SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA?Greg Nabong, looking more like a warrior of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) than a state budget analyst, approached me with straight talk the other day.
?Oscar De La Hoya will beat Manny Pacquiao black and blue. But then for $10 million and change, I wouldn?t mind being pummeled by Oscar myself,? said the Filipino-American as he shadowboxed, his six-pack abdomen glistening in the sun.
Having thrown his two-cents worth my way, he continued working out, while I dug into my lunch at this capital?s downtown Southside Park.
Greg?s view differs from that offered by William Hernandez, a near-retired employee of California?s employment development department.
Willie is the hitherto unnamed Pacquiao diehard in my previous commentaries. The Laoag City native told me during a recent karaoke night that his idol would hammer De La Hoya senseless at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 6.
To say that there?s a wild mood swing in the Fil-Am community for what has been billed as the colossal collision of the planet?s most popular fighter and its most marketable one?is an understatement.
It?s a scenario that will play out as the fight?s promoters take a shot at turning De La Hoya-Pacquiao into this year?s premier pay per view (PPV) event.
