It was sad that De La Hoya, did not have it in him to defend himself from more serious harm, including quitting "No Mas". He is proud, deservedly so.

It took the trainer, the corner man, the referee, and the ring doctor to put an end to the mauling. Oscar deserves some respect... a lot really, as he was still trying to salvage respectability, by fighting on a few rounds beyond logic, despite knowing deep down, it was a foolish thought to even consider.

I pay respect to the people who owned the foresight to stop the fight (the 4 mentioned above), while it was still relevant, in order to preserve De La Hoya. The future is where the relevance loom large, where the boxing world still stand to benefit from, an intact Oscar De La Hoya, in so many defferent ways, in so many different levels.

I believe the Muhammad Ali experience, is one lesson that is easily learned, and an influential giant for competency in situations such as those of December 6th, 2008.

Can anyone fathom the "auxilliaries" for the sport of boxing, have they had this same competence prior to the Muhammad Ali incident?