Manny Pacquiao said Monday night that he can beat Oscar De La Hoya.
“Kaya ko yan (I can handle it),” said Pacquiao during a star-studded victory party hosted by former Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson at his Corinthian Gardens residence.
Pacquiao?s assessment was an echo of what his trainer Freddie Roach said the other day regarding the Filipino?s chances against De la Hoya who is considered one of the best boxers of his era although at age 35, the American may be a bit slower and is near the end of an illustrious, Hall of Fame career.
Roach, having trained both De la Hoya and Pacquiao, said he would not put the Filipino in the same ring as De la Hoya if he believes there was no chance of victory.
“Believe me, I won?t take this fight if I don?t believe my guy will win it,” Roach said.
Pacquiao said the weight he and De La Hoya will meet is tops on the agenda that Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) will discuss when they resume talks towards the end of the month.
“Timbang na lang ang pinag-uusapan (Only the weight is being discussed),” said Pacquiao, who will be jumping over two weight classes in the event he faces De La Hoya in his farewell fight on Dec. 6.
Top Rank chairman Bob Arum and GBP Chief Executive Officer Richard Schaefer have initially agreed that the fight can be made at welterweight (147 lbs) since De La Hoya can still get down to that level and Pacquiao will not mind bulking up.
Pacquiao, 29, is a lightweight (135 lbs), while De La Hoya, 35, has fought the last two times at super-welter (154 lbs) although he weighed 150 lbs when he lost to Floyd Mayweather last year and won against Steve Forbes last May.
To make it easier for Arum to negotiate, Pacquiao will be meeting with him this week in Las Vegas so they could get down to the bottom of the matter.
Joining Pacquiao in the US trip tomorrow are lawyer Franklin Gacal, business manager Eric Pineda and Singson. They are expected to return on July 30 probably with a clearer picture of what?s on the horizon for the Filipino icon.
Still, Pacquiao is not ruling out the possibility of fighting somebody else other than De La Hoya, who is also training his sights on the outcome of this weekend?s welterweight tussle between Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto and Mexican Antonio Margarito.
“Wala pa naman final and we are looking at De La Hoya, Humberto Soto and Edwin Valero,” said Pacquiao.
But forging a deal for a De La Hoya fight is definitely high on the list of priorities.
Pacquiao should pocket a huge payday in the event the fight materializes with his total earnings coming from a hefty guaranteed purse and share in the pay-per-view revenue.
De La Hoya got million when he fought Mayweather, who received million but De La Hoya also had another windfall from his share in the phenomenal pay-per-view sales that hit 2,150,000 buys.
GBP vice-president Eric Gomez said a De La Hoya-Pacquiao bout is no longer a figment of imagination and it is certainly in the works.
“Can it be done? Sure!” said Gomez, from Los Angeles, over DZSR yesterday. “It?s a matter of getting together and making the deal happen. It?s a matter of getting the numbers in order and we can get it done.”
Gomez said “Oscar is thinking this over because it really is a dangerous fight.”
