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DE LA HOYA SOUNDS OFF POSSIBLE SHOWDOWN WITH PACQUIAO,
THAT IS IF THE GOLDEN BOY SHEDS DOWN AND THE PACMAN GOES
UP TO THE WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION
OSCAR de
la Hoya versus Manny Pacquiao?
Hard to
fathom but de la Hoya recently sounded off the
possibility in an interview with the international press
during the annual World Boxing Organization (WBO)
convention held recently in Puerto Rico.
De la
Hoya said he plans to get two to three more fights
before hanging up his gloves that made him one of the
top superstars in all of sports.
In
stating that plan, de la Hoya said he wants to move down
to the welterweight division where the weight limit is
147 lbs.
“I want
to fight the best fighters. And if ever Pacquiao moves
up in 147 I will be there for the challenge,” said de la
Hoya.
The
remark may give credence to what a few but celebrated
personalities believe is a possible scenario.
Sometime
last week, longtime HBO analyst Larry Merchant was
quoted by American boxing writer Dan Rafael that a de la
Hoya-Pacquiao fight is something boxing fans can look
forward to.
“In the
spectrum of the kind of fights you could have, it’s a
fun event,” Merchant said in Rafael‘s story. “Manny is
shorter, but he’s a left-handed puncher. Oscar would be
the clear favorite to win and Manny would be the
underdog, but all of their fans would have to watch it.
It’s about creating an event. That’s an event.”
The
34-year-old de la Hoya lost a 12-round split decision to
undefeated pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. in
his last fight May of this year at the MGM Grand Garden
in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 12-round fight was for de la
Hoya’s World Boxing Council (WBC) light-middleweight
crown.
De la
Hoya’s last fight in the welterweight division was on
March 2001 where he scored a fifth-round technical
knockout win over Arturo Gatti. De la Hoya has since
fought in the 154-lb class though he also twice had a
tryst in the middleweight category.
“That is
my natural weight, although I can easily make 144,” said
de la Hoya, who was also named Boxer of the Decade by
the WBO.
As for
his other possible foes, de la Hoya said he will just
wait for the results of two major bouts scheduled to
happen in the coming weeks.
This
weekend at the Madison Square Garden in New York,
two-time de la Hoya conqueror Sugar Shane Mosley will
battle undefeated Puerto Rican sensation Miguel Cotto.
Another
de la Hoya defeater and current pound-for-pound king
Floyd Mayweather Jr. will trade leathers with undefeated
British phenom Ricky Hatton on December 8 at the MGM
Grand.
De la
Hoya wants to fight in May 2008 and that he will make an
announcement early next year regarding his next rival.
Pacquiao,
the acknowledged superstar in the super-featherweight
territory, is still savoring his latest conquest, a
12-round unanimous decision win over Marco Antonio
Barrera in a rematch early last month at the Mandalay
Bay in Las Vegas.
The
celebrated Filipino boxing sensation is currently
enrolled at the Notre Dame University in General Santos
City where he is taking up a business course.
Pacquiao,
who turns 29 next month, is still awaiting word from his
American promoters regarding his next challenger.
Ironically, de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions outfit
copartners with Top Rank Inc. in promoting Pacquiao, a
setup that was arrived at that ended a celebrated court
battle last July.
Among
those being considered as Pacquiao’s foe in a March 2008
HBO playdate are super-featherweight champion Juan
Manuel Marquez, the winner of the Joan Guzman-Humberto
Soto bout set on November 17, and triple lightweight
belt holder Juan Diaz and WBC 135-lb ruler David Diaz. |
