I wrote a piece in my last Geno?s Corner about the recently signed bout between light middleweight, Oscar De La Hoya and small lightweight, Manny Pacquiao. I knew that Manny is a god in the Philippines and that I would get some hate mail and I did, but I also got some very reasonable rebuttals. This is boxing and anything can happen with one punch. Upsets are commonplace and Pacquiao has a huge heart, but it does seem that most are using their hearts instead of their minds when they consider this match up. As exciting and gutsy as Manny is, he will be lucky to survive the first two rounds, but since there is such a varying opinion, I thought that I would field some questions.
I will say that blind support is not always a bad thing and I understand it, having the New England Patriots and the Boston Red Sox in my area. I think that every guy in the area has a hat with one of the teams? emblems across the top. And what would a hometown team or fighter without a rival? The Red Sox fans always deal with the New York Yankees fans. I always have some goof with a Yankee?s hat that looks two sizes too small and two corndogs in his mouth, telling me that his team is fantastic. That sort of blind love is a great thing and baseball players and boxers need the support. If support will dictate this fight, Manny does have one hell of a shot.
Question: Oscar De La Hoya could not knockout the smaller Steve Forbes. How can he stop Manny Pacquiao?
There are two reasons why Oscar De La Hoya did not stop Steve Forbes. One, Forbes is a survivor with an iron chin, good defense, and does not lose by KO. He is extremely durable and nobody has ever put him down for the count. Secondly, De La Hoya didn?t want to knock Forbes out. Much like the rematch with Evander Holyfield and Alex Stewart, De La Hoya was practicing new tactics for his rematch with Floyd Mayweather, JR. He picked a guy that was similar to Floyd in size and style and used the 12 rounds as a sparring session?a money-making sparring session. Manny Pacquiao may be better offensively than Forbes, but he does not have the defensive skills or durability. Manny has been stopped twice and both men that scored the TKOs were under 115 pounds. A 147 pound De La Hoya has one heck of a shot to stop Manny and to do it very early.
Question: Freddie Roach thinks that Manny has a shot and he REALLY knows boxing, unlike the ?boxing experts? that claim otherwise. Why are you right and Roach wrong?
What is Freddie Roach supposed to say? Of course he is going to support his fighter and he should, and he is going to do whatever he can to prepare his fighter to pull off the upset, but if he were on the outside looking in, his opinion would be much different. Roach?s opinion on this matter is not objective. It?s his fighter! Come on! Angelo Dundee said that Muhammad Ali would beat Larry Holmes, despite the fact that he knew otherwise, but he did so because he wanted to show support for his fighter. And don?t forget that this is a huge fight and Roach will make a great deal of money and so will his fighter and that is the name of the game. It?s not always about winning and losing. It?s about the big score.
Question: Oscar De La Hoya is over the hill. Manny is in his prime. How can you still pick De La Hoya to win so easily?
Oscar, at 35, is not at his all time best and he has not been really active, but his bouts with Ricardo Mayorga, Floyd Mayweather, JR., and Steve Forbes suggest that he has enough left to compete with the champions of the light middleweight division, and destroy lightweights. I?m not sold that De La Hoya is shot. He is not what he once was, but what he once was fantastic, so if he?s been reduced to just very good, that?s enough to still rule the sport to a certain degree. I?m also not sold that Manny is in his prime. He is at the tail end of his career and that is why he is cashing out here.
Question: The weight won?t hurt Manny (moving from 135 to 147) because he?s been weighing that much after weigh ins for a couple of years now. Why is the weight such an issue?
The fact that he may weigh 150 pounds after he weighs in at 135 doesn?t mean anything because De La Hoya refreshes himself as well to a higher weight by the time he steps into the ring. He is the bigger man, period, no matter how you spin it. This is a near middleweight and a powerful one. Trust me on this. When the bell rings for the first round, there will be no question just who the bigger man in the ring is. De La Hoya will dwarf Manny Pacquiao and if Manny is 145 on fight night, De La Hoya will be 160. The weight will hurt Manny very much.
Question: De La Hoya got busted up by Steve Forbes in his last fight. Won?t Manny Pacquiao knock him out if he hits Oscar as much as Forbes did?
No. Oscar De La Hoya has one of the best beards in boxing and is one of the smartest fighters in the game. He will get hit by Manny without question, but Fernando Vargas, Shane Mosley, Ike Quartey, Felix Trinidad, Oba Carr, and Julio Cesar Chavez have found his chin and have found Oscar still on his feet, and if they were able to drop him, he got up and rebounded. He got hit by Ricardo Mayorga several times, and didn?t budge. At 130 pounds, Manny is a powerful terror. At 147 pounds, he won?t be?not to Oscar at least. The only way that he is going to stop Oscar is if he gets cut or injures and ankle?something along those lines. If you cannot stop Juan Manuel Marquez, you are not going to stop De La Hoya. I expect Manny to be fighting as long as the fight goes and he will get some punches in, but De La Hoya is a warrior and will walk through the incoming. He can take a great punch.
OK. I think that I answered most of the questions that I was sent by you, the fans of boxing, and I imagine that I will get more hate mail, but do you want my honest opinion or do you want me to patronize the fans the way that other ?boxing experts? seem to do and say that Manny will win? You deserve better than that and I won?t lower myself to lie just to get friendly emails. This fight is not a super fight. This fight is a mismatch. If this is not a dominant victory for De La Hoya, I will be totally shocked. Buy this pay per view at your own risk.
