Oscar De La Hoya vs. Patrick Charpentier

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Patrick Charpentier, billed as Oscar Night at the Sun Bowl, was a professional boxing match contested on June 13, 1998, for the WBC welterweight title.^[1]

Oscar Night at the Sun Bowl

Date	June 13, 1998
Venue	Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Title(s) on the line	WBC welterweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Oscar De La Hoya Patrick Charpentier Nickname The Golden Boy Hometown East Los Angeles, California, U.S. Vimoutiers, France Purse $4,000,000 $600,000 Pre-fight record 27–0 (22 KO) 27–4–1 (23 KO) Age 25 years, 4 months 27 years, 11 months Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) Weight 147 lb (67 kg) 146 lb (66 kg) Style Orthodox Orthodox Recognition WBC Welterweight Champion WBC No. 1 Ranked Welterweight
Result
De La Hoya wins via 3rd-round technical knockout

Background

After defeating Wilfredo Rivera in his previous fight on December 6, 1997, reigning WBC welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya's next title defense was announced to take place the following year on February 28 against his mandatory challenger, the virtually unknown French fighter Patrick Charpentier at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey.^[2] Charpentier entered the fight as an overwhelming 20–1 underdog.^[3]

However, De La Hoya injured his left wrist while sparring at his training camp in late January, and two weeks later, after itDe La Hoya's injury was diagnosed as a sprain, the fight was postponed until March 14.^[4] Only a week later, De La Hoya's injury was revealed to actually be cartilage tear rather than a sprain, forcing the fight to be postponed again until June 13.^[5] Though Donald Trump, the then-owner of the Taj Mahal, was interested in keeping the bout at his venue, promoter Bob Arum and Texas-based boxing coordinator Lester Bedford outbid him $1.3 million to $900,000 in order to stage the fight at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.^[6][7]

The outdoor event was plagued by high, gusty winds that, for a time, threatened to stop the production all together. After the first undercard fight between Verdell Smith and Marty Jakubowski, the event was stopped and the ringside area was evacuated as the winds threatened to collapse the lights above the ring. After a 30-minute postponement, the lights were lowered halfway and the event continued without further incident.^[8]

The Fight

De La Hoya dominated Charpentier through three rounds, easily winning rounds one and two before dropping his overmatched opponent three times in the third round en route to a technical knockout. De La Hoya's first knockdown came 53 seconds into the round with a left-right combination, though Charpentier would answer the referee's 10-count, De La Hoya again sent him down 37 seconds later with a left uppercut. A clearly dazed Charpentier again struggled his feet to beat the count, but after a De La Hoya right sent him down for the third time, the fight was immediately stopped.^[9]

Fight card

Confirmed bouts:^[10]

Weight Class	Weight		vs.		Method	Round	Notes
Welterweight	147 lbs.	Oscar De La Hoya (c)	def.	Patrick Charpentier	TKO	3/12	Note 1
Lightweight	135 lbs.	César Bazán	def.	Stevie Johnston (c)	SD	12/12	Note 2
Featherweight	126 lbs.	César Soto	def.	Juan Polo Pérez	TKO	2/10
Super Welterweight	154 lbs.	Daniel Santos	def.	Juan Carlos Rodriguez	TKO	5/10
Super Welterweight	154 lbs.	Marty Jakubowski	def.	Verdell Smith	UD	4/4

^Note 1 For WBC Welterweight title
^Note 2 For WBC Lightweight title

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster
United States	HBO