If the De La Hoya-Pacquiao “dream fight” ever takes place before the end of this year as it is being proposed, it would surely be one for the record books. With both fighters exhibiting excellent boxing skills and ring records, contrasting fighting stance and style, and with one vowing that this will be his last while the other still very much at his peak, such clash between a 135 pound and a 155 pound fighters would surely be a classic, an interesting and exciting fight. De La Hoya, now 35, has for years been reaping honors in the television boxing pay-per-view business earning multi-million dollars in his every fight he himself promotes but now sees that his illustrious and colorful career is about to end. A 1992 US Olympic gold medalist, he is one boxer with the skill of a “stylist” and a real “boxer” in all sense. And so far, as he had ambitioned of winning as many as 6 world division titles before turning professional, he now has won six starting from the 130 lb. level to the 160 lb. or middleweight, but lately fought at just 150 lb. or as jr. middleweight.
Meanwhile, Manny Pacquiao, 29, the universally recognized world’s best pound-to-pound fighter today from the Philippines is not fazed by De La Hoya’s advantages in all departments. Having just annexed the 135 lb. division or lightweight title by knockout last June 28 or exactly 105 days since winning the 130 lb. or jr. lightweight title, he earned De La Hoya’s respect and nod to be his priced opponent in closing his professional career as a fighter. In doing so, De La Hoya just made the right choice in Pacquiao. A born fighter in all sense, Pacquiao is a southpaw and a quick punching “brawler”. But where he is feared most is in the speed he delivers those strong lefts that felled many fighters. And he is one who always likes to mix and fights a fast-paced fight that will suit well against De La Hoya’s style. However, to this time no word yet has come out from both camps as to the composition of the contract but both parties have agreed earlier that the two fighters meet at 147 or welterweight level.
Granting that the fight takes place as it is being scheduled to be at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas in December 6, one very visible sight from the two protagonists when they will be in the ring is in the difference of their builds. Standing 5’10” to Pacquiao’s 5’6” frame and with a longer reach, De La Hoya would have all the needed advantages he will be carrying into the fight. Since he is a natural jr. middleweight, it will not be a surprise too, if De La Hoya climbs at fight time at close to 160 pounds, that is, if he can make the contracted weight limit of 147 lb. on weigh-in time. Pacquiao on the other hand, will be lucky if he can make it at 147 pounds considering that he planned of a longer length of time than his normal training and that this will mark the first time he will be fighting at this level. But where Pacquiao will offset De La Hoya’s advantages will be in the speed and power he packs in his fists. And the best clues as to how the fight will go and come out are in their past fights.
As can be glimpsed from their past fights, De La Hoya has many times won and lost fights by close and controversial decisions. In fact, in his losses to Felix Trinidad, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., and in his second fight against Shane Mosley, this writer saw him the winner in all three, but the judges just saw them differently. In his only fight against Trinidad, one can get hints of how he fights and where he differs from Pacquiao in all aspect. When sensing that he is leading in a fight or thinks he leads in the judges’ scorecards, De La Hoya very often coast to just backpedaling or running away in the closing rounds to preserve his lead unmindful that these tactics do not impress the judges. Although he was leading against Trinidad, he backpedaled most of the last three rounds of their 12-round title fight only to find out he lost in all three judges. In this writer’s scorecard, he led by two rounds; however, his assessment of the fight was that it was not action-packed as it was expected. In short, it was a dull fight. Like that fight, his fight against Mayweather was also as dull as it was boring. So unlike him, Pacquiao doesn’t fight that dull. As his fans have followed them, no matter how lousy or poor his opponent is, Pacquiao can always make it an exciting fight that many times has scored by KOs. Since being propelled to stardom after his KO win against Barrera, he has won most of his fights by the short route, or if it’s by just decisions, it’s at least in convincing fashion. Even in his lost fight to Morales in 2005, Pacquiao gave everything he had only to lose by a unanimous decision mainly due to the ugly cut he suffered early in the fight that bothered him throughout the 12-round fight. But by his courageous performance against Morales, he redeemed it in his other fights later that established him as a world-class and a very exciting fighter.
This early, speculations that this “dream fight” will get through already run high among Filipino boxing fans. But what can derail or break down this match up is in the negotiations about money since De La Hoya is one of the protagonist and at the same the promoter and has all the options what to offer Pacquiao. As reported lately, from the 50-50 split sharing of prize money and the pay-per-view net proceeds asked earlier by Pacquiao, it has now moved down to just 60-40 but as the De La Hoya camp has made it clear, De La Hoya himself is firm in his offer of just 70-30 that perhaps stalled at this time the negotiation. However, Pacquiao has not given up yet on this as he planned of doing the negotiations himself in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, as not to stall Pacquiao’s momentum or lay him off for a while, his promoter Bob Arum is himself looking for other options, just in case, of making Pacquiao active if the transaction ever dies.
From this latest development, this writer sees only one reason why the “dream fight” negotiations broke down – De La Hoya fears of fighting Pacquiao as he doesn’t want to finish his career in a sad note of losing to a smaller man and ruining his distinction as the most multi-titled champion in the history of the sport. Besides, his stance of standing firm on his offer of just a 70-30 deal also shows his selfish motive of undermining other great fighters and just a cheap alibi in ducking Pacquiao in a fight that could be one for the ages.
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