SALUD: DE LA HOYA-PACQUIAO CLOSE TO REALITY
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 19 Jul 2008
CEBU CITY -- Close Pacquiao associate Rex 'Wakee' Salud says that the previously fantasy-like pairing of the Golden Boy Oscar de la Hoya and current pound-for-pound king Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao is close to reality.
Salud, Pacquiao and party arrived in Cebu yesterday afternoon via a chopper from Bacolod City after Pacquiao's sorties to Iloilo and Bacolod to honor his promise to give aid to victims badly hit by a recent typhoon.
Salud informed that Pacquiao is leaving for the U.S. on the 24th of this month where he is going to sit down with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, trainer Freddie Roach and possibly Golden Boy people to discuss the possibility of a Dec. 6 fight with de la Hoya.
Arum, in an earlier radio interview with journalist Dennis Principe over DZSR, revealed that he had preliminary discussions with the Golden Boy people on the possibility of a De La Hoya-Pacquiao fight and that De La Hoya is looking at four names for his farewell fight on Dec. 6 and these are Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Felix Tito Trinidad, Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao. Because Mayweather has recently retired and Trinidad is hugely overweight, that leaves Cotto and Pacquiao as the remaining choices.
Cotto will be fighting the dangerous Antonio Margarito on July 26 and the result of that fight will most likely also influence De La Hoya's final choice of his Dec. 6 opponent.
Commenting on the proposed Pacquiao-Soto fight on Nov. 16, Salud said "No, we do not want that fight. What we need now are the big fights. Let Manny fight De La Hoya now and then Hatton afterwards. After that, if Manny wants to retire, then he can retire."
If the fantasy-like De La Hoya-Pacquiao fight pushes thru, the two will meet at welterweight limit of 147 lbs.
De La Hoya (39-5-0 30KOs), 35 years old, 5' 10 1/2 inches tall, a gold-medalist in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, started his professional career at super featherweight (130 lbs) but had fought at junior middleweight and middleweight (154-160 lbs) since 2001. He is the only boxer in history to have won titles in 6 different weight divisions.
Pacquiao (47-3-2 35KOs), 29 yearls old, 5' 6" tall, started his career in 1995 at light flyweight (106 lbs) and fought mostly as a flyweight (112 lbs) in his early years. He started fighting at super bantam (122 lbs) in 1999, featherweight (126 lbs) in 2003, super feather (130 lbs) in 2005 and at lightweight (135 lbs) only last month. Pacquiao is one of only nine boxers in history to have won titles in four weight divisions. He also won the Ring Magazine title, his fifth, at super feather but that title is not officially recognized.
The weight and height disparity between De La Hoya and Pacquiao were what made this fight unthinkable and unimaginable at first. But don't tell that to Freddie Roach, the revered 2-time trainer of the year who was able to transform the reckless, one-dimentional, always come forward Pacquiao to a two-handed, cerebral wrecking machine. Roach also trained De La Hoya during Oscar's fight with Mayweather last year.
?When I trained Oscar he was just having trouble pulling the trigger and he?s a little bit slow. If Stevie Forbes can hit him as easily as he did, I know Pacquiao will knock him out,? Roach told Sports Chat in an earlier interview.
?I want Manny to weigh-in 140 pounds and then at fight time he?ll be at 145 he?ll have his power and speed. I just don?t see Oscar handling Manny at this point of their careers,? Roach would say. ?Manny told me he?d love to fight Oscar and Oscar has made it public he?d love to fight Manny and I think it?s a big, big fight.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dong Secuya.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Round 12 with Mauricio Sulaiman: It´s Fightweek Fight: Canelo vs. Crawford
By Mauricio Sulaimán, Wed, 10 Sep 2025Casimero comeback next month in Kyrgyzstan?
By Nick Giongco, Wed, 10 Sep 2025Team USA Concludes Day Six of 2025 World Boxing Championships
Wed, 10 Sep 2025Andrade, Garras rule Milo marathon in Tagum
Wed, 10 Sep 2025CROCKER-DONOVAN II: INSIDE LOOK AT FIRST FACE-OFF IN BELFAST
Wed, 10 Sep 2025Former Panamanian WBA champ Jorge Lujan hospitalized
By Gabriel F. Cordero, Wed, 10 Sep 2025Southern Sports Heroes Night on Sept. 28
By Lito delos Reyes, Wed, 10 Sep 2025ABAP feels WB’s growing pains
By Joaquin Henson, Wed, 10 Sep 2025Laurente is new Philippine super featherweight champ
By Lito delos Reyes, Wed, 10 Sep 2025THE PAST WEEK IN ACTION 8 SEPTEMBER 2025: Nunez Outpoints Diaz; Iglesias Stops Shishkin; Valdez, Conlan Register Wins in Return
By Eric Armit, Tue, 09 Sep 2025Dante Kirkman Stays Undefeated Triumphing with Dominant Unanimous Decision Win
Tue, 09 Sep 2025Dream fight for Steven Sumpter vs. Undefeated Bek Nurmaganbet This Wednesday at Fontainebleau Las Vegas during ‘Canelo vs. Crawford’ Week
Tue, 09 Sep 2025Yoseline Perez and Malachi Georges Advance to Quarterfinals with Wins on Day Five of World Boxing Championships
Tue, 09 Sep 2025GM candidate Ronald Dableo's squad rules Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso Inter-Barangay Chess Team Tournament, pockets P150,000
By Marlon Bernardino, Tue, 09 Sep 2025Saggap, Manayon top Heritage Aquathlon
By Lito delos Reyes, Tue, 09 Sep 2025