Manny Pacquiao Fight Advantageous to Dela Hoya or Maybe Not
September 12, 2008 by admin
Filed under Manny Pacquiao
Boxing purists and fans are so convinced Oscar De la Hoya is taking the easy way out by matching up with the Pinoy Pride and Champ Manny Pacquiao instead of Antonio Margarito. No one can blame them. At a height of 5’10”, rated at the super welterweight class, with an obvious reach advantage, Golden Boy literally towers above the new lightweight champion, Manny Pacquiao.
After a Technical Knockout win over Arturo Gatti in 2001 in the super welterweight class, De la Hoya never fought below 154 lbs. He even went as far as 160 pounds (middleweight class) against Felix Sturm in 2004.
Pacquiao, on the other hand, just recently moved up to lightweight (135 lbs.) against David Diaz June this year. He stands 5’6”.
The howl of protest is reaching an embarrassing level. Insiders remain unfazed.
Bob Arum says the Manny Pacquiao vs De la Hoya bout will rank among the all-time greats in boxing history. He said that the December match at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas will be mentioned in the same breath with the 1970’s Ali-Frazier trilogy or the 1980’s historic bouts of Sugar Ray Leonard with Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns.
Arum further points out that he believes the Mexican Destroyer has more than genuine chances of defeating the Golden Boy.
While Pacquiao has to jump two weight classes to meet De la Hoya to reach the 147 mark, this is not his first time to come up the ring on such weight. He fought and decimated Barrera in October last year with all the 144 pounds of solid muscle (he weighed in at 130 lbs.)
The Golden Boy, on the other hand, has to burn a lot of body mass as he has to jump down two weight classes to satisfy the 147 lbs. maximum demanded by the Pacquiao camp. The last time he weighed lowest (welterweight) was in 2000.
He has to really starve and work himself out to shrink, or else he pays the Pacquiao camp $3 million dollars per excess pound over 147 lbs. To further worsen the deal for De la Hoya, Freddie Roach threatens not to let Manny Pacquiao get in the ring if he arrives overweight on fight night.
And the Pacquiao camp wants the weigh-in to be done on the day before the fight.
Ain’t the Golden Boy in a tight fix?
The toll this pound-shedding punishment is reaching masochistic dimensions we could just not begin to imagine how the 35-year old Oscar de la Hoya is going to take this. A weigh-in three days before the fight would make it a bit easier but the Filipino camp is threatening to withdraw the fight if they insist on it. Freddie Roach says, if De la Hoya comes up the ring at 150 lbs. he will stop Pacquiao from getting in. Three pounds is a lot of difference in this fight.
Oscar de la Hoya has, at best, been a part-time boxer. He is now more of a businessman than a ring warrior. Height and weight difference or not, the 35 year-old Super welterweight is going to face a 29 year-old boxing phenomenon that is at the prime of his game.
