BOXING SUPERSTAR Oscar De La Hoya is coming to the Philippines soon.
But De La Hoya won?t be flying here to persuade Manny Pacquiao to honor his contractual commitment with his promotional outfit but to hold two press conferences in Manila and Cebu concerning the much-awaited Philippines versus Mexico World Cup scheduled March 4 at the Cebu Sports Complex.
This was bared yesterday by Tony Aldeguer, whose ALA Boxing Club and De La Hoya?s Golden Boy Promotions had forged a partnership last year.
“Yes, Oscar De La Hoya is arriving in the country but we haven?t finalized the date of his visit,” said Aldeguer, whose fighters ? super-bantamweight Rey ?Boom Boom? Bautista and superflyweight Z Gorres as well as several other top Filipino punchers are penciled to battle equally-tested Mexicans.
Aldeguer said De La Hoya?s visit will happen in “late-February or earlyMarch” as the popular fighter “will only be avaliable during those dates” since Dela Hoya is shortly reporting for training camp in preparation for the highly-anticipated May 5 clash with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Las Vegas.
Aldeguer added that the Cebu Sports Complex grandstand has a capacity of 15,000 but an addtional 15,000 could still be accommodated.
Bautista, being groomed to replace Pacquiao, will face the highly-regarded Daniel Ponce de Leon for the latter?s World Boxing Organization 122 lbs throne, while Gorres collides with Fernando Montiel for the Mexican?s WBO 115 lbs crown.
The card had earlier been set for March 17, but GBP informed Aldeguer of the change in plans since Marco Antonio Barrera will probably headline a show on that date in Las Vegas.
