I don?t understand? I just don?t.
Marley, why is it that I can?t include the Vegas truth? It?s akin to attempting to write about our recent presidential candidate without using the letters 0-B-A-M-R-K. I suppose that one must learn to take this boxing scribe task seriously so I?ll attempt to utilize my superior creative acumen in order to recap a Las Vegas experience minus the booze? and other extracurricular activities.
I hate you Marley.
First let us discuss the Pacquiao-De la Hoya bout.
You all saw it. There?s no need to inform you who won, lost, got punched in the face, quit on the stool, or anything of that nature.
What we will discuss are the repercussions of what transpired December 6, 2008 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
I?m sorry, perhaps I take way too much glee in the misery of others but it was damn amusing to see the distressed look of some of the supposed ?power brokers? within boxing.
Damn amusing.
They all thought the fight was a lock and that they had fooled the general public, the boxing public, and the banana republic.
Boy were they wrong? (I?m howling like a hyena right now.)
Seriously? that seventh round I couldn?t contain my bliss. While I?m sure Oscar De la Hoya is a nice fellow that chews with his mouth closed, combs his hair, and irons his socks, I couldn?t help but howl at the moon like a desert tortoise in heat when it was clear that Manny ?The Beast from the Far East? Pacquiao was putting ?hands? on the Golden billionaire.
?Hands? I tell you? ?Hands!!!?
With all due respect to the boxing media, and more specifically the Filipino boxing media, you should all be ashamed of yourselves for not backing your man. The writing was on the wall. You might have needed a black light and a magnifying glass to see it but it was there.
You all doubted Freddie Roach.
You all felt that it was too much too soon.
Being that I have luckily honed my perception skills with the ability to read between the lines, through the lines, and over the lines, it was evident that Oscar De la Hoya was in over his head. Manny Pacquiao is not a business man and will never be one.
He?s an uneducated fighter that loves to punch people in the face.
When I say uneducated, I say it with the utmost respect and reverence for the pound-for-pound king. He doesn?t think that he?s this big-time promoter. He doesn?t look at himself as though he?s smarter than he is. He?s probably utterly insane and signs contracts as if he?s at a book signing event.
This is why I love Manny Pacquiao.
Basically, in my eyes, he?s the bi-polar opposite of everything that Oscar De la Hoya represented.
Get it? represented? Past tense.
It was disgustingly evident throughout the 24/7 show being that every time Pacquiao would grace the television screen, it felt as though I was viewing one of my baboon maniacal friends. Eating with hands, making fun of excessive obesity, and singing miserably is something I can relate to whole heartedly.
So now you might ask, ?What?s next for both men??
Well, I?m crossing my fingers and toes that ?The Golden Boy? retires. He?s made a lot of money and he?s made a lot of money.
Oscar has made a lot of money.
You know what readers?
Oscar De la Hoya has made plenty of money from boxing.
Has he revolutionized the sport?
Absolutely not.
Has he made positive changes for boxing as a whole?
I don?t quite see it but perhaps he has helped in overpaying the fighters on his staff.
There?s no need to see him continue fighting just as it was completely unnecessary for Mike Tyson to lock horns with that huge mound of corned beef called Kevin McBride. Hopefully Oscar will just retire and hire a charismatic personality to take over his public relations and public speaking tasks.
Richard Schaefer? I?m sorry, George Lopez was absolutely correct.
Nyquil anyone?
The first character that comes to mind is none other than our resident ape, Michael Marley. The man always has anywhere between three or four billion sound-bytes to give and it?d bring some life to the relatively dull press conferences that take place on a consistent basis. Sometimes it almost feels as though I could recap almost any press conference before it actually takes place.
Let me guess? buy the pay-per-view, these are the sponors, tickets are still available, it?s gonna be a good fight, it will make a lot of money.
Absolutely intriguing stuff I tell you.
Put Marley up there and have him talk about the time he? sorry readers, I have direct orders.
I hate you Marley.
Now on to Manny Pacquiao.
?The Pacman? has earned a warm piece of the sidewalk with what he?s given to the sport of boxing over the course of his career.
Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez (when nobody would even mention his name), and Oscar De la Hoya. It almost blows my mind as to the kind of absolute tear this little beast has been on for the past several years.
I can?t stop thinking that if I was Rip Van Winkle and had been in a Pepto Bismol induced coma since 2001 (after I saw his semi-castration against Agapito Sanchez), that I would froth at the mouth if I woke up and saw that he was fighting Oscar De la Hoya seven years later.
So now many mongrels point to Ricky Hatton as the most legitimate opponent for our newly crowned ?Golden Killer?.
Atmosphere wise, there couldn?t be a better match-up in terms of fan bases. The only problem is that the fight should take place outside of Europe being that it?d be absolutely unfair to have Manny fight in such hostile territory when it?s completely unnecessary.
San Francisco is the one and only place that the fight should take place.
I?d say make it on Hall-of-Fame promoter, Don ?War-a-Week? Chargin?s birthday weekend of June 5/6 at AT&T Park. Chargin was in boxing promoting some huge fights in the SF Bay Area when boxing was king and the 415 was the place where people wanted to fight.
It was before most of you (including myself) even understood what boxing was.
30,000 brits and 30,000 flips. That would be the atmosphere without a doubt and I can guarantee you? it would sell out in a flash with a minimal amount of marketing.
A minimal amount.
Just don?t be a greedy-asshole-scumbag-prick and price the tickets at ridiculous levels as seen in recent times.
If you need consultation on how and where to market the fight in the Bay Area, let me know. I doubt you?d need to because I?m quite aware that you have extremely intelligent, educated, and business savvy people working at the company.
Seriously? I?m not being condescending.
Ok, I probably am? just a little bit.
In any case, Pacquiao-Hatton in June of 2009 and who knows what the future holds for Manny.
I suspect that like Mother Goose, Daffy and Donald Duck, many of the 130 and 135 pounders will migrate north in pursuit of a chance to go at it with perhaps one of the most exciting, high-profile fighters we?ve seen in this era of the sport.
As for Vegas? I had some excellent cuisine and enjoyed the long stroll from the MGM Grand to Marley?s place of rest, Circus Circus.
I do sincerely apologize to all you BC readers who were expecting a recap of the four nights I spent in Las Vegas but it?s not my call.
I hate you Marley.
PS. For those of you that felt sorry for the beat down that De la Hoya took this past Saturday, you are better people than me. I think about all the broken promises and letdowns that we?ve seen with not only Oscar but Golden Boy Promotions as well as HBO. I laughed all the way to the bank on this one?
