Former World Boxing Council (WBC) secretary general Rudy Salud said the other day, if Oscar de la Hoya isn?t able to control his weight, he?ll be in deep trouble against Manny Pacquiao ? assuming their much-ballyhooed fight materializes on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas.
Negotiations are ongoing for the bout to be staged at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds. De la Hoya tipped the scales at 150 for the Steve Forbes fight last May while Pacquiao checked in at a career-high 134 1/2 for David Diaz a month later. Despite the disparity in weight in their last outings, Salud said he?s not worried about Pacquiao getting pushed around by De la Hoya.
Salud said a lot of ?moisture? is accumulated in a fighter?s body if he bloats after the weigh-in, leading to sluggishness and slow reflexes.
?Moisture in the body is a horseracing term,? said Salud. ?After a weigh-in, you can?t gorge and put on more than six to 10 percent of your weight when you step into the ring. The rule of thumb is six percent from flyweight to bantamweight, eight percent from featherweight to lightweight and 10 percent from welterweight to middleweight. If you go over, you?ll pay a heavy price for the excess baggage. It?s like an albatross.?
Salud said the extra poundage will begin to take a toll after three or four rounds.
?In the third (Erik) Morales fight, Manny entered the ring weighing about 147 pounds which was too much considering he weighed in at 129,? recalled Salud. ?Luckily, he took out Morales in three rounds. You think you?re stronger with the added weight and it will seem like that in the early rounds until the fight extends.?
Salud said it was the same predicament for Pacquiao in the rematch against Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao was strong in the early going, even flooring Marquez, but as the fight wore on, he got increasingly slower and barely carved out a win by split decision.
But against Diaz, Pacquiao watched his weight and was impeccable in disposing of the WBC lightweight titlist in nine rounds.
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Salud said trainer Freddie Roach wouldn?t have advised Pacquiao to face De la Hoya if he didn?t think there was a good chance of winning.
?Freddie trained Oscar for the (Floyd) Mayweather fight so he knows Oscar well,? said Salud. ?Freddie treats Manny like a son. He?s not going to push him to fight De la Hoya if he thinks it will be bad for his career.?
Salud said De la Hoya was far from impressive in his last two fights.
?On a scale of 1 to 10, I thought Oscar was a six or seven against Mayweather,? continued Salud. ?Against Forbes, he went down some more. By the time he fights Manny, he might be three feet below the ground the way he?s losing his step.?
Salud said Roach?s comments about De la Hoya no longer able ?to pull the trigger? are unwittingly helping negotiators to make the fight happen because the Golden Boy is infuriated by the insinuations.
Salud said he expects Pacquiao to weigh in at 143 pounds for De la Hoya who will likely hit 147 because it would be too draining to scale lower. ?By nature, Manny could put on four to five pounds after the weigh-in, which is just right,? Salud went on. ?He?ll still keep his speed. But Oscar?s body will go back to its natural weight so he?ll probably shoot up to over 10 percent, meaning a lot of accumulated moisture in the body.?
Salud said Pacquiao?s understanding of nutrition and body weight will be an advantage in preparing himself physically for De la Hoya.
?Before Manny came into the picture, Oscar was thinking of fighting (Miguel) Cotto,? said Salud. ?Then, Cotto got knocked out by (Antonio) Margarito so Oscar is looking for an opponent who can bring in the big bucks. I don?t think Oscar will be able to steamroll over Manny who?s too fast for him. If Manny?s in shape, he?s got a good chance of beating Oscar.?
Salud said experts ridiculing the fight are missing the point.
?I think it?s worth pursuing the fight between Manny and Oscar,? said Salud. ?I don?t remember anyone calling Roy Jones moving up to challenge John Ruiz for the heavyweight title an absurd thing.?
Jones, a former middleweight champion, scaled 193 pounds to Ruiz? 226 and won a decision for the WBA heavyweight crown in 2003. The feat could be the inspiration for Pacquiao to beat De la Hoya.
