De La Hoya vs Forbes This Saturday

By Boxing News - 04/30/2008 - Comments

Superstar Oscar De La Hoya, aka “The Golden Boy,” fights in front of a hometown crowd for the first time since 2000 when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: OSCAR DE LA HOYA VS. STEVE FORBES is seen live SATURDAY, MAY 3 (10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT) from The Home Depot Center in Carson, Cal., exclusively on HBO.. The HBO Sports team of Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant and Emanuel Steward will be ringside for the fight, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

Headlining the inaugural boxing event at The Home Depot Center’s 27,000-seat soccer stadium, Los Angeles native Oscar De La Hoya (38-5, 30 KOs) will fight live on HBO’s flagship boxing series for the first time since 2001. Coming off the highest-grossing fight in history – his showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May 2007 – the six-division world champion will be making his 31st appearance on HBO, hoping to thrill the fans who have supported him since his amateur days in East Los Angeles. The fight also marks the return of Floyd Mayweather Sr. to the De La Hoya corner as head trainer.

Steve Forbes (33-5, 9 KOs), from Las Vegas by way of Portland, Ore., is coming off a split-decision victory over the highly touted Francisco Bojado last October. A former super featherweight champion and finalist on “The Contender,” who has never been knocked down in 11 years as a professional, Forbes will be making his HBO debut under the tutelage of Mayweather Sr.’s brother, Jeff Mayweather.

The live showdown is preceded at 9:30 p.m. (ET)/6:30 p.m. (PT) by the half-hour special “Countdown to De La Hoya-Forbes.”

All WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING events are broadcast in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.

The executive producer of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is Rick Bernstein; producer, Dave Harmon; director, Marc Payton.

De La Hoya – Forbes Undercard

Rising stars will shine on Saturday, May 3 as junior welterweight power-puncher Danny Garcia, middleweight stand-out Daniel Jacobs and the debut of Golden Boy’s latest addition, junior welterweight Hector Sanchez, are featured in separate bouts that headline the “Homecoming” De La Hoya vs. Forbes undercard at The Home Depot Center..

Also in action will be once-beaten Javier Castro, Floyd Mayweather Jr. protégé Wes Ferguson and ‘The Contender’ veteran Freddy Curiel. Doors open at The Home Depot Center Soccer Stadium at 3pm with the first bout beginning at 4pm.

“Homecoming” is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Tournament of Contenders, AEG and The Home Depot Center and sponsored by Cazadores, Tecate, Rockstar Energy Drink, Southwest Airlines and Affliction Clothing. The main event will be televised live by HBO’s World Championship Boxing beginning at 10pm ET / 7pm PT.

With fellow Philadelphia native Bernard Hopkins a Golden Boy partner and a fellow Golden Boy fighter, Danny Garcia (5-0, 5 KOs) will have big expectations to live up to when it comes to Philadelphia bragging rights, but the indication is this 20-year-old junior welterweight has the skill and heart to live up to the task. A United States Olympic alternate who compiled a 107-13 record before deciding to turn pro, , Garcia has already put five wins in the bank, all coming by way of knockout. His most recent victory was a first round knockout just two weeks ago on the undercard of Hopkins-Calzaghe. He will look to make it six knockouts in six fights as he faces Juarez, Mexico’s Manuel Bocanegra (7-8-1, 5 KOs) in a six rounder on Saturday night.

Another former amateur star, Daniel Jacobs (5-0, 5 KOs), the pride of Brooklyn, New York, is also back in the ring just two weeks after scoring a knockout win on the Hopkins-Calzaghe undercard. Jacobs has already electrified the pro ranks in just five fights. Impressing all who have witnessed him in action with his mix of speed, power and savvy, he has been pegged as a “can’t miss” prospect for world title honors. Like Garcia, he will attempt to keep his perfect record and knockout streak intact when he squares off against Jose Pena (2-2-1, 2 KOs) in a scheduled six round middleweight bout.

Junior welterweight Hector Sanchez (12-0, 5 KOs) is a two-time Puerto Rican national amateur champion and a 2000 Junior Olympic Bronze medalist who compiled a 72-10 amateur record. A complete fighter who can box or bang, the 21-year-old turned pro with a four round win over John Temple in March of 2005 and with 11 more victories under his belt, including a first round TKO of fellow prospect Roberto Astacio last September, he is hitting his stride and ready to make his move on the division’s elite in the not too distant future. He will face twenty-one fight veteran Arthur Brambila of Phoenix, Arizona in a six round contest.

24-year-old junior welterweight Javier Castro (15-1, 13 KOs) will make his United States debut in a six round fight against the vastly more experienced Colombian battler Dairo Esalas (30-12, 24 KOs) of Miami, Florida. Castro, a hard-hitting prospect from Juarez, Mexico, who has seven first round knockouts to his name, already owns a win over former world champion Cesar Soto and is looking to extend his five fight knockout streak as he makes his way up the 140-pound ladder.

In welterweight action, exciting ‘Contender’ veteran Freddy Curiel (18-6-2, 8 KOs) looks to make it four wins in a row as he battles Italy’s Sven Paris (23-3, 16 KOs) in an eight round welterweight contest. Opening up the show will be talented Las Vegan and Floyd Mayweather Jr. protege Wes Ferguson (17-3-1, 5 KOs), who will face Mexico City, Mexico’s Miguel Munguia (16-11-1, 13 KOs) in an eight round lightweight battle.

Tickets for “Homecoming” are on sale now and may be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 213-480-3232 or by visiting ticketmaster.com. Group tickets, VIP packages and Hospitality packages are available by calling 1-877-AEG-TICKETS (1-877-234-8425) or by visiting www.aegtickets.com.