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
Pernell Whitaker vs. Oscar De La Hoya from 1993 to 1995. The 24–year old Oscar De La Hoya was a perfect 23–0, had already become a three-division world champion and was reigning WBC super lightweight champion, which he had won the previous year after defeating Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez. At the time of their fight, De La Hoya and Whitaker were the number two and three ranked pound-for-pound fighters, with only the then-WBC light heavyweight champion Roy Jones, Jr. ahead of them. Plans for the mega-fight had been discussed since De La Hoya's victory over Chavez. The bout was all but set in early 1997, though