Pacquiao confirms he'll fight De la Hoya
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 08/28/2008 10:04 PM
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The biggest boxing bout of 2008 is on.
Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao confirmed Thursday that he will indeed fight boxing superstar Oscar de la Hoya on December 6 at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Tuloy na tuloy na. Confirmed na, agree na kami sa laban,” said the reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) Lightweight Champion.
It is a welcome development for boxing fans since they consider the Pacquiao-De la Hoya tiff one for the ages.
Pacquiao (47-3-2, 35 KOs), however, refused to disclose how much he will be getting when he faces the heavier De la Hoya (39-5, 30 KOs).
De La Hoya, who has repeatedly said that the December 6 fight would be his last bout, had been in talks with Pacquiao for weeks.
Negotiations broke down since both side could not reach an agreement on how to split the revenue, which is expected to exceed more than $100 million.
“Definitely not 70-30 [as de la Hoya proposed]. Hindi ko na sasabihin ang details ng contract. Basta tuloy na,” he said.
Pacquiao, who started out years ago fighting as a flyweight, said the fight will be the most important bout of his career, and he will thus be preparing thoroughly.
“This is the biggest fight of my career, paghahandaan ko ito,” he said.
Formal announcement
Reports earlier said that de la Hoya will formally announce the fight Thursday (Friday in Manila). The match will cap his illustrious boxing career.
News about the official announcement was reported by Los Angeles-based ABC Channel 7. Rob Fukuzaki, ABC Channel 7's sports anchor reported that official announcements will be forthcoming August 28 before noon in Los Angeles.
Top Rank's Bob Arum, whose company promotes Pacquiao, would not confirm to ESPN.com that a deal was already in place for what would be the year's biggest fight. He, however, confirmed that de La Hoya would host a media teleconference on Thursday to announce his opponent.
"We'll know who he is fighting tomorrow," Arum told ESPN.com. "I made a commitment that I wouldn't say anything and that tomorrow there would be an announcement. I'm not allowed to make any comments. Everything will be clear on Thursday."
Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer would also not confirm the deal but reportedly sounded positive when asked about it.
"Last week, the deal was 90 percent dead, but we were able to revive it. The fact that it has been so quiet is a good sign," Schaefer said. -- With reports from Dyan Castillejo, Philboxing.com and ESPN.com
