LOS ANGELES — Angelo Dundee has trained some of boxing?s biggest names for some of their biggest fights.
And he still can?t help but get excited about this one.
?This is the fight people want to see,? the 87-year-old great told journalists Tuesday during the formal welcoming of Oscar De La Hoya at the MGM Grand, where on December 6 the Golden Boy of the sport meets relentless Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao in a fight dubbed ?Dream Match.?
?People are excited because it?s going to be a great fight and both of them are great fighters,? added Dundee, who once trained legendary great Muhammad Ali. ?I see a great fight, a great night of boxing. And the year will end on a good note for boxing because of this fight.?
Bob Arum, whose Top Rank is co-promoting the card, took it a step further by calling the bout the ?Super Bowl of boxing.?
De La Hoya entered the MGM Hotel to strains of Mexican music and with throngs of supports clicking away at their cameras. He ascended a makeshift boxing ring that had a gold-plated lion statue in the middle and posed for press photographers who covered the event.
He was later joined by Dundee and chief trainer Nacho Beristain.
?I have all the respect for Manny Pacquiao,? said De La Hoya, flashing his trademark dimpled smile. ?But this fight is a special event in itself, not just because of who my opponent is. Every time I fight, it is always a special event.?
Pacquiao, on the other hand, arrived at the Mandalay Bay hotel riding in the custom-painted bus provided by Top Rank. He was joined by a large entourage that included former Manila mayor and current Environment Secretary Lito Atienza.
?I promise to do my best because Oscar De La Hoya is a great opponent,? he told a swarm of print and television journalists that greeted his arrival.
Dundee said he expected the fight to go the distance, belying predictions from both camps that somebody was going to end up on the floor. De La Hoya?s camp has predicted a fifth-round knockout while Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach said he saw the Golden Boy kissing the canvas in the ninth.
?I think it will go 12,? Dundee said. ?They are both very strong and they both can take a good punch. It?s a shame these two guys will have to fight because they?re both good fighters.?
Joe Chavez, the former Pacquiao cutman now on Golden Boy?s side, bases his prediction on a logical point of view.
?[Someone?s] going away,? Chavez said. ?They throw too many punches to [reach] 12 [rounds].?
Although there is no clear indication as to how the fight will turn out, what with the many variables that can only be determined on fight night, one thing?s for sure: What started out as a big mismatch has slowly evened out.
?People are starting to realize that a small guy can take on a big guy and that in boxing, anything can happen,? said Golden Boy publicist Ramiro Gonzalez.
