Posts tagged MannyPacquiao at FanHouse

Three huge boxing matches remain in 2008. Here are my quick picks in each:

Bernard Hopkins vs. Kelly Pavlik, October 18:
Hopkins has had a long and distinguished career, but at age 43 he's not quick enough to do damage to a skilled fighter who's just entering his prime like Pavlik. Pavlik will win a decision.

Joe Calzaghe vs. Roy Jones, November 8:
American fans were slow to catch on to just what a phenomenal fighter Calzaghe is. But he already beat one American legend in April with a decision over Bernard Hopkins, and he'll do it again in November with a decision over Jones.

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao, December 6:
De La Hoya's reach advantage is significant, but Pacquiao will work his way to the inside relentlessly, wear De La Hoya down with his superior speed, and eventually take the fight out of the judges' hands. Pacquiao will win a late-round TKO.

Trainer Freddie Roach prepared Oscar De La Hoya for last year's fight against Floyd Mayweather, but this time around he's training Manny Pacquiao, and he told me he feels certain that Pacquiao will beat De La Hoya when they fight on December 6:

"I don't think size wins this fight. I think speed does. Oscar was once the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and he's not anymore because he's older. When we get older our skills diminish and he's not the same fighter he once was. I'm very confident Manny Pacquiao will knock him out in this fight.

I asked Roach whether he was sure Pacquiao had the power to knock out a bigger man.

Oscar De La Hoya weighed in at 150 pounds for his last fight and has fought most of his career at 147. Manny Pacquiao weighed 135 for his last fight and has fought most of his career at under 120. So does that mean De La Hoya has an advantage in their fight on December 6, which will be fought at 147? I asked Pacquaio that today:

When I asked Pacquaio how much he weighs right now, I was surprised that he said 152 pounds. So it's not a matter of Pacquiao needing to bulk up to fight De La Hoya; it's just that he won't be cutting much weight.

Manny Pacquiao said today that he thinks Oscar De La Hoya, his opponent on December 6, has lost the speed he had in his prime. Here's what De La Hoya thinks about that:

"[Floyd] Mayweather Sr., my ex-trainer, once told me, 'The easy way to kill speed is with timing,'" De La Hoya said. "I've just got to time it. That makes perfect sense. You can be the slowest fighter out there, but if you can time that punch coming in, you can be 10 times faster than any fighter."

I'm not so sure I buy that you can be "the slowest fighter out there" and still compete with a boxer as quick as Pacquiao, but I do think De La Hoya's overall point about timing is consistent with the advice he said he got from Michael Jordan: He has to keep evolving mentally to beat a younger, faster opponent.

Manny Pacquiao is widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Oscar De La Hoya is the most popular boxer in the world. But Pacquiao made clear today that he believes De La Hoya's popularity is a vestige of his past, and that he no longer has the skills he had in his prime.

"Oscar is still a good fighter, but not like before," Pacquiao said today. "The power is still there, but not the speed. The speed I can take advantage of."

Pacquiao didn't sound like he was boasting when he said it, and he didn't sound like he was trying to denigrate De La Hoya. He just sounded like a guy who knows a lot about boxing and was asked to assess a boxer he's watched.

And I think he's basically right. The betting odds say that De La Hoya is a fairly significant favorite, but there's no doubt that Pacquiao is the quicker, more energetic fighter. De La Hoya's size advantage is great, but Pacquaio's speed advantage might be even greater.

The above photo shows a painting by Chris Guzman, a sports artist who was at the Sears Tower today for the Chicago stop on Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao's promotional tour of America.

Guzman, who is the host of the Bolo Punch Boxing Hour, told me he was inspired to create the painting "As a tribute to Oscar and Manny, because it's not often that two fighters of this caliber lace up the gloves and step in there with one another."

Judging from the buzz at the Sears Tower today, still more than two months out from the fight, De La Hoya-Pacquaio is looking like it could be the most talked-about fight in America since Mike Tyson fought Lennox Lewis.

A picture of Guzman with his painting is below.

Oscar De La Hoya, America's most popular boxer, will take on Manny Pacquiao, the world's best boxer, on December 6 in Las Vegas. And in a sign of just how big a fight this is, the hype is already starting, more than two months out.

This week De La Hoya and Pacquiao are touring America, starting today at the Statue of Liberty. Tomorrow they'll be at the Sears Tower in Chicago (I'll be there with them), and later this week they'll be at the Space Center in Houston, the Alamo in San Antonio, Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and the Whittier Boulevard Arch in Los Angeles.

The tour is a gimmick to promote the fight, but as gimmicks go, this is a great one. Associating these two boxers with the great American landmarks lends their bout a Fight of the Year feel.

The UFC has long said that it considers the Philippines to be one of its best overseas markets, and Dana White said in May that he expects the UFC to have a show in the Philippines soon.

But even knowing that going in, UFC officials seemed surprised at the reception that Chuck Liddell got when he visited the Philippines over the weekend. UFC.com reports that a crowd of 4,000 showed up to watch Liddell work out at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City, which Liddell himself didn't expect:

"I was really surprised," said the 'Iceman' of the reception he received at the third largest shopping mall in the world. "It was kinda shocking how many people actually showed up to watch me work out for an hour. It's crazy. I didn't expect it to be that big here. I thought it was a new market for us."

UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta noted that there are millions of fight fans in the Philippines, and that the great boxer Manny Pacquiao is a superstar there. It's easy to see how fans of Pacquiao's fast-paced boxing style would enjoy mixed martial arts as well.

Fertitta says UFC will likely have a show in the Philippines in 2009, and it sounds like for many fans there, it can't come soon enough.

Manny Pacquiao is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, but he'll enter the ring as an underdog when he moves up from lightweight to welterweight to fight Oscar De La Hoya on December 6.

Bodog has posted the odds on the fight, which was first reported today:

Who will win the fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao?
Oscar De La Hoya -400
Manny Pacquiao +300

How many rounds will the fight last?
Over 9 ½ Even
Under 9 ½ -135

Those odds show a clear expectation that Pacquiao will struggle to move up from 135 pounds to 147 pounds, and that De La Hoya, fighting at closer to his natural weight, should be able to finish his smaller opponent.

I'm not so sure. I think Pacquiao might just have the punching power to knock out the biggest opponent he's ever fought. I can't wait to find out.

The world's best boxer will take on the world's most popular boxer on December 6 when Manny Pacquiao steps into the ring with Oscar De La Hoya, ESPN.com is reporting.

Although neither Pacquiao's camp nor De La Hoya's camp would confirm it, they said there is a big announcement taking place tomorrow afternoon, and all indications are that both boxers have agreed to the fight.

The fight is expected to take place at 147 pounds -- three pounds lighter than De La Hoya fought at the last time he stepped into the ring, and 12 pounds heavier than Pacquiao fought at last time. Five of De La Hoya's last six fights have been at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and this one likely will be as well.

Pacquiao is widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, and De La Hoya is the most marketable boxer in the world. Although De La Hoya is past his prime, De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao will excite boxing fans like no other fight could, and is therefore great for the health of the sport. This will be the most-watched fight of the year, by far, and it will introduce the great Pacquiao to millions of American fans.