As future boxing hall-of-famers Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao (current pound-for-pound king) get set for their super fight, one thing is undeniable – this is by far the most anticipated and most intriguing fight of the year.
Before the contract for the fight was signed, feelings of a possible De La Hoya – Pacquiao fight were mixed, and on the surface, there was good reason. De La Hoya, a natural 154-pound fighter seemed to be just too big for the much smaller Pacquiao, who is a natural lightweight. The difference between the weight classes was tremendous – 19 pounds.
Granted, the two fighters are meeting at 147 pounds, but that does not count for the natural body frames of the two fighters. De La Hoya is a bigger man than Pacquiao, and it?s easy to see how that could have alienated fight fans. Still, as time passes and fight night draws near, the energy and excitement surrounding the fight constantly builds. This is partly due to the HBO series ?24/7″ which chronicled the background of the fight and the month leading up to fight night.
Despite construction at McCarran International Airport, flight delays are not expected during the winter holiday season. Photo by: Devin Loretz For De La Hoya, this is not a career-defining fight, but more of a career-redefining contest. Any one of his wins over Fernando Vargas, Julio Cesar Chavez and even his controversial loss to Felix Trinidad could be considered career-defining fights. This fight is redefining because De La Hoya, 35, is around the age where most championship-caliber boxers contemplate retirement. If De La Hoya feels great, looks great and performs well, this could open the door to a new set of challenges for the Golden Boy.
On the other hand, this is the career-defining fight for Pacquiao. Though he has fought and beat many of the top fighters in the world around his weight class, he has not fought anyone of the same caliber as De La Hoya. The fact that De La Hoya is much bigger in size and poses such a great challenge to Pacquiao would make a victory immense.
The Student Recreation and Wellness Center, despite being open to all students currently enrolled in 3.5 credits has yet to reach capacity during the time it has been open. Photo by: Devin Loretz
Pacquiao has had success against many top Mexican fighters.
It can be argued that Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales were three of the most popular and beloved fighters to come out of Mexico over the last decade. Pacquiao defeated all of them by knockout or decision. While he lost a decision to Morales in their first fight, Pacquiao knocked him out in their next two matches, with the final being a devastating third round knockout.
But now, Pacquiao faces the biggest challenge of his career in De La Hoya and his entourage, which leads into another intriguing storyline that surrounds the men who are training these two fighters – Freddie Roach and Nacho Beristain.
De La Hoya?s trainer for the last few years has been Floyd Mayweather, Sr. but when De La Hoya fought Mayweather?s son, Floyd Jr., a conflict of interest caused De La Hoya to turn to Freddie Roach, current and long-time trainer of Pacquiao.
After losing the split decision to Mayweather, De La Hoya fired Roach complaining that his bad strategy cost him the fight. Roach in turn had no love lost for De La Hoya, calling him less-than-flattering names. And according to Roach, he knows De La Hoya?s weaknesses, which he seeks to help Pacquiao exploit.
On the other hand, De La Hoya has hired hall of fame trainer Beristain to train him for the fight. Beristain was the man who trained Marquez in his two fights against Pacquiao, both of which were incredibly close. It seems that De La Hoya seeks to exploit Pacquiao?s weakness through Beristain, just as Roach wishes to exploit his. The most important of these storylines is that both of these fighters are two of the top pound-for-pound fighters of our generation. Pacquiao is a firecracker who is incapable of fighting a boring fight. He will bring the fight to De La Hoya, and rest assured, De La Hoya will bring it right back to him.
The fight takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena Saturday.
