LOS ANGELES – Forget about Oscar dela Hoya?s right hand because it just won?t work against Manny Pacquiao.
?It?s just his left, the uppercut and the hook, that we?re looking out for,? said Pacquiao on a cold, soggy Wednesday.
?He won?t be able to use his jab too much,? said Pacquiao.
?Yes this guy has a good jab but we?ll get inside and work his body,? said trainer Freddie Roach.
?I know he can knock you out with one punch (with his left) but we?re getting ready for that. I?m very confident but we?re not taking this lightly,? Roach added.
Dela Hoya said he?d knock Pacquiao out inside five rounds after Roach said the Golden Boy is going down inside nine.
But Pacquiao remained as careful as he?d always been.
?You know me. I don?t make predictions. It?s very hard to tell what the result would be,? he said.
Pacquiao said he?s ready for anything – even if Dela Hoya decides to jump on him in the first round.
?He might do that,? he said.
?And if there?s a chance, I will engage. But I?m ready to go 12 rounds, too. Oscar telling people that he?ll knock me out in five rounds is easier said than done,? said Pacquiao.
The Pinoy southpaw has sparred close to 140 rounds against bigger and heavier fighters and he feels he can take Dela Hoya?s punches as well.
?This is going to be a good fight. And I have to win this to make history,? he said.
?Winning will give me so much honor. And that even in the next 50 years my name will be remembered,? he said.
More than a lifetime, perhaps, if he beats Dela Hoya.
