DAVAO CITY ? Take it from the late great Flash Elorde?s son Gabriel Jr., known in boxing circles as Bebot ? place your bets on Manny Pacquiao over Oscar de la Hoya in their sold-out fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 6.
Elorde produced promoter Mayor Zander Khan?s card for TV at the Rizal Memorial Colleges gym here Friday night. He brought in two Kenyan brothers, Sande and Nick Otieno, to face Filipino opponents and arranged the entire show, which marked Khan?s comeback into big-time boxing after an absence of eight years.
Elorde noted that at the moment, the Las Vegas odds are 3-to-1 in De la Hoya?s favor, meaning a $1 wager on Pacquiao will earn $3 if he wins.
?I?m not betting yet because I?m waiting for the odds to go 10-to-1 but I?m willing to settle for 5-to-l,? said Elorde. ?I?m not greedy. All I?m after is to win enough from my bet to cover my plane fare and hotel room plus give me some pocket money.?
Elorde said he?s banking on heavy bets for De la Hoya considering his huge advantage in height and reach.
?Should I be worried about De la Hoya?s height?? wondered Elorde. ?Why? This is boxing, not basketball. I don?t care how Manny wins. What I know is he?ll win by decision or knockout and I hope to cash in.?
* * * Elorde said De la Hoya?s wealth is a major stumbling block.
?He?s a multi-millionaire,? he continued. ?When you?re that rich, it?s hard to get up in the morning to work out. Besides, the fight is already sold out so what is there for De la Hoya to fight for? He?s the co-promoter with Bob Arum. It?s the opposite for Manny who?s very hungry. I?m not sure how much is left from what he earned in his last fight but he has a lot of people to take care of.?
Elorde said Pacquiao?s speed will be a determining factor.
?I think Manny is too fast for De la Hoya,? he went on. ?And age is a factor. Manny is 29 and De la Hoya, 35. Manny might be able to knock down De la Hoya but he could get up. De la Hoya still has his pride. Being taller is not necessarily an advantage because it?s not easy fighting a small and quick opponent. Also, we all know that De la Hoya has difficulty fighting southpaws.?
Even if he?s not a betting man, Elorde said he?s ready to put his money where his mouth is and he?s singing high praises for Pacquiao.
* * * North Cotabato Vice Gov. Manny Pi?ol, who drove in from Kidapawan to witness Khan?s promotion, echoed Elorde?s sentiments.
?It?s Manny over Oscar for sure,? he said. ?I see Manny crowding Oscar and scoring a knockout in the late rounds. Oscar needs distance to be able to hit his opponent so expect Manny to fight him up close.?
Pi?ol said Pacquiao?s power will be too much for De la Hoya.
?Manny has the exceptional ability to adjust to his weight,? he explained. ?Not like Erik Morales who couldn?t bring up his power when he moved to lightweight. For Manny, the bigger he is, the stronger he gets. His power increases when he weighs more. I think he?ll be too strong for Oscar. Manny will run circles around Oscar in the first few rounds to tire him out. Then, he?ll move in.?
Pi?ol said the weight difference won?t be a factor. ?The limit is 147 pounds,? he said. ?De la Hoya has to scale down so that means he?ll lose strength while Manny will eat right and work out at the same time. I expect Manny to come in at around 150 and De la Hoya, about 160. I don?t think the difference will mean much because Manny will be stronger at his weight.?
Pi?ol likened the ?Dream Match? to the first fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden in New York in 1971.
?That was a fight between tall and short,? said Pi?ol referring to the 6-3 Ali with an 80-inch wingspan and the 5-11 1/2 Frazier with a 73-inch wingspan. ?The height and reach made no difference. Frazier won by decision.?
* * * Here?s a brief summary of what happened in the Ali-Frazier bout, taken from ?The Boxing Companion? by Richard O?Brien:
?That bout, held on March 8, 1971, remains, amid all the Fights of the Century, the quintessential Big Fight. Here were two undefeated heavyweight champions. The boxer, Ali, against the puncher, Frazier. They were fighting for the richest purse in history (at that point), $2.5 Million each, and the entire country watched.
?The fight lived up to its billing, fifteen of the busiest, most stubborn rounds ever fought by heavyweights. In the end, Frazier?s relentless, remorseless pressure exposed the rust of Ali?s gifts and Joe?s big left hook put Ali down. He got up but he had lost. Still, in getting up, he earned a grudging respect. Ali can take it, they said.?
By the way, at the time of the fight, Frazier was 27 with 27 bouts and Ali, 29 with 31 bouts. Smokin? Joe weighed in at 205 1/2 and Ali, 215.
Pacquiao stands 5-6 1/ 2 with a 67-inch wingspan while De la Hoya, 5-10 1/2 with a 73-inch wingspan.
Like Elorde, Pi?ol is putting his money on Pacquiao.
