NEW YORK CITY: Boxing superstars Manny ?PacMan? Pacquiao and Oscar de la Hoya showed tremendous respect for each other on Wednesday at the Statue of Liberty here during the formal launch of their December 6 big fight in Las Vegas.
There was none of the trash talk or contrived animosity that is the staple for marketing big matches like the one in Nevada three months from now and which is sure to be the biggest boxing event of the year.
The affable Pacquiao, considered the best pound-for-pound prizefighter in the world, came to the defense of de la Hoya, who had been accused by critics of choosing the easy way in fighting the smaller Filipino ring icon.
?Some people are criticizing Oscar for picking on a small guy like me,? said the 5-foot-6 Pacquiao. ?Some are saying I?m taking the fight for the money. But on December 6, I will prove all the critics wrong.?
Depending on pay-per-view receipts, the Filipino four-division world champion stands to earn as much as $20 million, according to estimates by people involved in the bout.
Pacquiao also promised a ?great boxing match,? even as his training team has made arrangement for him to continue training during the six-city promotional tour with stops in other historic landmarks, such as the Alamo in Texas and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
?You have seen my previous fights and you know how I fight,? Pacquiao told some 400 reporters who went through elaborate security checks to attend the first press conference at the Statue of Liberty, America?s foremost landmark.
On fight night in Las Vegas, the intensity is expected to double, presumably dousing talks of a mismatch.
Challenge for Oscar
De La Hoya, 5-foot-101/2, called the intriguing matchup a ?huge challenge for me,? a statement affirmed by the fact that he would be pitching training camp at Big Bear Mountain Resort in southern California, where he has trained for most of the biggest fights of his career.
?At 35, taking on a young, hungry and explosive fighter like Manny Pacquiao is a huge challenge for me,? said the sport?s most popular and bankable star. ?But when I have everything to lose and nothing to gain, to me that?s a huge motivation. I have to prove to myself that I can still do this.?
De La Hoya went on: ?Manny Pacquiao, with the heart that he has, the fire that he has, he?s a big threat to me.?
Roach ready
Pacquiao?s trainer Freddie Roach, who also prepared De La Hoya last year for his split-decision loss to undefeated welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., said he has ?intimate insights? of the way the Mexican-American fights that Pacquiao could use to advantage.
?I learned a lot during [my] training [of De La Hoya], and now we?re going to use it against him,? the three-time American Trainer of the Year said. ?The big question is: Can he still pull the trigger? We?ll see.?
The Pacquiao camp, of course, has no monopoly of crucial fight information because De La Hoya has tapped legendary Mexican trainer Ignacio ?Nacho? Beristain, the lead person in the corner of Mexican ring star Juan Manuel Marquez.
Marquez fought Pacquiao in two close matches?the first ended in a draw and the second was won by Pacquiao by a controversial split decision.
