Pacquiao defeats De La Hoya

It's over and it has been done by the pound-for-pound king of boxing!

Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao had shocked the whole world once again by retiring via TKO the legendary Oscar "Golden Boy" De La Hoya in the 8th round of their 'The Dream Match' event in Las Vegas. The Pacman and the Golden Boy both trained hard for the fight but there could only be one winner this time. Pacquiao had dominated all the first seven rounds until De La Hoya call it quits in the 8th.

Who will be the next for Manny? Will it be Ricky Hatton, or will Floyd Mayweather decide to go back in the ring?

Pacquiao-De La Hoya, the $100M fight

It's on!!!

The Golden Boy will fight the boxing's pound-for-pound king, the Pacman, in an event that could be the biggest boxing match this year.

It will be De La Hoya’s farewell fight and Pacquiao’s biggest ever.

The news:

Barring last-minute hitches, Oscar De La Hoya, boxing’s box office superstar in the past decade, will take on Manny Pacquiao, boxing’s hottest commodity today, in what promises to be a $100-million welterweight bout on Dec. 6 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“I have agreed in principle to accept the Dec. 6 fight against Oscar De La Hoya. This will be the toughest test in my boxing career because of the reach and height advantage of my esteemed opponent, aside from his great boxing skills,” Pacquiao said.

“This fight, however, will not be a walk in the park for Oscar De La Hoya. The boxing fans will see the same fire and intensity they have witnessed in my previous fights.”

Pacquiao, currently the World Boxing Council’s lightweight king, brimmed with confidence.

“I will frustrate the desire of Oscar De La Hoya to avenge the defeats of the great Mexican boxers who lost to me,” the Filipino ring idol said. “I am dedicating this forthcoming fight to my countrymen and all the boxing fans all over the world.”

“Don’t worry,” Pacquiao said with a laugh over the phone when asked what he thought of his opponent, an American of Mexican descent, who is also known as boxing’s “Golden Boy.”

At 5-foot-10 inches, De La Hoya stands four inches taller than Pacquiao and has a 6-inch reach advantage over the Filipino.

But at 29, Pacquiao is six years younger.

Money talks

The AP’s sources said De La Hoya’s long-stalled talks with Pacquiao were recently revived when the two sides found an acceptable way to split the possible $100 million in revenue from what’s certain to be boxing’s most lucrative fight since De La Hoya’s split-decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year.

The negotiations hit a snag last week.

The fighters’ camps argued over the split of the purse, with De La Hoya angling for 70 percent while Pacquiao pursued a 40-percent cut. The expected fight receipts would include a projected 2-million-plus pay-per-view buys, over which the two camps also reportedly wrangled.

How the impasse was resolved wasn’t immediately clear, but Inquirer sources said both camps had either agreed on a 65-35 deal, or on a 70-30 split, which De La Hoya had dangled to include a side deal that would sweeten the pot for the Filipino.

$15M for Pacquiao

It hasn’t been an easy match to make. Both boxers must make physical sacrifices for the 66.5-kilogram (147-pound) bout, with De La Hoya dropping down to welterweight for the first time in seven years while Pacquiao bulks up to the heaviest weight of his career by far.

At any rate, observers believe the fight could easily rival the blockbuster encounter between De La Hoya and Mayweather last year which reportedly grossed $120 million, including the pay-per-view buys which generated a record $2.4 million.

If the fight earns $100 million, Pacquiao stands to get his biggest paycheck ever—estimated at $15 million.

Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach also said a victory would open the floodgates for even bigger fights for the Filipino icon.

The two boxers earlier agreed to fight at a catch weight of 147 pounds and use eight-ounce gloves.

Size advantage

De La Hoya would be banking on his size but he will have to shed pounds and thus give up some strength to make the 147-pound weight. The 1992 Barcelona Olympic lightweight gold medalist fought heaviest at 160 lb against Felix Sturm for the WBO middleweight title.

The last time De La Hoya (39-5-0, 30 KOs) fought as a welterweight was in 2001. In his last fight, against Steve Forbes last May, he weighed in at 150 lb but entered the ring at 154 lb.

De La Hoya has won six titles in six different weight classes and has taken on practically every fighter who has donned the mythical best pound-for-pound crown.

However, he lost to the four biggest names he has encountered—Shane Mosley twice, Felix Trinidad, Bernard Hopkins and Mayweather Jr.

Roach said speed and youth would be the weapons of Pacquiao (47-3-2, 35 KOs), who started his career at 106 lb. He has won four titles in four different categories, snatching the lightweight title from David Diaz last June.

Last fight

De La Hoya repeatedly has said he won’t fight again after this year.

After a proposed rematch with Mayweather in September was scuttled by Mayweather’s retirement, De La Hoya has struggled to find a suitable opponent for his final bout before turning his full attention to his burgeoning promotions company and other business interests.

De La Hoya now thinks he has his man in Pacquiao, widely considered the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter. Pacquiao hasn’t fought since stopping Diaz in his first fight as a lightweight.

Pacquiao will have to move up to welterweight to fight De La Hoya, a surprising weight surge for a fighter who began his career as a minimum weight boxer.

Hand speed

Roach has said his fighter won’t have trouble maintaining his peerless hand speed at that weight, since Pacquiao routinely puts on 4 kilos (10 pounds) or more in the 24 hours between weighing in for his bouts and actually stepping in the ring.

De La Hoya beat Forbes by unanimous decision in his most recent fight, but has won just three of his six bouts over the past five years.

He considered Miguel Cotto and Sergio Mora for his farewell fight, but realized the most lucrative challenge would be Pacquiao, the Filipino hero who has won eight straight fights since early 2005.


Credits to Inquirer.

No go for Pacquiao-De La Hoya fight.

The Pacman has said it; the possible fight between him and the Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya is out.

Manny Pacquiao has decided to stay at lightweight and defend his WBC 135-lb crown after turning down an offer by Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) for a Dec. 6 fight in Las Vegas, lawyer Franklin Gacal said in a statement released early Thursday morning. "I have been informed that Oscar De La Hoya is firm with the 70-30 revenue sharing and won't budge in to the 60-40 split we have counter-offered. I find the offer of GBP unconscionable hence unacceptable. It would have been an honor to fight De La Hoya on his last fight capping a very illustrious boxing career but under the circumstances, the option left is to move on. I have already made specific instructions to my lawyer to start negotiating with Bob Arum for my next fight with any possible opponent at 135 lbs," said Pacquiao. Gacal said what Pacquiao wanted was a fair share of the mega fight and apparently, Oscar De La Hoya is making an offer that he knows is unacceptable," Gacal told fightnews.com.It is certain that Pacquiao will face Humberto Soto of Mexico sometime in November in Las Vegas.


Credits to Fightnews.

The TV, the Radio, and the Pacman!

The best pound-for-pound fighter has won again!

Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao dethroned David Diaz via 9th round KO in their WBC Lightweight title fight. This would be Pacquiao's fourth weight division world title and that makes him the first asian to do so. I'm sure all Pacquiao's fans are happy and rejoicing for the victory of the great boxer. Pacquiao had again a display of a brilliant fight with quickness and power. The Pacman was much quicker and had the power as he outpunched and outboxed the naturally bigger David Diaz. The victory of Manny is also a victory for the entire Philippines.

Yesterday, me and my girlfriend agreed to buy a new TV for the display of the old one that we are using isn't already clear. So we went to the appliance department store of a mall near us and we did bought a slim-flat LCD-designed television. We had set it up last night and just by using antenna we had a clear display of the two local channels; GMA and ABS-CBN. "Wow, we can watch the boxing tommorow clearly!"

This morning we were waiting for GMA's feed of the Lethal Combination boxing event in Las Vegas hoping that it would start before I will go to work. To my dismay, as usual, this would be again a very delayed telecast of the event. I departed to work without even having a glance on any of the undercard fights. Arrgghh!

As I step out of the building I noticed the security guard busy listening to his transistor radio. I then knew from him that the broadcast is live, real time, about what's going on in Mandalay Bay. It was already Humberto Soto and Francisco Lorenzo squaring-off for the interim version of Manny Pacquiao's WBC 130lb belt. Oh it was a good thing I brought my cellphone capable of FM radio transmission. "I will just listen to the fight when I'm in the office," i said to myself as I was on the way.

I arrived here in the office and setup my computer and afterwards opened the radio. Soto was disqualified?! Another dirty fight! I asked my office mate to turn on the Bravia (Cool!) and change the channel to Solar Sports. The feed is just about to start?! On the radio they're already preparing for the main event. Whatta!

So me and my colleagues decided to listen to the radio instead, back to basics mehn! Pacquiao was leading the scorecards until round 9 came. Pacquiao floored Diaz! Pacquiao floored Diaz! It's all over! Everybody's jumping and shouting here in the office. The Pacman did it again! Well I can say that the radio is still usefull. A big thanks also the Fightnews.com for their fast and near to real-time updates.

Grab a beer and shout, "Mabuhay si Pacquiao!"

De La Hoya changes fight date!

Boxing superstar Oscar De La Hoya has changed his September 20 fight date and will instead fight on the 6th of December against an opponent to be named. The venue of the match will either be in Las Vegas or Los Angeles. Oscar's opponent supposed to be is Floyd Mayweather in a reprise of the most lucrative bout in boxing history, but Mayweather scuttled those plans by abruptly retiring.

Final Fight for the Golden Boy

One last fight! One, not two or more, for Oscar De La Hoya before hanging his gloves in the closet of fame and greatness. "This is my final year and I'm doing one fight," the Golden Boy said.

Well, I hope Oscar will win that last fight; but it's not winning that will matter most for that last battle it's his legacy. He is a boxing superstar. He is a great fighter. He is one of the best persona in the boxing industry.