By P.H. Burbridge (A voice in the crowd) It’s absolutely ridiculous that Oscar De La Hoya is considering Manny Pacquiao as his final ring opponent! Is this supposed to be Oscar’s “gift” to the fight fans who have made him one of the RICHEST sportsmen ever? If it is, then keep it Oscar because we want to see elite fighters who are evenly matched leaving it in the ring not a good big guy walking down a good small guy. You don’t claim greatness by fighting a guy who is 20 pounds lighter then you unless you’re a heavyweight and your opponent is a prime Roy Jones Jr. If you’re a light middleweight and you’re calling out a “LIGHTWEIGHT” who started his career as a FLYWEIGHT then you’re RIPPING US OFF. Spare us of all the hype and don’t ask us to “suspend” reality so you can make another 25 million dollars!
Enough is enough! Anyone who thinks Manny Pacquiao can stand up to a “real” De La Hoya left hook is kidding themselves. You want proof watch the 2nd round of the second Juan Manuel Marquez fight where Manny was buzzed by a grazing hook and suddenly slammed it in to reverse. So, now that plans for a December showdown seem to be serious I have to raise my hand for hardcore fight fans around the world and shout “this fight’s a JOKE!
If this is the best Oscar can do then maybe we’ve given him too much credit all along. When this potential “Super fight” started popping up on the various boxing websites and Freddie Roach said publicly that he felt that Manny could and would beat De La Hoya if they ever met I didn’t take it seriously. Freddie even went so far as to say that Pacquiao would likely “knock De La Hoya out”! I laughed and attributed all that nonsense to Roach trying to set the stage for a possible monster payday for Manny and HIMSELF. I certainly didn’t think De La Hoya would SERIOUSLY consider it. But, apparently he’s desperate.
Freddie Roach KNOWS there’s no chance that Manny could hurt De La Hoya yet he persists with these ridiculous claims as if he has some “insider” knowledge. Let’s be frank here if Freddie had that kind of insight why didn’t he do a better job of training Oscar for Mayweather? If he was such a great tactician and was capable of breaking down a fighter’s style to capitalize on their weaknesses, why did Oscar loose his jab after the 7th round of that fight when it was working so well early and why didn’t Freddie make the necessary adjustments in the corner? After all, that was the biggest fight he’s ever been involved in and his “A” game should have been on full display but clearly he didn’t have any answers and his timid in corner pleas for Oscar to do more were pathetic. Leading up to the Mayweather fight Roach openly quipped that they would go to plan “B, C and D” if “A” wasn’t working but you can watch that fight a hundred times and you’ll see that NO adjustments were made by De La Hoya and Roach’s advice lacked any direct or any sustained tactical suggestion. Bottom line Roach planned it one way and it didn’t come close to working. If ever De La Hoya needed Mayweather Sr that was the fight. Why Oscar didn’t pony up that 2 million dollar asking price to get Floyd Sr into camp is beyond me. Considering Oscar’s bank roll and his take for that fight 2 million dollars doesn’t seem like a lot of money. What did Oscar think Floyd Sr would do? Come in and sabotage his camp so that Floyd Jr could win? Floyd Sr is a professional and would have come in and done his job. Floyd Sr’s not going to ruin his reputation for a Son who openly treats him with such disrespect. Take a look at what’s been going on and more importantly what’s not been going on between those two since that fight and you’ll have your answer. I think Floyd Sr would have brought his “A” game for that 2 million dollars and Oscar might have had the most satisfying win of his career. Well, we’ll never know. One thing we do know is that Freddie Roach failed in the biggest fight of his career and in a fight that was absolutely winnable for De La Hoya.
So, what’s really going on here? Why won’t Oscar focus his attention on an elite fighter in his own weight range? Why is Oscar avoiding the “Tijuana Tornado,” Antonio Margarito? Margarito couldn’t have scripted this thing any better for De La Hoya to end his career if he were a Hollywood screen writer. He beat the man who aside from Mayweather was Oscar’s most obvious choice to end his career with a bang, Miguel Cotto. Margarito was OPENLY ducked by Floyd Mayweather Jr and has for the longest time had the title as the most avoided fighter in the game. Margarito’s credibility is at an all time high and beating him would put some of the shine back on the “Golden Boy.” Oscar shouldn’t be wasting his time with Pacquiao. He’s too small and has ZERO chance of withstanding hard shots from De La Hoya. Plus Manny doesn’t come close to having enough power to make Oscar think twice about anything. Oscar has fought full fledge middleweights so I’m sure he’ll be able to absorb anything Manny can muster up. Forget about all the highlight reels showing Manny crushing Featherweights.
This is a complete money making scheme. Oscar knows Pacquiao can’t beat him and so does Roach. Manny knows he can’t beat Oscar too and that’s why you’re reading so much about all these financial penalties and demands that are being made by team Pacquiao such as a weigh in on the day of the fight rather then one day prior. Pacquiao’s team want financial terms put in writing that Oscar is to be penalized $750,000 per pound over the agreed weight. That pretty much tells you everything you need to know. Pacquiao’s team is looking at every single angle to cash in absolutely anticipating he will lose. After all is he’s going to loose he might as well get paid for it. This isn’t a real fight.
If Oscar and Manny do go through with this ridiculous event and when Oscar wins what does he think he will have accomplished? Does he think that “HE” will all of sudden jump to the top spot of everyone’s POUND FOR POUND list because he took out the current #1 guy? I’ve already said that we’re not going to “suspend reality” for this “Super Fight.” Clearly, beating Manny Pacquiao does nothing to enrich the De La Hoya legacy. It will do plenty for his bank account. As usual……
Does Pacquiao consider this to be his “retirement” score? Manny needs to get a couple of wins as the LIGHTWEIGHT champion and then go after Ricky Hatton. Now, that fight makes sense and would be competitive.
For Oscar to go out of boxing on such an undistinguished note will give those who have questioned his greatness all the ammunition they need to question his legacy till the end of time. If Oscar really does care about his legacy then his only option is waiting by the phone in Tijuana!