MANNY Pacquiao, carrying the entire nation on his shoulders, will gun for boxing greatness Sunday when he climbs the ring to fight Oscar De La Hoya at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
A victory over the 35-year-old De La Hoya will make Pacquiao the greatest Filipino boxer of all time and definitely shock the world as he is fighting boxing’s biggest star who is much, much bigger and taller than he is.
“There’s nothing more we can do. Now Manny knows he’s going there to do his job,” said Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s famed American trainer.
Pacquiao, 29, came in at 142 pounds during the official weigh-in Friday, while De La Hoya tipped the scales at 145 pounds.
Since both fighters came in way below the fight limit of 147 pounds, some observers smelled something unnatural here. De La Hoya was expected to make the weight, but not below the limit.
Pacquiao, since he is the smaller fighter, was also not expected to go down way below 147 pounds. The fact that the Filipino boxer came in five pounds below the limit could also indicate that Roach will really use his speed to beat De La Hoya.
Nevertheless, the last of formalities are now over and it’s show time for perhaps the greatest boxing contest in recent years.
Pacquiao moved up two weight divisions to seal the date with De La Hoya, boxing’s Golden Boy.
“It’s going to be boxing history if I win this fight,” Pacquiao said. “I believe my power and speed can beat him.”
