What happened when Floyd Mayweather fought Oscar De La Hoya in 2007?

Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya, two of the greatest boxers that the world has ever seen, clashed in one of the greatest boxing matches ever fought in 2007.

Billed as the fight 'The World Awaits', the bout took place on May 5, 2007 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. Coming into the fight, Oscar De La Hoya was a six-division world champion while Floyd Mayweather was an undefeated four-division world champion.

Oscar De La Hoya put his coveted WBC light middleweight title on the line for the fight. As one would expect, the bout was a nail-biting contest right from the first second.

The fight began with both Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya coming out in dynamic fashion. De La Hoya was savvy of Floyd Mayweather's tactical and swift movements, as he employed a similar strategy.

'Golden Boy' was able to push Mayweather to the ropes and execute flurries or punches brilliantly throughout the match. Mayweather, on the other hand, was able to escape on his feet every single time and built counter-attacks consistently at par with his opponent on the scorecards.

While Oscar De La Hoya did prove to be one of the toughest opponents for the still-undefeated Floyd Mayweather, the latter ultimately won the bout via split decision. The official scores on the judges' scorecard read 115-113, 116-112, and 113-115, paving the way to a victory for 'Money'.

After the final bell, the two fighters embraced and congratulated each other on the extremely close fight. The two successfully put up one of the most inspiring depictions of the sweet science on the night.

🗓 ON THIS DAY:In 2007, Floyd Mayweather beat Oscar De La Hoya via split decision, in one of the biggest boxing bouts ever..It moved Mayweather up to 38-0 & made him a five-weight world champion.🐐🐐🐐 pic.twitter.com/uX1g9XkhBT

— Boxing For All (@BoxingForAlI) May 5, 2020

Check Out: Floyd Mayweather's Career Earnings

Floyd Mayweather vs Oscar De La Hoya: The aftermath

The bout between Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya broke many records. For starters, the fight, at-the-time, set the record for the most pay-per-view buys at 2.4 million, beating the pre-existing record of 1.99 million, which was created by the rematch between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson.

The revenue generated by the PPV buys went over $134 million, which was only surpassed in 2015 by the fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

The fight took place under Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions. De La Hoya amassed a whopping figure of $52 million from the fight because of this, the highest-ever for a boxer. Floyd Mayweather, too, went home with a handsome sum of $25 million.

Even though Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya were scheduled to fight again in September of 2008. However, the bout was scrapped due to Mayweather's retirement in 2008.

Oscar De La Hoya eyeing Floyd Mayweather rematch: "That's something that is very intriguing" | https://t.co/rOP9yqcBnC pic.twitter.com/NgEBEoHLmu

— TheMacLife (@Maclifeofficial) December 30, 2020