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By Jun Medina, Special Correspondent
LAS VEGAS: All is set for the big fight tonight (Saturday)
between boxing superstars Manny Pacquiao and Oscar de la Hoya at the
MGM Grand here.
Both fighters, looking lean and trim, easily
made it to the 147-pound weight limit. De la Hoya checked in at 145
to Pacquiao’s 142 pounds during the official weigh in at this
plush casino resort attended by several thousand cheering fans.
Pacquiao, (47-3-2, 35 by knockouts) and
considered the best boxer in the world pound-for-pound, said he is
dedicating this fight to his countrymen.
“This fight is for all my countrymen and for
my family, and I want them to proud and happy” said Pacquiao, the
World Boxing Council lightweight champion, who is literally and
figuratively fighting the biggest fights of his career.
No titles are at stake, but both fighters are
assured of a huge payday, with Pacquiao expected to earn $15 million
or more, depending on pay-per-view sales in the souring economy.
De la Hoya will easily make double that amount.
“I win this fight,” said Pacquiao, who
appeared calm and relaxed. “I believe my power and my speed can
beat him.”
Already the richest Filipino athlete ever,
Pacquiao said the he is motivated even more by the honor and pride a
fight of this magnitude will give to his country of 90 million
people.
Pacquiao, who turns 30 on December 17, started
fighting at 106 pounds and only once fought as high as 135 pounds.
He has weighed 122 pounds or less in 39 of his 52 fights.
Pacquiao, a world champion in four weight
categories, is giving up four inches in height and six inches in
reach against an opponent who has fought at 154 pounds or higher
since 2001.
De la Hoya, a former 10-time world champion in
six weight classes, did not seem to have problems shedding off
weight despite fighting at 154 pounds or up in the past seven years.
The intriguing match-up is pretty much the
selling point for a fight that turned off some boxing purist but has
attracted fight fans by the droves from all ethnic groups,
particularly among Latinos and Filipinos, according Pacquiao’s
promoter Bob Arum.
Arum, whose outfit Top Rank is co-promoting the
super fight with de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, said Pacquiao
“will shock the world” and win by stoppage in the late rounds.
But de la Hoya (39-5, 30 knockouts).said this
kind of dire predictions motivates him even more to step up his
game, aware that a less-than-convincing win could doom his stature
as boxing’s biggest draw.
“Being in the same ring with a young and
explosive lion like Manny—that’s what motivates me for this
fight,” said de la Hoya, who is an 8-5 favorite to win the
“Dream Match.”
De la Hoya said he returned to high altitude
training for this fight, hired respected Mexican trainer Ignacio
“Nacho” Beristain as his mentor and added the legendary Angelo
Dundee as consultant for this fight.
“I tried for King Kong,” he quipped.
“This is gonna be an event. This is gonna be a
fight. This is gonna be everything that everybody has wished for,”
said de la Hoya, who has built a fortune as a fighter and as a
promoter.
True to form, Pacquiao showed a lot of respect
for his opponent, declining to predict the outcome of the fight.
“We trained very hard for this fight,” Pacquiao
said. “I want to make sure that we can give a good fight, with
more action in the ring that will make the people happy.”
Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, said Pacquiao’s
main challenge in the ring is to take away de la Hoya’s jab by
moving out of reach, counterpunching at close range and darting out
of reach again.
“We’ll make Oscar work every minute of every
round, fight a fast pace, and break his game,” said Roach, who has
mentored Pacquiao into a well-rounded boxer since taking him under
his wings in 2001.
The Pacquiao-Roach team up has produced three
world titles—two of them in a span of four months this year —and
catapulted Pacman at the top of the mythical world pound-for-pound
rankings.
Pundits and fans alike are divided on the
outcome of the biggest big-good-guy vs. good-little-guy encounter in
decades.
The legendary Roberto Duran of Panama and Julio
Cesar Chavez Sr. of Mexico, perhaps the best lightweights of their
generation, are rooting for Pacquiao.
Ageless middleweight star Bernard Hopkins, the
only fighter to stop de la Hoya, is writing off the Filipino
icon’s chances because of the size factor plus de la Hoya’s
experience.
Los Angeles Times veteran sportswriter Bill
Dwyre is predicting a Pacquiao upset because of his youth, speed,
power and his capacity to brawl in the ring against an older and
less active foe.
On the basis of the protagonists’ recent ring
performances, John Novosalec of DoghouseBoxing.com is
picturing “the craziest night ever for Filipinos” with a
Pacquiao win by decision.
Respected boxing scribe Michael Rosenthal, who
did a very good job detailing a head-to-head analysis of the fight
in his Ring Magazine website blog expects a de la Hoya win by
stoppage in 10 rounds.
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