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By Jun Medina, Special
Correspondent
LAS VEGAS: Manny Pacquiao’s
promoter Bob Arum on Wednesday predicted that Pacquiao “will shock
the world” and knock out Oscar de la Hoya in the late rounds of
their mega fight here on Saturday night.
“I tell you, this coming
Saturday, Manny Pacquiao will stop Oscar de la Hoya in the ninth or
tenth round,” Arum told reporters at the end of the press
conference for the Pacquiao-de la Hoya “Dream Match” at the
jam-packed Hollywood Theater at the MGM Grand here.
Pacquiao, “PacMan” to his
legions of fans worldwide, declared he is in excellent shape and
would do all he can to give the people a good fight.
As usual, he showed a lot of
respect for de la Hoya and avoided questions asking his prediction
on what he called the “biggest fight of my life.”
Pacquiao, who won the junior
lightweight and lightweight titles this year, did say that an upset
over de la Hoya would be “boxing history.”
“My power and my speed can beat
him,” he said. “It’s not a big difference for me to fight at
147 pounds because I’m always sparring with a bigger fighter in
the gym. I’m not worried about that.”
Ever the humble person, Pacquiao,
29, gave thanks to God, the many sponsors of the event, the
promoters of the fight and even to de la Hoya himself.
“For me, it’s not
personal,” he said. “I’ll do my best in the ring. I want it to
be an exciting fight and to make the people happy.”
“We have a big chance to
win,” Pacquiao said when asked of his chances. He said he retained
his speed and power despite moving up two weight classes for the 147
pound welterweight limit.
De la Hoya said that beating
Pacquiao, who is considered the world’s top pound-for-pound
fighter, would cement his legacy.
But he hinted that he may retire and concentrate on his
boxing-promotion business if he fails to deliver an impressive win.
“Obviously, if I lose, it’s
over for me,” de la Hoya also told the press conference. “I’m
not going to start trying to go back up that mountain again, just to
get back to where I am now.”
The 35-year-old de la Hoya said his motivation is “to prove to
myself I can fight at a top level and beat the best there is out
there.”
“My goal is to be at my best again, to prove it to myself so I can
continue fighting,” he added. “I want to show I can still do
it.”
De la Hoya’s confidante and
business partner Richard Schaefer earlier said that Oscar intends to
take a long vacation after Saturday’s fight, listen to his body
and decide if he wants to fight again.
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