LOS ANGELES ? Boxing scholar Larry Marchant, who does the color commentary for HBO, will be one of the least surprised followers of the fight game if Manny Pacquiao topples Oscar De La Hoya this Saturday at the MGM Grand.
Merchant, who is credited for having broached the idea of a possible Pacquiao-De La Hoya fight to Dan Rafael of ESPN late last year, has historical facts to prove that while most aficionados believe that the scheduled 12-rounder is a mismatch in favor of De La Hoya, Pacquiao is a force to reckon with.
“Nobody had thought about it (Pacquiao-De La Hoya fight),” Merchant, 77, said.
“But if you know the history of boxing, great little men have from time to time have fought good big men and with elite fighters, the difference in weight is not that as important as it is with ordinary fighters.”
“A fighter who is really tough at one weight, if he has to fight above that weight, maybe not that tough. But there are some fighters who are so good that they can do that,” Merchant said.
“And if anybody could, you would think that Manny could.”
“I thought that this was the biggest that could be made and boxing, like other sports, need big events that transcend boxing itself. Every sport needs a huge event, baseball, basketball, tennis, golf, soccer that capture the attention of people who may not be day-to-day fans or maybe they were fans years ago but not as keen as they are so I thought this was the best fight that could be made,” said Merchant in explaining why he thought this fight was possible.
“Looking back, I was little surprised that it happened but I watched it evolve and the fact that the promoters almost instantly, when the idea became public, said yes.
“They both saw the possibilities even if they were not thinking about it and then I thought that it was rolling and it could happen,” he said.
Merchant said lighter weight boxers tangling with those from the higher weight classes have happened many times before.
“There is a long history in boxing of great little men going up against big men. A lot of people don?t know this but, you all are from the Philippines, right? Henry Armstrong, considered as one of the greatest fighters…feath-erweight, lightweight, welterweight champion at the same time and many people don?t know is that he fought the middleweight champion of the world, Ceferino Garcia, a Filipino, twice, he beat him before Garcia won the championship and he got a draw with him when he won the championship. So elite fighters could sometimes pull this off and it?s tantalizing to fans to see stars from different divisions fighting each other.”
Still, Merchant believes there is enough basis why De La Hoya, who is pushing 36 early next year, is the betting favorite.
“Oscar?s the favorite because he is the bigger guy and he should be the favorite because the unknowns about Oscar cannot be measured on a scale or with a ruler. The unknown is his age, his inactivity, fighting a southpaw, who knows? And those intangibles you will only know once you get into the ring. And when people are betting, they are betting on what they know.”
“Oscar has height advantage, which is maybe more important, more than weight advantage and Manny has to find a way to cope with that. And he?s got a great left hand. And he?s got to find a way to deal with that, to neutralize him. His right hand (though) is not a great weapon.”
Pacquiao is a livewire foe, Merchant stressed.
“What Manny has is that he is in his prime, great energy and is a left-handed real puncher. Let?s see how much his power will match up with a bigger man because Oscar has a good chin even among bigger men and those are only some of the questions that can only be answered in the ring.”
