De la Hoya wants revenge for Mexico vs Pacquiao
By DENNIS GASGONIA, abs-cbnNEWS.com | 08/27/2008 10:07 PM
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If the Oscar de la Hoya-Manny Pacquiao bout pushes through as fans hope, the boxing superstar-turned-promoter will attempt at avenging his mother country's defeat in the hands of "the Mexican destroyer."
In a recent press conference in Mexico City, de la Hoya said he would love to get revenge for all the Mexican boxers vanquished by the heavy-hitting Filipino hero.
“I would love to get revenge for all Mexicans who’ve fought against Manny. If you ask me that would be my choice, because he’s considered pound for pound champion of the world, and we can meet half ways and make a big fight out of it,” de La Hoya told BoxingScene.com's James Blears.
“Manny holds that mythical title now, so all right prove it! He’s exciting, he’s strong, he’s fast. I believe the odds came out at two to one, so why not?” he said
However, both camps would still have to thresh out the kinks in their negotiations for the bout to push through.
De la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) proposed a 70-30 cut in the earnings, with the Mexican-American getting the lion’s share. On the other hand, Pacquiao's US promoter, Top Rank, pushed hard for a 60-40 cut.
The Golden Boy of boxing added that money issues aside, the odds are for the reigning World Boxing Council lightweight champ.
“It’s a huge opportunity [for Pacquiao] and not only monetarily wise, but exposure, because the whole world will be watching this fight," de la Hoya said.
GBP’s matchmaker Eric Gomez, meanwhile, said Pacquiao should consider the “numbers” and not the percentage involving the cut.
“The truth is in the numbers. Oscar should be getting the lion’s share. The most Manny’s ever made is four times less than what Oscar’s made in his last five fights average. So you really can’t compare apples and oranges, and Manny has to understand that,” he said.
It’s personal
For de la Hoya, there is something personal regarding his possible fight with Pacquiao. The latter’s trainer Freddie Roach, who coached him for his fight against Floyd Mayweather, joined the fray by saying that he could no longer “pull the trigger.”
“Freddie Roach is already talking that I can’t pull the trigger. Well if this fight happens, you watch! I’ll pull the trigger,” said de la Hoya.
Gomez said de la Hoya took Roach statement personally. “It was something that hurt him because he left Freddie on good terms after Freddie helped him for the fight with Mayweather, and to be coming from a guy like Freddie, who he considers a friend it was hurtful.”
As far as weight matters are concerned, de la Hoya said he sees no problem for both him and Pacquiao.
“I can make 147 [pounds] with no problem. I went up six weight classes, so it’s not impossible. Roy Jones went up to heavyweight and he won the title. So in the history of boxing, it’s been proven that the smaller guy jumps up three, four or five weight classes and can be successful, so this wouldn’t be the first,” said de la Hoya.
Daring Pacquiao
For GBP chief executive Richard Schaefer, there must be a reason why Pacquiao is having second thoughts on facing de la Hoya.
He stressed that as far as monetary concerns regarding the fight, the pound-for-pound king has nothing to lose.
“The fact is that in an [average] fight, Manny Pacquiao makes two-and-a-half, three or three-and-a-half million dollars. If he goes in against say Juan Manuel Marquez or Erik Morales, maybe he makes four-and-a-half or five-million dollars….OK. So now if he goes and fights Oscar, he’s guaranteed ten-million dollars and can potentially make fifteen, sixteen or more, depending on how the pay-per-view numbers are, under that seventy-thirty deal. It’s a little bit difficult to understand why somebody would turn that down?” said Schaefer.
“It certainly isn’t because of money, because he makes three or four times more. So I don’t know, maybe he’s scared fighting Oscar? There must be a reason why he hasn’t said yes,” he said.
Pacquiao earlier said all he wanted was a fair share of the fight, citing that de la Hoya's camp knows it is offering something that is unacceptable. The Filipino's camp also cited the risks he would be facing in fighting the bigger de la Hoya and therefore a higher cut should be understandable.
