Let me be one of the first to go on the record and say that I’m not excited about Oscar De La Hoya fighting Manny Pacquiao. I know a lot of boxing experts are jumping for joy at the prospects of De La Hoya and Pacquiao, but not me.
The 12-round welterweight match was the subject of some heated negotiations for the last three weeks because Pacquiao wasn’t satisfied with a 30% split of the revenue from the fight.
I’m with Pacquiao. If you’re going to take a beating you should be well compensated for it. The deal was finalized last week but no one would say what the splits are. The two will fight in Las Vegas on 20 Dec.
Two reasons I don’t like the fight: First, I think it’s a boxing mismatch. Second, I think it’s a boxing mismatch. Forget the money. I know that is not a popular view in these economic times. But in a sport where the participants take their lives into their hands every time they compete, you can’t put a financial figure on safety.
This fight has nothing to do with competitive balance. De La Hoya is a much bigger man than Pacquiao, a former flyweight who fought at lightweight for the first time two months ago. Is Pacquiao a valiant warrior? Yes, without a doubt. Will he make it competitive against De La Hoya? He&’ll try.
Pacquiao’s problem is not with his heart. It’s with simple physics. He’s entirely too small to put a dent in De La Hoya or keep De La Hoya from pummeling him to a pulp. The only thing that will save Pacquiao from taking a beating is if De La Hoya is so far over the hill that he can’t pull the trigger.
Freddie Roach, who trained De La Hoya for the fight against Floyd Mayweather last year, said he didn?t think that De La Hoya had enough left in the tank to harm Pacquiao.
Of course Roach stands to profit from De La Hoya fighting Pacquiao and would say almost anything to get De La Hoya to fight Pacquiao.
This fight is all about money, which is what some people believe should be the driving force behind most fights that are made.
It is a marketing bonanza for the promoters and HBO, which will broadcast the Pay Per View.
Pacquiao is considered No. 1 on “Pound-for-Pound” list now that Mayweather has retired. And De La Hoya remains a bankable commodity, even though can’t win the big ones (Mayweather and Hopkins) anymore.
De La Hoya should know a thing or two about the physics of boxing. He struggled as a middleweight against Felix Sturm and then Hopkins knocked him out with a body shot.
And then De La Hoya decided that he was going to go back down to welterweight, though he still hasn’t fully made it back there yet.
His last two fights were at 150 pounds. He has agreed to pay $3 million to Pacquiao for every pound he is over the welterweight limit.
Just because a fight makes dollars doesn’t necessarily means it makes sense. And De La Hoya-Pacquiao is a prime example of that.
PUNCHLINES
Three days before Juan Diaz fought Nate Campbell in Cancun, Mexico back in March, his promoter at the time, Don King, announced at the press conference that he was no longer going to be Diaz’s promoter.
King arranged large placards around the room detailing his problems with Willie Savannah, Diaz’s manager.
t was an embarrassing public spectacle designed to get inside of the head of Diaz. It appeared to work because Diaz lost a decision and his WBA, WBO and IBF belts to Campbell.
Diaz makes his ring return against Michael Katsidis in his hometown of Houston, Texas on Saturday night.
He said he was not affected by King’s ploy at the press conference, but was thrown off by the fact that King didn’t send him a signed fight contract until the day before the fight.
“I didn’t know whether I was going to fight or not until the day before the fight,” Diaz said. “That was the hardest part, just not knowing.”
Diaz said Katsidis will probably bring more pressure to than Campbell did. But he said he will be better prepared this time. “That fight (against Campbell) taught me not to be so stubborn and to listen to my corner,” Diaz said.
