MANILA, Philippines — The ?dream fight? pitting Manny Pacquiao against the legendary Oscar De La Hoya is gaining steam.
No less than Top Rank?s Bob Arum himself admitted Monday that they are talking with Dela Hoya?s Golden Boy Promotions about a possible clash between the two titans of prize fighting.
?I?m not the genius who thought of that idea,? said Arum in an interview on dzSR Sports Radio 918 Monday. ?But the media liked it, and when I presented it to Richard Shaeffer of Golden Boy, he liked the idea.?
The fight, however, raises eyebrows because of the huge disparity in the fighting weights of the two pay-per-view lords.
De La Hoya, who held world championship belts in four weight categories, fights in the 154-pound class. He started fighting, though, as a super featherweight (130 lbs.)
Pacquiao, who started as a flyweight (112 lbs.), fought as a super featherweight when he beat Marco Antonio Barrera last Oct. 6 in Las Vegas.
This early, pundits predict that the two fighters could meet at 147 lbs, or as welterweights.
Arum said a Pacquiao-De La Hoya fight ?is not out of the question? and that the fight could give the Filipino his biggest paycheck ever.
Meanwhile, Arum said he would present two options for Pacquiao?s next fight in March — one against Juan Manuel Marquez and the other against David Diaz.
Marquez is the reigning World Boxing Council super featherweight titlist, while Diaz holds the WBC lightweight crown.
