The conventional wisdom was wrong again.

Even sports channel ESPN put too much premium on Oscar de La Hoya's 5'11 1/2" height and experience, and placed the Mexican-American fighter ahead in his match with Manny Pacquiao, a shorter fighter at 5'6 1/2".

Betting odds as far as Cyprus put de La Hoya as the favorite. It was the biggest fight for Filipino stalwart, Manny Pacquiao, who was to earn at least $10 million dollars, reportedly his biggest payday.

Some aficionados thought this was too much for a fighter who started his boxing career at 106 lbs. and was too ambitious to fight in the 147 lbs. welterweight division.

He was after all fighting against the greatest Mexican-American fighter, Oscar de la Hoya, the American "golden boy" who won the Barcelona Olympics and became champion in six different weights, and only lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr., considered by many as the world's best boxer, the previous year by a mere split decision.

It was also a grudge match of sorts since Pacquiao hooked up with Top Rank and opted out from Golden Boy Promotions, de La Joya's promotion group. Their legal rift was still in the background as de la Hoya reportedly was going to settle it off in the ring.

De La Hoya also hired as his adviser Angelo Dundee, the ringsider for Muhammad Ali to single out weaknesses in Pacquiao's boxing style.

It was all business for de la Hoya, and he was said to have trained hard, . Prior to the fight, he looked serious and non-chalant as he worked his way to the ring.

Pacquiao was more relaxed, and managed to smile as he was crowded by what boxing promoter Larry Merchant called as his homeboys, the Filipino crowd at Las Vegas' MGM Hotel who provided a large boxing entourage to Pacquiao, comparable only during Muhammad Ali's reign.

It was indeed the biggest fight, with the pay per view commercial running through major channels throughout the United States.

The fight was covered around the world, and commanded gate tickets of $17 million, second only to the De La Hoya-Mayweather fight which garnered more than 18 million. It also attracted an estimated close to two million pay-for-view.

It was a big day not only for Pacquiao but for the Filipinos who viewed the fight in Las Vegas, for those who paid $60 to watch on cable TV, and Filipinos in SM Cinemas, Casino Filipino, five star hotel lounges, the AFP camps and even on screens set up on barangays which showed the fight to Pacquiao's countrymen. Pride overwhelmed the Filipino crowd as singer Karylle in her red Filipino gown sung the Filipino national anthem while Pacquiao's entourage, the Team Pacquiao, carried his championship belts. Pacquiao's world stood still to watch their countryman is his biggest fight, a dream match astutely promoted by Golden Boy Promotions. In the Philippines, hostilities in the South and in the mountains held truce so soldiers and combatants can watch Pacquiao's bout in peace. Crime during the fight has also gone down.

The Mexican anthem came next, and apparently it was also a chance for De La Hoya to avenge the losses of prominent Mexican fighers, like Barrera, Marquez, Morales, Velasquez who were all vanquished by Pacquiao.

Pacquiao did not relish the tag, 'Mexicutioner'. He was after-all just doing a job, a work he always begins and ends with acknowledgment of his Creator's presence at his corner post.

The boxing match as it unravelled:

Round 1. Pacquiao wove in and out as he tried to feel his way while de la Hoya set his offense too, but rather looked slow. Pacquiao managed to put some inside jabs direct to de la Hoya's face. Before the bout ended, de la Hoya attacked with combination which somewhat tripped Pacquiao, but the Filipino got his balance back. Two judges scored the round for Pacquiao, while one judge was for de la Hoya.

Round 2. The crowd was peaking in their chants for Manny, as he managed to bombard de la Hoya with close punches. It was like a match by Rocky. But instead of Philadelphians, Filipinos were chanting the two syllabic nickname of Manny Paquiao. As the chants continued, Pacquiao's solid punches landed. De la Hoya's face reddened as a result of the punishment. Pacquiao's speed enabled his continuous strikes. Pacquiao later on said that he knew that he was in command at the second round. All judges went for Pacquaio.

Round 3. Pacquiao showed dominance.De la Hoya seems disoriented with Pacquiao's quickness and his own inability to respond back. Pacquiao landed with more punches at 33% while de la Hoya did only with 10% of punches he threw.

Round 4. Pacquiao dominated this round as he landed 62% of his punches. He was fighting systematically, staying out of de La Hoya's reach after making some combinations.

Round 5. De La Hoya attempted a comeback with the first 4 rounds undoubtedly in Pacquiao's favor. Pacquiao came closer to allow him to throw body punches. A few seconds at the end the round, de la Hoya connected with his left, but Pacquiao took them and answered with his own combination. This round forced trainer Roach to tell Pacquiao to avoid the ropes.

Round 6. Pacquiao strictly followed Roach's advise to get away from the ropes. He stayed in the middle while he wove in and out, landing more punches than de la Hoya. The Mexican's left eye begun to puff. Pacquiao's speed and agility were making its direct marks on de La Hoya's face.

Round 7. Pacquiao caught de La Hoya in the ropes, and he got severe punishment. Bout announcer talked about how Pacquiao was reconfiguring de La Hoya's face. After the round, his ring man pressed below his battered eyes to to get the blood flowing.

Round 8. Another one-sided round for Pacquiao as he got de La Hoya on the ropes again. De La Hoya tried to fight back, but looked helpless. Pacquiao seemed unfazed by his flurries and invited de La Hoya to land more solid punches before ending the round with quick combinations against the Mexican's head and body. De La Hoya appeared to be flustered, all puffed up, but managed to be up as the bell rung.

Before the ninth round, de la Hoya's trainer "Nacho" Beristain declared that his boxer could not come back and as such, Pacquiao won with a TKO. Pacquiao's face did not show any sign of bruises. De La Hoya declared with humility that Pacquiao was the better fighter. Pacquiao immediately responded that De La Hoya was still his idol, but De La Hoya remarked that with this fight, "you're now my idol."

As one ESPN commentator put it, Pacquiao's shortness and his lack of reach did not matter because he was too big in strategy and he employed the sweet science of boxing in his fight with his opponent. Ultimately, it was the shorter Filipino who knocked down the conventional wisdom that taller is always better. Despite being short, he is expected to receive big fat checks in at least four bouts, perhaps larger than more than 10 million dollars he would be getting from this match.