Friday, October 03, 2008 Pacman: `I'll prove everyone wrong' By Charles Raymond A. Maxey
WITH the Statue of Liberty towering behind them, Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines and Oscar De La Hoya of Mexico raised and clinched their fists in New York Thursday (Manila time) to kick off a six-city promotional tour of their own gagantic showdown a little over two months from now.
Welcome to the Pacquiao-De La Hoya Show, a dream contest between the sports most bankable star and boxing's best pound-for-pound fighter who will figure in a 12-round encounter at 147 pounds on December 6 in Las Vegas.
Appearing in dark suits and both looking in high spirits, Pacquiao and De La Hoya took the Big Apple by storm in starting off their tour that also include stops in Chicago, Houston, San Antonio, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
De La Hoya and Pacquiao also exude confidence in their coming fight that will take place at the MGM Grand, with the Mexican warrior declaring this will not be his last fight and the Filipino boxer announcing he is out to prove the doubting Thomases wrong.
In agreeing to fight De La Hoya, Pacquiao, the current World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight champion, is giving up too much in height and size and is clearly the underdog come fight night.
"Some people are criticizing Oscar for picking on a small guy like me. Some people say I'm picking this fight for the money," Pacquiao said. "I'm going to prove everyone wrong."
De La Hoya, boxing's "Golden Boy," said he wants to fight at least a couple of times after his bout with Pacquiao.
"There's no doubt about it. My mind can still do it, my body can still do it," said De La Hoya. "I'm going to ride the wave for a little while."
De La Hoya broke box office and pay-per-view records when he faced and lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year. After the defeat, De La Hoya initially planned to hang up his gloves but changed his mind and fought Steve Forbes, whom he beat on points.
Now, he has Pacquiao as his next opponent. The Filipino may be lacking in height and size, but he is an equally terrific fighter who fears no one, even if it's De La Hoya standing in front of him.
