With Joe Calzaghe?s victory over Roy Jones Jr. out of the way, get ready for four weeks of hype as we get excited about the Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao extravaganza set for Dec. 6.
Even I am getting involved. I?m on my way this week to meet Pacquiao and his brother Bobby at trainer Freddie Roach?s gym in Hollywood. Roach, who formerly trained De La Hoya, campaigned hard for this matchup that appears to many of us to be too lopsided, size-wise, in favor of De La Hoya. Apparently Freddie has identified a weakness Pacquiao can exploit. Maybe they?ll show me what it is.
I?m sure I?ll get to hob-nob with Bobby Pacquiao, because he?s the main event draw for the next Fight Night at the Tank, and I?m betting Manny will be just as down-to-earth as his less illustrious brother.
It?s my goal to come up with something interesting you won?t see on HBO?s ?24/7? package for Pacquiao-De La Hoya, which will consist of four episodes.
CALZAGHE CEMENTS CREDIBILITY: I didn?t see the Calzaghe-Jones bout Saturday. I can see it next Saturday (Nov. 8) on HBO, packaged with the Jeff Lacy-Jermain Taylor bout. I didn?t expect it to be as one-sided as it reportedly was, with Calzaghe (46-0) dominating after sustaining a first-round knockdown as he easily retained the linear light heavyweight title recognized by The Ring Magazine.
Calzaghe?s victories over Jones and Bernard Hopkins were strikingly similar. Package those distinctively one-sided triumphs with his victories over Lacy and Mikkel Kessler, and it?s time to recognize that there?s something truly great about Calzaghe.
BEST AND WORST: A reminder that Taylor-Lacy was my pick for November?s most intriguing match-up. My pick for worst was Arthur Abraham?s middleweight title defense in Germany against faded challenger Raul Marquez, which took place Saturday with Abraham (28-0, 23 knockouts) prevailing in 6 over the former 154-pound champion.
