Pacquiao surprised that de la Hoya surrendered

MANILA, Philippines - Just before the ninth round started, Manny Pacquiao saw Oscar de la Hoya walk across from his corner toward him. Pacquiao got up on his feet and was ready to begin the next round when what transpired after stunned him. "Oscar was already standing up so I stood up and I thought the fight was on. But I was surprised Oscar's corner was already making a signal. They were throwing in the towel," Pacquiao said. Pacquiao dealt de la Hoya his most savage beating and by making him surrender, his most embarrassing loss in an otherwise stellar career. "Oscar was just wilting at the end of the eighth round. So Freddie (Roach) just told me to finish him off. If Oscar hadn't surrendered, I would've stopped Oscar in the ninth anyway," Pacquiao recalled. Pacquiao pounded de la Hoya with head shots that caused de la Hoya's face to swell. De la Hoya wasn't the only won who was left a mark by the jabs, though. The frequency of Pacquiao's connections also caused his right hand to swell. A day after his victory, Pacquiao continued to be upbeat, narrating to people whom he came across the experience of fighting de la Hoya. "What we did inside the ring, that's exactly what we've been practicing," Pacquiao said. "Body, then head movement. Keep the head active so you take away his jab." Pacquiao and de la Hoya exchanged compliments after the fight. Pacquiao told de la Hoya, "You're still my idol." De la Hoya deferred, pointing back to Pacquiao, "No, you're my idol." Later, Pacquiao received the ultimate props from the boxing icon. "Well he told me I was the best fighter in the whole world." - GMANews.TV