. Times article, 2003-05–04, Retrieved on 2024-11-17
5. Yory Boy Campas Drinking Secret Potion, Associated Press article, 2003-04–22, Retrieved on 2024-11-17
6. "Erik Morales vs. Fernando Velardez". boxrec.com. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
7. Steve Springer (2 May 2003). "Morales and Velardez Not the Best of Friends". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
8. Tim Dahlberg (2 May 2003). "Morales Defends WBC Featherweight Title". Midland Daily News. Associated Press. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
9. Guttierrez, Paul (5 October 2003). "No Doubt for Morales This Time". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
10. De La Hoya Pounds Campas to Set Up Another Showdown With Mosley, N.Y. Times article, 2003-05-04 Retrieved on 2024-11-18
11. "BoxRec - event".

• 2003 in boxing
• 2003 in sports in Nevada
• May 2003 sports events in the United States
• Boxing matches at Mandalay Bay Events Center
• Boxing matches involving Oscar De La Hoya
• Boxing on HBO
• Boxing on Sky Sports
• Light middleweight championship matches
• Pay-per-view boxing matches