Before Saturday night, Oscar De La Hoya was a Hall-of-Famer running the final laps of a terrific career. Twenty months ago, he fell to his knees from a Bernard Hopkins body shot and walked away a defeated champion. Despite his marketable image, outside ventures and position as one of the truly classy ambassadors of the sport, there were concerns from the De La Hoya faithful that all the mega-historic fights against pound-for-pound elitists were beginning to take their toll. Neither the catalog of opponents nor the reverence could never be questioned, but as the losses became a bit more frequent (Shane Mosley twice and Hopkins), De La Hoya became a fighter searching to reinforce his place as a dominant name in a sport in which he stood an icon for so many years.

At 33, the Golden Boy needed revitalization, and although in Ricardo Mayorga he wouldn’t be facing a top-five guy, there were enough elements to rekindle that fire. The Nicaraguan-born Mayorga, whose claim to fame was defeating a once top-notch pugilist in Vernon Forrest three years ago, had been the sacrificial lamb in Felix Trinidad’s return from a 29-month layoff. Before the two would even touch gloves, Mayorga would verbally test the L.A. native by mocking his heritage, even saying that the only way he would give up his belt was if he would be allowed to spend a night with De La Hoya’s wife. De La Hoya wasn’t amused, and similar to Trinidad before him, he would try to return from his layoff by punishing Mayorga.

To prepare for his battle with De La Hoya, Mayorga said that he went from smoking a pack of cigarettes a day to about three cigarettes. None of that mattered. He could have had perfect lungs and still wouldn’t have been able to prevent the onslaught.  

From the start of the fight, it was obvious that De La Hoya would be the predator. His defense was superb, and he would not allow the free-swinging Mayorga to get in a rhythm. With about 2 minutes, 6 seconds left in the first round, De La Hoya connected with his patented left hook, flooring the confident Mayorga to the canvas. The speed and tactical match up of boxer vs. brawler was in full display, and with a fighter like De La Hoya, the speed and precision was even more evident.

For six rounds, De La Hoya blocked punch after punch, averting power shots, and then countering with straight jabs that had Mayorga backing up. Only on a few occasions did Mayorga connect, and when he did De La Hoya retaliated with a  flurry of combinations. For most of the fight, it appeared as if Mayorga was uncoordinated, unable to stand firm and fire, and missing more than John Starks in Game 7 of the ’94 Finals.

In the sixth round, De La Hoya put it together, landing two to the body and two upstairs to once again put Mayorga down. He would get up again, but De La Hoya was ferocious. Conjuring up visions of his frenzied finishes against the likes of Ike Quartey and Fernando Vargas, De La Hoya again was relentless. He threw his hands like a revolver letting off shot after shot -- reloading and firing until referee Jay Nady stepped in. The fight was over with about a minute and forty-seconds left in the sixth.

Redemption was his for the taking.

Once again a champion for the 10th time in six weight classes, the Golden Boy has a belt across his body and has given a reason for boxing fans to believe that there are still some pure things in this sport. Now all that is left is Sept 16th -- the day De La Hoya has marked as his final swan song. He’s considering three possible opponents: Floyd Mayweather, Felix Trindad, and Winky Wright.

As boxing fans, let’s pray that he chooses “Pretty Boy.” Let’s pray that he chooses to go against the best in the sport, live in Vegas, and with the whole world watching. It would be the only end fitting for an all-time great.

Anthony Lopez is a regular contributor and provides in-depth boxing analysis for Atomic Sports Media. He can be reached at anthony.lopez@atomicsportsmedia.com.