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Stars come out to see Oscar win

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Times Staff Writers

The Hollywood crowd was out in force for Saturday’s fight -- both to see and to be seen.

Among those in attendance were actors Jeremy Piven, Tobey Maguire, Brooke Shields and Eddie Murphy, comedian Paul Rodriguez and baseball Hall of Famer Tom Lasorda, the former Dodgers manager.

Actor Sylvester Stallone, who rarely misses a major boxing event in Southern California, was among the early arrivals, getting to his ringside seat in time for two of the fights on the six-bout undercard. Between posing for pictures, he said he liked the idea of staging fights in the Home Depot’s soccer stadium. “Oh yeah,” he said. “This is fantastic.”

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The crowd was treated to several giveaway booths just outside the arena, with many flocking to the stadium’s Hussongs Cantina, $12 margarita stands and other attractions on Cinco de Mayo weekend.

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Sue Perez from Anaheim was sipping a margarita while relaxing on stadium floor seats with friends Rosemary Perez-Toral and Leslie Hurtado.

The women said they’ve watched De La Hoya fights on television since his return from winning a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, but never had the chance to watch him fight in person until Saturday.

“He did this right,” Perez said. “He always does it right.”

Up a level with $75 seats, Riverside’s Mike Velasco was sporting beads handed out to the crowd. “The only problem could be the TV’s,” he said of the large screens. “They look too small to be seen from the upper deck.”

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The late Art Aragon and his family were honored in a brief ceremony before the main event and received warm applause from the crowd. Aragon, a boxing Hall of Famer despite the fact he never won a title, died five weeks ago following a stroke at age 80.

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lance.pugmire@latimes.com

kevin.baxter@latimes.com

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