By Dennis Principe
Correspondent
DE LA HOYA SOUNDS OFF POSSIBLE SHOWDOWN WITH PACQUIAO, THAT IS IF THE GOLDEN BOY SHEDS DOWN AND THE PACMAN GOES UP TO THE WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION
OSCAR de la Hoya versus Manny Pacquiao?
Hard to fathom but de la Hoya recently sounded off the possibility in an interview with the international press during the annual World Boxing Organization (WBO) convention held recently in Puerto Rico.
De la Hoya said he plans to get two to three more fights before hanging up his gloves that made him one of the top superstars in all of sports.
In stating that plan, de la Hoya said he wants to move down to the welterweight division where the weight limit is 147 lbs.
“I want to fight the best fighters. And if ever Pacquiao moves up in 147 I will be there for the challenge,” said de la Hoya.
The remark may give credence to what a few but celebrated personalities believe is a possible scenario.
Sometime last week, longtime HBO analyst Larry Merchant was quoted by American boxing writer Dan Rafael that a de la Hoya-Pacquiao fight is something boxing fans can look forward to.
“In the spectrum of the kind of fights you could have, it’s a fun event,” Merchant said in Rafael‘s story. “Manny is shorter, but he’s a left-handed puncher. Oscar would be the clear favorite to win and Manny would be the underdog, but all of their fans would have to watch it. It’s about creating an event. That’s an event.”
The 34-year-old de la Hoya lost a 12-round split decision to undefeated pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. in his last fight May of this year at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 12-round fight was for de la Hoya’s World Boxing Council (WBC) light-middleweight crown.
De la Hoya’s last fight in the welterweight division was on March 2001 where he scored a fifth-round technical knockout win over Arturo Gatti. De la Hoya has since fought in the 154-lb class though he also twice had a tryst in the middleweight category.
“That is my natural weight, although I can easily make 144,” said de la Hoya, who was also named Boxer of the Decade by the WBO.
As for his other possible foes, de la Hoya said he will just wait for the results of two major bouts scheduled to happen in the coming weeks.
This weekend at the Madison Square Garden in New York, two-time de la Hoya conqueror Sugar Shane Mosley will battle undefeated Puerto Rican sensation Miguel Cotto.
Another de la Hoya defeater and current pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. will trade leathers with undefeated British phenom Ricky Hatton on December 8 at the MGM Grand.
De la Hoya wants to fight in May 2008 and that he will make an announcement early next year regarding his next rival.
Pacquiao, the acknowledged superstar in the super-featherweight territory, is still savoring his latest conquest, a 12-round unanimous decision win over Marco Antonio Barrera in a rematch early last month at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
The celebrated Filipino boxing sensation is currently enrolled at the Notre Dame University in General Santos City where he is taking up a business course.
Pacquiao, who turns 29 next month, is still awaiting word from his American promoters regarding his next challenger. Ironically, de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions outfit copartners with Top Rank Inc. in promoting Pacquiao, a setup that was arrived at that ended a celebrated court battle last July.
Among those being considered as Pacquiao’s foe in a March 2008 HBO playdate are super-featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, the winner of the Joan Guzman-Humberto Soto bout set on November 17, and triple lightweight belt holder Juan Diaz and WBC 135-lb ruler David Diaz.
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