I hope that Manny Pacquiao will do the right thing if negotiations for a Dec. 6 fight with legend Oscar de la Hoya lead to signed contracts.
I hope Pacman knows it would just be good etiquette to send a card and maybe some flowers to Floyd Mayweather Jr.
It?s only fitting because if PBF did not take his sabbattical, then Oscar-Manny likely never would have gotten to this stage. By deciding that he did not wish to fight Oscar a second time, Mayweather left the big stage open for Megamanny to square off against the Golden Boy.
Mayweather has his own strategy and motives, of course, but fact is fact.
Which brings me to the whiners who are already dreading Oscar-Manny and crying about what the bigger man might do to their Pinoy idol. This is boxing, boys, and boxing ain’t beanbag.
These people are really missing the boat. Fighting de la Hoya in his farewell to the ring is a fight that Pacquiao cannot lose.
If he loses, he wins because he?s got the built in excuse of being the smaller fighter who was only recently ruling the 130-pounders, If Oscar goes into the ring against Manny weighing nearly 160 pounds, that might make the difference in the outcome.
Pacman will not take a wicked beating, that?s for sure. Oscar is more hittable than he?s ever been, his reflexes have slowed noticeably, and he got lumps and bruises from the light-hitting Stevie Forbes.
If you really analyze this, Manny is a winner in all ways, particularly financially. But let?s say it goes 12 rounds and Oscar wins a narrow decision, that?s a moral victory for Pacman.
If you read between the lines in Freddie Roach?s comments, he implies that this megabout will be a mismatch?in Megamanny?s favor. Or, as Coach Roach put it, Oscar ?can?t pull the trigger? like he used to.
Anyone who watched the Forbes bout knows that. Anyone who saw Mayweather loaf for five rounds and then continually clip Oscar with lead right hands also knows that.
Translation of Roach’s statement: ODLH cannot really do serious damage to Pacman.
Bob Arum is right in saying that Oscar will be the betting favorite but, as the hype machine works OT and the fight date nears, those odds will drop like David Diaz did in Pacman?s last bout.
And there?s no doubt that Oscar?s aging legs could betray him as he fights the nimble Pacman. And who?s to say Manny?s sharpened like an ax power punches won?t stun ODLH somewhere along the way?
At the end of the day, this fight is actually pressure-free for Pacquiao. If he loses and is competitive, he wins. If he wins, he wins big time.
Even Pacman?s P4P perch isn?t really at stake here because he can lose to Oscar and still make the credible claim of being the best in the sport, pound for pound.
I never heard Manny or any of his advocates claim he?s the world?s best welterweight, did you?
The pressure in this one is about 90 percent on Oscar, 10 percent on the little man.
Even if Oscar wins, Manny?s status as the baddest (little) man on the planet remains secure.
