LAS VEGAS — It didn’t take very long for the “Dream Fight” to deliver a surprise. And a controversy.
Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao, who weighed in Friday before an excited throng at the MGM Grand hotel for their much anticipated 12-round welterweight fight, both struck odd numbers on the scale.
That was the surprise.
The controversy was the last-minute protest by Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach, who questioned a particular De La Hoya hand-wrapping style.
Regardless, De La Hoya and Pacquiao are expected to swap leather Saturday at around 8 p.m. MST for what is expected to be the highest-grossing fight of the year.
De La Hoya, the five-division champion who was supposedly going to rely on his power and size to overwhelm
Where it all started
These days, Freddie Roach is known as the trainer of Manny Pacquiao and regarded as one of the best minds?
The Mexican Assassin
Back in the late 1970s, Pipino Cuevas was the most feared man in boxing. With a left hook that?
A Who’s Who of Mexican Boxing Greats
The big fight atmosphere at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas is starting to reach a fever pitch, with?
“Pac-Man,” scaled a stunningly light 145 pounds. Meanwhile, Pacquiao, the three-time champ who needed perhaps a little additional strength to baffle the “Golden Boy,” weighed 142 pounds.
Roach admitted Pacquiao came in lighter than expected, but he said he felt better that De La Hoya also came in light.
The fighters, at least, claim their poundage is the perfect path to victory. “When we started training, Freddie and I concluded that speed was important,” said Pacquiao who, despite the added weight, appeared as ripped as a pair of old jeans. “That’s why we came in at this weight. Speed will be the key to this fight.” Still, Pacquiao, at 5-foot-6, obviously is at a decided strength disadvantage. He has engaged in wars with the likes of Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez — a pair of fighters who are significantly smaller than De La Hoya. Pacquiao was hurt, staggered and cut by both Mexican fighters, which doesn’t bode well for the Filipino superstar. Still, recent boxing history dictates that Pacquiao (47-3-2, 35 knockouts), has a chance. Consider, that Roy Jones Jr. and Antonio Tarver, a pair of fighters who dropped down in weight, have since struggled after moving down a weight class. After defeating John Ruiz for the WBA heavyweight title in 2003, Jones dropped back down to light heavyweight and lost to Tarver and Glen Johnson in 2005. And when Tarver gained 45 pounds for his acting role in the “Rocky Balboa” movie, he promptly lost to Bernard Hopkins when he returned to 175 pounds. Such history doesn’t appear to bother De La Hoya, who hadn’t seen 145 pounds since 1997. The Golden Boy thinks the lighter weight will improve his speed. “I feel great,” De La Hoya (39-5, 30 KOs) said. “I feel energetic. I feel happy. I feel like I have a little bounce. I’m taking care of myself, to make sure that I keep the speed, because the power is already there.” In another classic welterweight fight, Thomas Hearns, in his battle with Sugar Ray Leonard in 1981, entered the ring at 145 pounds as well. And when the fight entered the late rounds, Hearns was spent. He had overtrained. Some wonder if De La Hoya, now a full-fledged junior middleweight, didn’t repeat Hearns’ mistake. “I think it’s a lot harder to come down in weight than to go up in weight,” Roach said. “We’re catching Oscar at the right time. We would never take this fight with Oscar in his prime. Just like when Oscar fought Chavez. Could he have beaten Chavez in his prime? No way. But, when he’s an old man, yes.” Meanwhile, Roach will be present Saturday night when De La Hoya’s hands are taped. The trainer’s mini-protest to Nevada State Athletic Commission chairman Keith Kizer eventually was resolved. Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer called the timing of the protest “unprofessional.” “They were very upset (at the rules meeting), but when else am I supposed to bring it up?” Roach said.
