BLUE BELL, Pennsylvania: The editor-in-chief of the prestigious The Ring magazine is giving Filipino icon Manny ?PacMan? Pacquiao a ?legitimate chance? against heavy favorite Oscar de la Hoya in their December 6 bout in Las Vegas.
?PacMan is understandably the underdog in terms of betting odds, but I think he has a good shot, a legitimate chance in this fight,? said Nigel Collins, the monthly magazine?s editor-in-chief, in an exclusive interview.
Collins called Pacquiao-de la Hoya an ?intriguing? match-up between the sport?s pound-for-pound champion and its most popular player.
Pacquiao, the first Asian four-division world champion and regarded as the most exciting boxer today, is on the cover of the October issue of The Ring, which is considered ?the Bible of Boxing.?
Collins brushed off suggestions that the fight is a mismatch, stressing that Pacquiao, 29, is younger and at the prime of his game, while de la Hoya, 35, may have seen better days.
?Special fighters do special things, and that?s what de la Hoya-Pacquiao is all about ? two of the most popular and accomplished boxers of our generation getting it on in a fight that presents unique challenges for both of them,? he said.
One could make the case that it is actually Oscar who is taking the bigger risk, Collins added. He noted that de La Hoya, in his most recent bout, suffered a broken facial bone fighting Stevie Forbes, a light puncher whose best years were spent at 130 pounds.
?Imagine what would have happened if it had been Pacquiao landing those punches,? said Collins. He recalled that he visited the Philippines in 2003 to award Pacquiao The Ring world featherweight title belt after the Filipino boxer surprisingly upset three-time world champion Marco Antonio Barrera in San Antonio, Texas.
Collins said American boxing guru Freddie Roach, Pacquiao?s trainer, could have figured out the dynamics of a de la Hoya-Pacquiao encounter, and came to the conclusion that Manny would beat Oscar.
?And you can?t accuse him [Roach] of simply looking for a big payday,? The Ring editor added. ?When negotiations bogged down over money, Roach offered to forgo his fee if Pacquiao were to lose.?
Tribute to PacMan
In its cover story, meanwhile, the 85-year-old magazine paid tribute to the Filipino boxer?s unprecedented achievement of winning four world titles in as many weight classes. Pacquiao is the first Asian to win world titles at flyweight (102 lbs.) in 1988, super bantamweight (122 lbs.) in 2001 and super featherweight (130 lbs.) in March and lightweight (135 lbs.) in June, or a span of three months this year.
Drawing parallels with two other great Filipino pugilists ? Pancho Villa and Gabriel ?Flash? Elorde ? The Ring?s Don Stradley wrote that Pacquiao may have surpassed the two legendary fighters.
?In a way, Pacquiao is a hybrid of the two Hall of Famers ? he has Villa?s sizzle and Elorde?s humanity,? said the cover article ?Pacman Legend Continues to Grow; New P-4-P King, New Worlds to Conquer.?
The same article noted the Filipino power-puncher?s improvement after every new fight ? a more active right hand, improved defense and better footwork ? under the tutelage of Roach, a three-time Trainer of the Year.
?Against [former WBC world champion David] Diaz, Pacquiao was unleashing his right hand as if it was a new power tool that he wanted to show off for his neighbors,? according to the article. ?He jabbed with it, he hooked with it, and then, as if he wanted to make sure HBO had something for the highlight reel, he ripped a perfect right to the body followed by an uppercut through Diaz?s guard. Watching old Mike Tyson tapes, Manny??
