Boxing: Narrow escape for de la Hoya

Oscar de la Hoya made a winning middleweight boxing debut with a narrow escape in Las Vegas yesterday, defeating Germany's previously unbeaten Felix Sturm in a unanimous 12-round decision.

All three judges gave de la Hoya a 115-113 triumph by awarding him the 12th and final round, a debatable decision at best but one that ensured a rich middleweight unification showdown with Bernard Hopkins on September 18.

De la Hoya, who previously fought as a welterweight, rose to 37-3 and captured the lightly regarded World Boxing Organisation crown.