ARUM SAYS DE LA HOYA WILL MAKE THE WEIGHT EASILY
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 11 Sep 2008
Even before the official promotional tour launching the ?Dream Match? between Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao and ?The Golden Boy? Oscar De La Hoya gets underway there are several twists and turns in the storylines.
Initially, De La Hoya told www.insidesport.ph in an exclusive overseas telephone conversation some weeks ago that he wouldn?t have problems making the stipulated 147 pound limit for his December 6 showdown against Pacquiao.
The other day he was quoted as saying by the US media that making the weight will be a struggle.
Now, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum tells www.insidesports.ph, Manila Standard and Viva Sports that somebody whom he really respects called him to say that he had seen De La Hoya during the fights in Houston , Texas last Saturday and said ?Oscar is real thin and he hasn?t seen Oscar this thin in years.?
Arum said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schafer told him that ?Oscar is now, now before training, at 149 pounds.?
Arum said it was not a question of saving money since there was a clause inserted in their contract that De La Hoya would pay Pacquiao $3 million for every pound or fraction thereof over the 147 pound limit.
He said ?as a sportsman if Oscar says he?s going to make 147 , he?s going to make 147? and insisted that ?he wont struggle. He is 149 right now and all he has to do is dehydrate for a day and he?s 147.?
Arum said its going to be ?a great fight, a really interesting fight? even as he pursued the line about ?how many Mexicans were pulling for Manny.?
Arum also said he was looking to put WBO super bantamweight champion Juabn Manuel Lopez on the undercard where former title challenger Rey ?Boom Boom? Bautista is also scheduled to fight. However, Golden Boy Promotions has made it clear that Bautista won?t be involved in a title fight at this stage and certainly not against Lopez.
Arum said Lopez ?is going to be a big, big star.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 13: JOE FRAZIER’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AS AN AMATEUR FIGHTER
By Maloney L. Samaco, Mon, 15 Sep 2025A New King, A New Challenger: Turki Alalshikh Proposes Crawford-Benavidez While Canelo Alvarez Faces Defeat with Humility
By Dong Secuya, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Highly Questionable Title Eliminator
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Yoseline Perez Earns Silver Medal at Inaugural World Boxing Championships
Mon, 15 Sep 202521-year-old Filipino wins at Germany rapid chess tournament
By Marlon Bernardino, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Nagoya Nightmare: Naoya Inoue Notches One-Sided Decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev
Mon, 15 Sep 2025Inoue’s Philippine Connection: Which Pinoy Super Bantamweight Could Challenge “The Monster?”
By Carlos Costa, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Yoseline Perez Advances to the Finals at the World Boxing Championships Perez Set to Face Chinese Taipei’s Hsiao-Wen Huang for 54-Kilogram World Title
Mon, 15 Sep 2025Canelo Gets Outboxed, Loses Undisputed Title to Crawford
By Carlos Costa, Sun, 14 Sep 2025A Masterpiece of Boxing: Terence Crawford Dethrones Canelo Alvarez in Historic Showdown
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025LEWIS CROCKER IS CROWNED THE NEW IBF WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
Sun, 14 Sep 2025Battle of Undefeated: Callum Walsh Vanquishes Fernando Vargas Jr.
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Undercard Inferno: Mbilli and Martinez Deliver a Super Middleweight War Ending in a Thrilling Draw
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Crawford to defy odds?
By Joaquin Henson, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Clash of Titans: The Final Predictions for Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025