LAS VEGAS — Oscar De La Hoya says he’s been down to 147 pounds for weeks, and one look at him in a track suit Wednesday seemed to back that up. The same can’t be said about Manny Pacquiao, but his job in the weeks preparing for his fight with De La Hoya wasn’t to diet but to eat as much as he possibly could.
One fighter has been starving himself, while the other has been gorging. It’s the only way the two could get close enough in weight to allow them to meet Saturday night at 147 pounds in a bout that will bring them millions even with a souring economy.
Both are claiming victory over the scales, though De La Hoya still towered over Pacquiao when the two met in the final pre-fight press conference. The weigh-in isn’t until a day before the fight, but all the hard work has been done for a bout that couldfinally hasten De La Hoya’s exit from the ring if he has misjudged this opponent.
De La Hoya insists he has not.
“I trained for King Kong,” he said.
Pacquiao is hardly King Kong, though De La Hoya would be wise to beware of a fighter who has won titles in five weight divisions and is heralded by many as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Though he started his boxing career at 106 pounds and has never fought above 135, he’s the kind of nonstop puncher who can make an aging fighter look bad.
And that pretty much is the selling point for a fight that seemed odd when it was first made but now looks like an increasingly intriguing matchup of two men who have been in their share of big fights before.
“It’s going to be boxing history if I win this fight,” said Pacquiao. “I believe my power and my speed can beat him.”
Oddsmakers give Pacquiao a chance, making him an 8-5 underdog in a fight that both he and De La Hoya have relentlessly promoted.
