Diego De La Hoya Villegas vs. Renson Rodrigo Robles García RBR

If you're wondering about the drastic reduction in detail, I refuse to bother typing out full descriptive RBR posts for rounds that feature more clinching (or holding & hitting on the back) than legal scoring punches.

 

Robles has sapped De La Hoya's strength badly enough that he might actually be winning the ninth round with his chaotic sorties, backhanding up a jab into the face of De La Hoya and then corkscrewing a right into the body, followed by clubbing rights behind the neck in the clinch. De La Hoya's arms look leaden, but he does manage to knock Robles back from a late clinch with a heavy uppercut. Robles answers with a low blow.

10-9 Robles but the ref takes a point for the low blow just before the round ends, so (9-9)

89-80 De La Hoya

 

Ghastly tenth. Robles gritting his teeth and mauling De La Hoya with hard kidney punches on the break. Robles is flicking rights up into the face of De La Hoya from outside, and then quickly pulling him into a bear hug before the fatigued De La Hoya can retaliate. Robles mugging him, wriggling his right arm loose and raising it high, then slamming it down against the shoulder blades of De La Hoya until the ref, looking annoyed, pushes them apart. De La Hoya is spinning in place and throwing single lead rights, poorly timed; he's exhausted. Robles dancing around him, jumping in and landing shots behind the back as they clinch.

10-9 Robles

98-90 De La Hoya

 

It definitely wasn't DDLH's fault how hideous a fight this turned into, but I am disappointed in his lack of adaptability. Cobbs correctly identified ways in which he could have put the kibosh on Robles' shenanigans, and he just couldn't figure it out.

edit: that said, they are removing his gloves and Diego seems to be in agony. Hand injury? If so that does excuse the performance to an extent.

 

Yeah, DDLH's left hand seemed to have some swelling; as soon as he's stripped down to just wraps he plunges it into an ice bucket. Roberto Diaz then clarifies that from the fourth or fifth round on Diego might have been fighting with a broken left hand.

 

The co-main (Gutiérrez vs. Tapia) was way better.

 

UD for De La Hoya

 

Final stats:

Power
De la Hoya 88 of 315, 28%
Robles 47 of 285, 16%

Total
De la Hoya 98 of 420, 23%
Robles 51 of 363, 14%

 

Beto Duran says DDLH told him at ringside that he actually broke his left hand in the second round.