LAS VEGAS (Nevada), Sept 15: Oscar De La Hoya retained his World Boxing Council title with a technical knockout of Fernando Vargas in the 11th round of a double-title fight here Saturday.

De La Hoya finished the fight off halfway through the 11th round by landing blow after blow to Vargas’ head after trapping Vargas in the corner.

Referee Joe Cortez stepped in and stopped the fight with Vargas unable to defend himself and bleeding heavily from a cut under his right eye.

De La Hoya knocked Vargas down earlier in the eleventh round with a left hook that was set up by a combination of body shots.

De La Hoya, 29, raises his record to 35-2 with 28 knockouts and pockets at least 14 million dollars.

Vargas, 24, will earn six million dollars as his record falls to 22-2.

De La Hoya and Vargas are Mexican-Americans, but have never been friendly, and the bout was billed as “Bad Blood”.

And blood did flow as both Los Angeles-area fighters were bleeding from the nose by the fifth round. Then De La Hoya hit Vargas with a left/right combination in the sixth that opened up a another cut under Vargas’ right eye.

De La Hoya used his superior boxing skills, including a quick left jab to keep Vargas at bay and then to set up the right hand or left hook.

Vargas’ best rounds were the third and the fifth when he had De La Hoya backing up and struggling to clear the blood from his nose.

De La Hoya staggered Vargas at the end of the 10th with a left hook that was set up by a combination of body shots.

De La Hoya used the same left hook/body shot combination in the 11th to produce the first and only knockdown of the fight.

Vargas took the standing eight count and just moments later he would find himself trapped in the corner unable to stop a flurry of blows from De La Hoya before Cortez stepped in.—AFP