Luis Álvarez Renta appointment as part of his retirement, in order to effect positive change for the country by helping it negotiate a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union. However, after Governor José Lois Malkún of the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic’s announcement that Álvarez Renta was involved in the Baninter debacle, Álvarez Renta resigned the post in order to avoid a dispute between President Mejia and his advisors. In response to the announcement, Álvarez Renta took out full-page advertisements in the press, in which he declared he was innocent of all the charges made by the Central Bank. He also
Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao sold out just hours after they went on sale. The total gate revenues were said to be nearly $17 million. That amount apparently gave the bout the second-largest gate revenue in boxing history (after the De La Hoya-Mayweather Jr. fight on May 5, 2007 which generated $18.4 million in gate revenue). Manny Pacquiao soundly defeated Oscar De La Hoya, surprising many pre-fight analysts who had predicted a victory by De La Hoya. The fight ended at the beginning of the 9th round after Oscar and his corner threw in the towel. On round 1, De La Hoya's opening punches miss