CHICAGO — With the awesome Chicago skyline as a backdrop, Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao stood side-by-side on the 102nd floor of the Sears Tower. Right then and there — amid all of the hoopla pumping up the most significant fight of the year — one truth was undeniable. De La Hoya is much larger.
Which is why the showdown between the “Golden Boy” and “Pac Man” Pacquiao — scheduled for Dec. 6 in Las Vegas and dubbed the “Dream Match” — has become such a lightning rod for controversy among boxing fans.
Common sense-wise, it probably shouldn’t even be happening.
De La Hoya, at 5-foot, 10? inches, started his career at 130 pounds and has fought as high as 160 pounds. Pacquiao, standing 5-6?, started his career at 106 pounds and never has fought at more than 135. De La Hoya’s shoulders are bigger. His hands are bigger. His head is bigger.
He’s just a bigger man.
Why, then, will this fight have a chance to become the highest-grossing pay-per-view fight of all time?
Because, despite all of his physical disadvantages, Pacquiao is a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer who will be very difficult to beat, regardless of the weight. His abilities are extraordinary.
And who would know that better than his last victim, former WBC lightweight champ David Diaz, who supposedly was bigger and stronger than Pacquiao going into their June 28 fight. It didn’t work out that way, however, as the Filipino knocked the Chicagoan out in the 10th round.
“I think Pacquiao has a great chance,” Diaz said. “The will that he’s got, it discourages people.” And if it’s not the will, it’s the blinding hand and foot speed and crippling power of Pacquiao that has made great fighters like Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales look mortal.
Under the tutelage of trainer Freddie Roach, Pacquiao actually has improved over a career that has seen him win titles in four weight divisions, from junior featherweight to lightweight.
Now he’s jumping all the way to welterweight — a mammoth leap.
“People who say he can’t win this fight don’t understand the history of boxing,” said Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, who is co-promoting this extravaganza with De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. “Henry Armstrong and Barney Ross have done this (won titles in multiple divisions) before. One axiom that is true in all sports — speed kills.”
Of course, Pacquiao’s incredible popularity in his homeland and among his countrymen will contribute to this promotion’s success as well. It’s another reason this fight could eclipse the De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather fight as the most profitable pay-per-view boxing match in history.
“Manny has a much bigger fan base (than did Mayweather),” said Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer. “The sponsors we’ve been able to line up, the in-store activities — it is much bigger than Mayweather. You’ve got the two most popular fighters in the world.”
True. Which is why De La Hoya — boxing’s cash cow — selected Pacquiao over a fighter his own size, such as welterweight Antonio Margarito.
Simply put, Pacquiao has the drawing power to make De La Hoya much richer than he already is. But it’s a slippery slope for De La Hoya, a Los Angeles native. He wins? Big deal. He’s supposed to win. He loses? Look out. The anti-De La?Hoya brigade will be out in full force.
That he’s making a business decision over a logical decision is not making him any more popular among fight fans — particularly Mexican fight fans who want to see him rumble with Margarito.
Matthew Aguilar may be reached at [email protected]
