30 years ago

Date: 29th July 1994

Venue: MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada

Title: vacant WBO World Lightweight Title

Promoter: Top Rank

Tv: HBO World Championship Boxing

Oscar De La Hoya
( 13 - 0 - 0 )
Weight: 135 lbs

Jorge Paez
( 53 - 6 - 4 )
Weight: 134½ lbs

On Friday 29th July 1994, the MGM Grand in Las Vegas was the site of the Oscar De La Hoya vs Jorge Paez vacant WBO World Lightweight Title fight. The event was promoted by Top Rank and aired on HBO World Championship Boxing. The referee was Joe Cortez. De La Hoya, who had an impressive record of 13-0-0, was facing a seasoned fighter in Paez, who held the IBF World featherweight title from April 1988 until September 1990, making 8 defenses. Paez also held the WBO version of the title in 1990.

The first round of the fight saw De La Hoya quickly establishing his dominance with his jabs and hooks. Paez tried to counter but was not able to land any significant punches. De La Hoya continued his attack in the second round and caught Paez with a powerful left hook that sent him crashing to the canvas. Paez was able to get back on his feet, but De La Hoya immediately followed up with a flurry of punches that forced Paez to take a knee. The referee stopped the fight at 0:39 of the second round, giving De La Hoya the victory by knockout.

The win against Paez was a significant milestone for De La Hoya's career as it was his second division title having held the WBO World Super-featherweight belt. The win established "The Golden Boy" as a force to be reckoned with in the Lightweight division.