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If this actually happens, De la Hoya will fight 8 rounds, take his money and run. Seriously, I went to the De la hoya vs Hopkins fight a few years ago and it was the biggest waste of money ever.
Oscar De La Hoya, boxing's biggest star, will announce Thursday that he will meet pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao on Dec. 6, two sources close to the fight told ESPN.com.
Top Rank's Bob Arum, whose company promotes Pacquiao, would not confirm a deal was in place for what would be the year's biggest fight, but he did tell ESPN.com that De La Hoya would host a media teleconference at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday to announce his opponent.
"We'll know who is he is fighting tomorrow," Arum said Wednesday from Youngstown, Ohio, where he was attending a promotional event for the Kelly Pavlik-Bernard Hopkins fight that he is co-promoting with De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions. "I made a commitment that I wouldn't say anything and that tomorrow there would be an announcement. I'm not allowed to make any comments. Everything will be clear on Thursday."
Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer would not confirm the deal, either, but sounded positive when asked about it.
"Last week the deal was 90 percent dead, but we were able to revive it. The fact that it has been so quiet is a good sign," Schaefer said from Mexico, where he was traveling on business with De La Hoya. "It's been a lot of back and forth and skillful negotiating and to try to get each side to soften their stance. If the fight was Arum versus Schaefer, it would have been made awhile ago."
Schaefer dismissed reports this week that welterweight leholder Paul Williams was under serious consideration to meet De La Hoya. Schaefer said that although Williams' name was thrown out during an internal meeting, it was quickly dismissed, and no contact was ever made between the De La Hoya and Williams camps. Williams promoter Dan Goossen confirmed that as well.
De La Hoya (39-5, 30 KOs), who has repeatedly said the December fight would be the last bout of his storied career in which he's won world les in six weight divisions, has been in talks with Pacquiao (47-3-2, 35 KOs) for weeks. But negotiations got bogged down when the sides could not come to an agreement on how to split the revenue, which is expected to exceed more than $100 million.
De La Hoya stood firm for weeks on a 70-30 split in his favor; Pacquiao was demanding a 40 percent slice of the pie.
The rest of the major issues, from the maximum weight to the size of the gloves, were agreed upon, with Pacquiao getting his way on a 147-pound weight limit and 8-ounce gloves.
The percentage split that De La Hoya and Pacquiao have apparently agreed to is unclear.
Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer and one of De La Hoya's former trainers, has been an outspoken advocate of the fight, going so far as to say he would train Pacquiao for free because he was so confident he would win.
Roach told ESPN.com on Wednesday that Pacquiao, whom he hadn't spoken to much recently, left him two voice mails at about 7 a.m. ET.
"He left me the messages and at the end of one of them, he said, 'Thanks for all your help.' I read that as the fight is done," Roach said.
Pacquiao, a lightweight leholder who has won belts in five weight classes and is a national icon in the Philippines, would move up to welterweight for the showdown with De La Hoya.
The fight is expected to take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, where De La Hoya has fought five of his past six bouts and seven of his past 10.
Dan Rafael is ESPN.com's boxing writer.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/box...ory?id=3555960
If this actually happens, De la Hoya will fight 8 rounds, take his money and run. Seriously, I went to the De la hoya vs Hopkins fight a few years ago and it was the biggest waste of money ever.
I actually saw De La Hoya's last fight against Forbes... and he looked pretty quick and strong...
It obviously went his way most of the rounds, but I guess he used that match to check himself.....
I think it'll be a good fight.
he'll move up again? this is not good news to me. I think his latest weight is already is good enough. I'm not comfortable with it. Well, I'm no expert .Pacquiao, a lightweight leholder who has won belts in five weight classes and is a national icon in the Philippines, would move up to welterweight for the showdown with De La Hoya.
But I will surely be one-in-a-lifetime-bout to watch. I can't wait.
DE LA HOYA WANTS REVENGE
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 28 Aug 2008
http://philboxing.com/news/story-18559.html
“The Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer and vice president and international matchmaker Eric Gomez were all in Mexico City when we contacted their Los Angeles Office early Wednesday morning.
They are scheduled to return Friday following a press conference in which Golden Boy Promotions and HBO presented : Next Generation Boxing with the first big show scheduled in Monterrey on September 20.
Well-known and widely-respected boxing writer and television reporter James Blears was at the press conference and told www.insidesports.ph that as the in-fighting drags on regarding the revenue split for a fight against Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao, De La Hoya stressed he’d love to pay Pacquiao back, big time, f or his wrecking of a roster of Mexican fighters including legends Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik “El Terrible” Morales.
Blears said De La Hoya and his team didn’t pull any punches. He quoted De La Hoya as saying “I would love to get revenge for all Mexicans who’ve fought against Manny. If you ask me that would be my choice, because he’s considered pound for pound champion of the world, and we can meet half ways, and make a big fight out of it. Manny holds that mythical le now, so all right prove it! He’s exciting, he’s strong, he’s fast. I believe the odds came out at two to one, so why not?”
When asked whether he thought Pacquiao was turning down a golden opportunity Oscar responded lightning fast: “Oh absolutely. It’s a huge opportunity and not only monetarily wise, but exposure, because the whole world will be watching this fight.“
De La Hoya repeated what he told www.insidesports.ph some weeks ago about having no problem making the stipulated weight of 147 pounds for the Las Vegas showdown set for December 6 should it push through. He said “ I can make one forty seven with no problem. I went up six weight classes, so it’s not impossible. Roy Jones went up to heavyweight and he won the le. So in the history of boxing, it’s been proven that the smaller guy jumps up three, four or five weight classes and can be successful, so this wouldn’t be the first.”
De La Hoya and his team was also clearly peeved with Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach who had told us on the dzSR Sports Radio show “Sports Chat” hosted by Dennis Principe that De La Hoya couldn’t pull the trigger, was slow and would get knocked out by the faster, younger and stronger Pacquiao.
What upset De La Hoya was that Roach who prepared him for the Floyd Mayweather Jr fight made such public statements on Philippine radio.
Blears noted Oscar reflected with unsmiling irritation: “Freddie Roach is already talking that I can’t pull the trigger. Well if this fight happens, you watch! I’ll pull the trigger!”
After the conference broke up, Golden Boy Vice President and Matchmaker Eric Gomez confided to Blears: “It was something that Oscar took personally, and it was something that hurt him because he left Freddie on good terms after Freddie helped him for the fight with Mayweather, and to be coming from a guy like Freddie, who he considers a friend it was hurtful. Oscar’s going to try to prove him wrong so let’s see!”
Getting back to the money Eric pursed his lips and stated: “The truth is in the numbers. Oscar should be getting the lion’s share. The most Manny’s ever made is four times less than what Oscar’s made in his last five fights average. So you really can’t compare apples and oranges, and Manny has to understand that. This is a great opportunity for Manny. If he really wants a worldwide event where he’s going to get exposure from all over the world, he’s got to take this fight. The ball is on his side of the court and he’s got to make it move!”
Referring to The Trigger Syndrome, Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer ruefully grinned: “I think that was a bit disrespectful from Freddie Roach, but if this fight happens, they will be able to see how Oscar’s still able to pull the trigger.”
And Richard pointed out that Manny seems to be banking on percentages too much. He explained: “I think that’s very dangerous, but sometimes people let their ego get in the way, and they loose the perspective.
“The fact is that in a fight Manny Pacquiao makes two and a half, three or three and a half million dollars. If he goes in against say Juan Manuel Marquez or Erik Morales, maybe he makes four and half or five million dollars….ok. So now if he goes and fights Oscar, he’s guaranteed ten million dollars and can potentially make fifteen, sixteen or more, depending on how the pay per view numbers are, under that seventy- thirty deal. It’s a little bit difficult to understand why somebody would turn that down? It certainly isn’t because of money, because he makes three or four times more. So I don’t know, maybe he’s scared fighting Oscar? There must be a reason why he hasn’t said YES.”
If there’s no opportunity to pull the trigger against Manny, then there’s a Roy waiting in the wings. Richard confided: “I got a call in the last couple of days from Roy Jones. If he wins against Calzaghe, he’s interested. Then of course you have Sergio Mora, and Sugar Shane Mosley who would love to have another opportunity to fight Oscar, I don’t know how long Floyd Mayweather’s going to stay in retirement…and Margarito…So theres’ a long list.”
But coming back to Oscar’s personal and public preference, Richard explained: “I think Oscar feels pretty passionate about seeing if he can get a Pacquiao fight done, because as he said, it’s personal for him, as Manny has destroyed most of the Mexican greats of our generation, and now he (Oscar) feels it stops with him.
“I’m continuing conversations with Bob Arum, and we’ll see where it’ll lead. We hope that maybe as early as Thursday, we might have an announcement.”
Pacquiao most recently fought at 135 and will have to jump 2 weight classes to get to 147. Even though he gets the 8 oz gloves instead of the 10 oz that Oscar wanted, I just don't see Pacquiao winning this one. A lot can happen between now and December and this one will be tough to call, but as of right now that's a of a lot of weight to jump and still take power for a dude as small framed as Pacquiao.
@ Oscar for talking big now that he's fighting the smaller guy after backing off his statements to take on the winner of Cotto - Margarito. Margarito scared the out of him with that performance.
Pac will probably weigh in at 143.
He's still fighting a bigger guy who has to come down to 147 from his last fight at 150. I think Oscar keeps his speed and power while Manny's power doesn't go up two levels.
Pacquiao to move up two weight classes to fight De La Hoya
The notion of the fight began in October 2007 merely as a fantasy in the fertile mind of HBO broadcaster Larry Merchant. On Thursday it became reality.
After weeks of on and off negotiations, Oscar De La Hoya, boxing's most bankable superstar, and Manny Pacquiao, the pound-for-pound king, jointly announced on a media teleconference that had agreed to meet Dec. 6 in an HBO PPV fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for what undoubtedly will be the biggest fight of 2008.
It is likely to generate more than $100 million and Lee Samuels, spokesman for Pacquiao promoter Top Rank, said within minutes of the official announcement that the telephone lines at its Las Vegas office were flooded with ticket requests, even though tickets have not yet been priced and are not available.
The fight will take place at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds, meaning Pacquiao (47-3-2, 35 KOs), a five-division champion who holds a 135-pound lightweight belt, will move up two weight classes. De La Hoya (39-5, 30 KOs), a six-division champion, will come down to 147, a weight he has not fought at since 2001. De La Hoya, primarily a 154-pound junior middleweight in recent years, came down to 150 for his May points victory against Steve Forbes.
"Manny Pacquiao is considered the best fighter in boxing today and I always want to fight the best," De La Hoya said. "I am glad we were able to make this fight happen because while Pacquiao is at the pinnacle of his success and has defeated all of the top fighters he has faced, I am going to show the world that it stops with me. Dec. 6 can't get here soon enough."
Said Pacquiao, the icon of his native Philippines, "This is my greatest challenge. When I take that walk to the ring to fight Oscar, I will carry all the people of the Philippines -- the entire country -- on my shoulders. I promise I will fight with all of my heart and that I will give everything I have. Like my trainer Freddie Roach says, I have what it takes to win the biggest fight of my life."
After a September rematch with Floyd Mayweather was scrapped when Mayweather surprisingly retired, De La Hoya began hunting for a December opponent. With Merchant's idea in De La Hoya's head, Pacquiao emerged as a possibility. The leader, however, was Miguel Cotto, but he lost his welterweight le to Antonio Margarito in July.
Even though De La Hoya considered junior middleweight leholder Sergio Mora, Pacquiao remained the biggest name available after turning in a dominant knockout performance to win a lightweight belt from David Diaz in June.
"There was only one fight which truly got people talking, some with excitement, some with skepticism," Richard Schaefer, CEO of De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, said of De La Hoya-Pacquiao. "It's not just a fight. It's truly an event. It transcends the sport in a way I have never seen before, including Oscar's fight with Mayweather. This is a fight between superstars who have captured the imagination of their people and beyond, the two most popular fighters in the world. & It's a dream matchup. It's this kind of event that will have boxing on the front pages. The world will be talking. [Top Rank's] Bob Arum and I had our work cut out for ourselves on this one, but we did it."
MGM Grand oddsmakers opened the fight surprisingly close with De La Hoya as an 8-to-5 favorite.
De La Hoya was also motivated to make the fight because he was irritated by the unflattering comments made by Roach, his former trainer and Pacquiao's longtime trainer, in which Roach said De La Hoya, at 35, was no longer able to "pull the trigger."
"When people started talking, when people started saying Manny can beat me and Freddie started talking, it started to become a challenge," he said. "These are the kind of events that get me fired up."
He said he had never thought of Pacquiao as a possible opponent until Merchant floated the idea in an ESPN.com blog.
"When a certain person [Merchant] in the boxing industry, who is a boxing expert, mentioned the possibility last year of me fighting Pacquiao, it stuck in my head," De La Hoya said. "It kept on lingering in my head. I kept thinking about it over the months. To this day, I say to myself, 'Can I really fight Manny Pacquiao and beat the pound-for-pound champion?'
"I am older, I'm bigger and he's younger and the pound-for-pound champion. But when people started saying, 'Manny can beat you, Manny can knock you out' and Freddie Roach started saying, 'Oscar can't pull the trigger any more,' it started to become a challenge to me. And now, it is very personal, especially when Manny Pacquiao beats all the legendary Mexican fighters. To me, it's a challenge, especially because people are talking that Manny Pacquiao can beat me. We'll see Dec. 6."
Indeed Pacquiao has feasted on the elite Mexican fighters in recent years, including victories against Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez. But they are all much smaller than De La Hoya.
Besides the weight factor, De La Hoya, who is 5-foot-10, has about a four-inch height advantage on Pacquiao. But both downplayed the size difference.
"The size difference won't be a big deal to me or Manny," De La Hoya said. "I understand the relentless style Manny has. For me, as a 35-year-old fighter it really is a big challenge to me. I felt challenged, especially from an expert trainer who trained me and trains Manny. He knows my style and knows Manny. If he thinks I cant pull the trigger, we'll see Dec. 6.
"I think a lot of people will be very surprised when we are standing next to each other. Size won't be that much of a difference. It won't be like Roy Jones and John Ruiz."
Said Pacquiao, who debuted at 106 pounds, "I know everybody thinks that this fight is going to be a difficult fight for me and some people say it's a very easy fight for Oscar. But you know what? I always do my job in the ring and do my best to win the fight. I can beat De La Hoya. I saw his last performance and I'm faster and stronger than him and I am younger. I think the point is my speed is going to be effective in this fight. De La Hoya has an advantage in height but I believe I am stronger than him, so it's going to be a great fight."
The negotiations went on for weeks between Arum and Schaefer. Even after all of the various issues were settled, one remained: How would the fighters split the revenue? De La Hoya had insisted on a 70-30 split in his favor while Pacquiao wanted 40 percent. But in the past few days, and with time running out to assure such a major fight of the necessary time to promote it, the fighters finally agreed to budge, although they would not reveal the specific split.
"Manny has asked me not to talk about numbers or percentages," Arum said. "Richard and I will confer about whether we'll make a statement on that."
Said Schaefer, "The fact is, each fighter wanted the fight and each looks at is a challenge. Each had to give a little bit and we were able to make the fight."
By all indications, it's going to be a big one. HBO likely will produce a "24/7" reality series following the buildup to the fight. De La Hoya is the all-time pay-per-view champion while Pacquiao's PPV numbers have been strong in his biggest fights.
"It is important for boxing that at least once a year there is a matchup which truly transcends the sport, which captures the imagination of sports fans everywhere, and which has everyone buzzing," HBO PPV chief Mark Taffet said. "De La Hoya-Pacquiao is that matchup for 2008. It is a true megafight which people will be talking about for years to come."
Dan Rafael covers boxing for ESPN.com.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/box...ory?id=3558298
Finally!
Hopefully, "Pacman" can reach the ideal weight within the remaining 3 months.
latest news about this match..
Pacquiao plans to retire in 2009
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage...StoryId=129693
Mexicans Will Support Manny Pacquiao (huh???).
http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=15624
Chavez is a little crazy and never really liked De La Hoya since that historical win against him....latest news about this match..
Pacquiao plans to retire in 2009
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage...StoryId=129693
Mexicans Will Support Manny Pacquiao (huh???).
http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=15624
He also wants Oscar to fight his son...
and to be honest his son is not there yet, but he has a big head and think it can get done
Whatever the outcome with Manny's battle against DLH, I still think he's too young to retire from this sport.
Although the money he gets from this fight will be more than enough for him to contemplate retirement. Add politics to the mix and the temptation will be too much to resist.
I always thought he was only in Boxing for the money, and because he was a "Hero" for his country...
I never really thought he loved the sport
Let's go Pacquiao. that fake ass Mexican.
A good number of boxers do come from poor communities. Can't blame them for trying to make the most out of their bodies while they still can.
But I guess, fame and fortune can bring out the best, and the worst, out of anyone.
Paquiao will win this one!!! Then when my boy Mayorga beats Suger Shane Mosley, he will call out De La Hoya and get his revenge. He will have to wait a bit because his fight is a few months before De La Hoya's fight. But he will get his revenge!!!!
With his popularity growing and HBO, Top Rank, etc. making money out of his fights Manny earns his rights to take a share of the fortune to negotiate for what is due him. But fattening his wallet thru' boxing is not just what motivates him to become a boxer. Ok partly because of his country. But Pacquiao also loves the sport. The passion began since he was just a kid. While growing up his daily workouts includes punching a body of a coconut tree at the back of his house in the province. Though he never really imagined he'd be a popular professional boxer later in his life. He ran out of his home in the province because his mother never really approved of his passion and did odd jobs to survive the city life of Manila. He once worked as a construction worker, a tailor, and when he has spare time hanged out with his friends at an old boxing practice facility nearby which later gave him the chance to compete in amateur boxing.
And the rest his history.
To this day his mother who had forgiven him for running away from home but only after he won over Barrera in San Antonio, STILL never has the guts to watch his fights and continue to beg him to stop. The last time he fought (vs. Marquez), she was brought to the hospital due to so much tension, and then when Manny did fight against Diaz she fainted right after the fight.
He's close to his mother. So if there's one person who can stop him from boxing again it's his mother.
I have the feeling he's retiring in about 2-3 yrs that's why he's making these last fights of his money earning
:wake-up
Dude are you serious? Mayorga is shot, DLH kicked his ass and Mosley is gonna kick his ass.
Manny will be too quick for DLH. I can see Manny winning by unanimous decision. Oh, and I couldn't go without signing in to this thread. Lol!!
I used to be one of the suckers that paid for this . Eventually you all will learn your lesson 2
You can either catch a free viewing link on the internet or you can go to a local sports bar and chill with some friends watching it at no charge. The only time I ever order it is if I have several people coming over at $5 to $10 a pop to bar-b-que and drink beer. If you're too cheap to do that, I don't know what to tell you.
Thats funny. You charge ur friends to come to ur house to eat,drink and watch tv and you imply I am cheap. I pay the pay per view and have been disapointed just about everytime to the point I will not even pay 5 bucks to see that garbage anymore.
I dont charge anyone. My friends and I are just sensible enough to offer to chip in and not be a free loading ass.
I've seen some damn good boxing matches lately, but there's always the chance for a dud. That's life, it's full of risk. If you just dont like boxing, then dont watch, STFU, and keep your whiny ass judgements to yourself.
Meow!!!!!!!!!!! Keep my judgements to myself............Just like you???
"Thats life, its full of risk"...LOL We our talking about a pay per view event....You have no clue how gay you are being now. And of course you drop the old shut the up line.
Don't be so sensitive. No need to go after a stranger on the web. I gave my opinion and you result to name calling because you don't like it. Whatever gets u through the day.
FYI. I would never invite friends over and accept 5 bucks from them. Thats silly cheap. You should call everyone of them right now to say sorry. "sensible" No thats cheap.
Last edited by jack sommerset; 09-13-2008 at 05:11 PM.
you've never done that? we do it all the time. just pitch in 5 or 10 bucks, and chill. have some carne asada and all that. do you expect you're whole family to watch it by themselves and each pay 50 bucks?
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