Fight of the Millennium
Encyclopedia
The Fight Of The Millennium was a boxing
match held in Las Vegas
, Nevada
, on September 18, 1999, to unify the WBC
and IBF
's world Welterweight championships.
Planned by promoters Bob Arum
and Don King, it pitted WBC world champion Oscar de la Hoya
, a Mexican-American, versus Puerto Rican
IBF world champion Félix Trinidad
. It was the last of the so-called superfights of the 20th century.
De la Hoya dominated the early part of the fight, outboxing Trinidad with ease to the surprise of many. However, de la Hoya tired noticeably by the ninth round of the twelve round bout. De la Hoya, on the advice of his corner, thought he had an insurmountable lead on the scorecards and adopted a defensive strategy of evasion. Rather than engage Trinidad, de la Hoya successfully avoided him by continually moving around the ring. Trinidad gave chase, but was unable to land any telling blows. The strategy backfired nevertheless, as de la Hoya effectively ceded the last three rounds of the fight to his opponent by allowing Trinidad to be perceived as the aggressor.
Although most observers felt de la Hoya had won the fight despite his late-round tactics, Trinidad was declared the winner by a highly-controversial majority decision.
While the action did not live up to the prefight hype, the controversial finish fueled calls for a rematch, which has never materialized.
The bout set the pay-per-view record for a non-heavyweight fight with 1.4 million buys, until it was broken by the De La Hoya-Mayweather boxing match
, which was held on May 5, 2007. It set the record 2.4 million buys, the most in boxing history.
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
match held in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, on September 18, 1999, to unify the WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
and IBF
International Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
's world Welterweight championships.
Planned by promoters Bob Arum
Bob Arum
Robert "Bob" Arum is the founder and CEO of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas. He also worked for the US Attorney's Office for the southern district of New York in the tax division....
and Don King, it pitted WBC world champion Oscar de la Hoya
Oscar de la Hoya
Oscar De La Hoya is a retired American boxer of Mexican descent. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy", De La Hoya won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games shortly after graduating from Garfield High School. De La Hoya comes from a boxing family. His grandfather Vicente, father Joel Sr., and brother...
, a Mexican-American, versus Puerto Rican
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
IBF world champion Félix Trinidad
Félix Trinidad
Félix 'Tito' Trinidad, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional boxer, considered one of the best in Puerto Rico's history. After winning five National Amateur Championships in Puerto Rico, he debuted as a professional when he was 17. He won his first world championship when he defeated Maurice Blocker...
. It was the last of the so-called superfights of the 20th century.
De la Hoya dominated the early part of the fight, outboxing Trinidad with ease to the surprise of many. However, de la Hoya tired noticeably by the ninth round of the twelve round bout. De la Hoya, on the advice of his corner, thought he had an insurmountable lead on the scorecards and adopted a defensive strategy of evasion. Rather than engage Trinidad, de la Hoya successfully avoided him by continually moving around the ring. Trinidad gave chase, but was unable to land any telling blows. The strategy backfired nevertheless, as de la Hoya effectively ceded the last three rounds of the fight to his opponent by allowing Trinidad to be perceived as the aggressor.
Although most observers felt de la Hoya had won the fight despite his late-round tactics, Trinidad was declared the winner by a highly-controversial majority decision.
While the action did not live up to the prefight hype, the controversial finish fueled calls for a rematch, which has never materialized.
The bout set the pay-per-view record for a non-heavyweight fight with 1.4 million buys, until it was broken by the De La Hoya-Mayweather boxing match
De La Hoya-Mayweather boxing match
De La Hoya vs. Mayweather: The World Awaits was a super welterweight superfight which took place 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....
, which was held on May 5, 2007. It set the record 2.4 million buys, the most in boxing history.