22.03.08 – by James Slater: According to a recent article in the Philippines Daily Enquirer, in which Manny Pacquiao’s business manager, Eric Pineda was giving an interview, Pac-Man will fight “The Golden Boy” himself, Oscar De La Hoya, this November. According to Pineda, Manny will box David Diaz up at lightweight, for Diaz’ WBC 135 pound world title (as many expected) and then move up even further in weight so as to tackle De La Hoya..
This is incredible, almost unbelievable, news! Presumably, the November fight Pineda speaks of would be the “farewell” bout De La Hoya has spoken of having, thus bringing down the curtain on his great boxing career. If Oscar does indeed fight Pacquiao it will be one hell of a way to say goodbye. This is jumping the gun though. Indeed, there are so many questions regarding the taking place of a Pac-Man-De La Hoya fight it’s crazy. Firstly, how on earth would a suitable weight be chosen? I mean, just how high can Pacquaio go, and how low could De La Hoya go to meet him? What if Diaz beats Pacquiao beforehand? Would Pac-Man still box Oscar? You see how many questions there are to this potential modern day “dream fight.”
But a dream fight it would certainly be. Who wouldn’t pay to see it!? Judging by Manny Pacquiao’s fearless attitude, the Filipino dynamo would take the fight. Manny loves a challenge, and a fight with De La Hoya, one of the greatest fighters of the last 15 years or so, would certainly represent that. And how! But would Oscar take the fight? Risking losing to a much smaller man in the very last fight of his illustrious career would, perhaps, be a gamble “The Golden Boy” would opt not to roll with.
At this point, a Pac-Man Vs. De La Hoya clash is nothing more than a pipe dream for boxing fans. But should it actually happen (and stranger things certainly have in the sport of boxing) the tickets would without a doubt be absolutely red hot. All we can do is wait, and see how both men go in their next fight – with De La Hoya boxing Steve Forbes, and Pacquaio looking like he’ll go ahead with the David Diaz affair – and then see if there is any official announcement.
One final comment on a Pacquaio-De La Hoya fight before finishing this news article, though; I wonder what Juan Manuel Marquez thinks of such talk?