Despite the criticism, despite the protests, it’s almost upon us.
A year ago not even the most hardened of gamblers on the Las Vegas Strip would have risked their dollars on Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao meeting inside a ring.
But on Saturday night inside the MGM Grand they’ll lock horns in the biggest fight of the year.
It’s a fitting way for the sport to end 2009, pitting the game’s biggest box-office draw against its current P4P king.
The match is a guaranteed moneyspinner – tickets sold out in an hour producing a live gate of more than $15million.
The pay-per-view revenues will dwarf that figure – many expect the bout to be the second richest non-heavyweight bout ever after De La Hoya’s showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr in May 2007.
But despite the undoubted pros of this megafight, many critics see it as more mismatch than ‘Dream Match’.
The simple fact is that in March this year Pacquiao was fighting at super-featherweight, while De La Hoya was still a light-middleweight.
They were a staggering 24lbs and four weight divisions apart – no wonder that even Pacman’s trainer Freddie Roach first heard about the speculation he scoffed loudly.
Then though, early this year, something changed. Instead of just sniggering at a possibility first put forward by HBO analyst Larry Merchant, the prospect began to snowball.
Roach, having seen De La Hoya given early problems by another ‘little guy’ in Steve Forbes, realised that maybe this was a match his man could win.
He also realised that with Oscar now in the twilight of a glittering career, it was a case of ‘now or never’ for Manny.
In truth the Pacman is in a no-lose situation on Saturday night. Win and he produces one of the greatest performances in boxing history. Lose – as he’s expected to – and he probably drops down to 140 for a megabucks showdown with Ricky Hatton. Reputation intact.
For De La Hoya though the stakes are infinitely higher. For the first time in his career he really can’t win.
He’s been portrayed by many as a schoolyard bully picking on the little kid. He simply has to win to preserve that ‘Golden’ legacy.
Recently he admitted that losing to a smaller man wasn’t an option, and added that it would be a disaster if he doesn’t knock Pacquiao out.
Oscar may be laughing all the way to the bank on Sunday morning, but if he fails inside the ring it will mean little.
Pacquaio has moved up three divisions in eight months to take on De La Hoya at welterweight. Oscar meanwhile has dropped seven pounds to make 147.
In theory the ‘Golden Boy’ has all the advantages – height, reach, and overall size.
But there are plenty of questions to be answered – and that above all is one reason we should enjoy Saturday night.
Can De La Hoya still pull the trigger – he only has one knockout in the last five years? If the fight goes into the second half will Oscar fade down the stretch, as he has so often in the past? Can Manny carry his power and his speed up to 147? Can the Pacman take the weight of De La Hoya’s punch – particularly that vaunted left hook? Does Freddie Roach – as he claims – really know the secret to beating De La Hoya? Will coming down in weight drain Oscar? It’s the first time he’s fought at 147 in seven long years. Will Oscar – at 35 and with only four fights in four years – have the speed to cope with Pacquiao’s early aggression? De La Hoya has been accused of not being able to win the big one. Can he change all that on Saturday night? Will Pacquiao’s all-out attack make him easy meat for De La Hoya’s counters? While the massive size difference has led to criticism from many quarters, it’s also the reason we’re pondering some of these questions. It’s a journey into the unknown.
And whatever happens on Saturday night, it should be exciting while it lasts.
You may not like where this is going, but that’s no reason not to enjoy the ride.
We’ll have live punch-by-punch coverage of De La Hoya v Pacquiao from around 0400 GMT on Sunday here on sportinglife.com. We’ll also have live updates earlier in the night on Carl Froch’s WBC super-middleweight title showdown with Jean Pascal
