Pacquiao sees 'difficult' fight vs De la Hoya
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 08/29/2008 12:06 PM
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World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight champion Manny Pacquiao said his December 6 bout against Oscar de la Hoya would be a "difficult" fight since his opponent is bigger and heavier, but predicted he could still win.
In a teleconference Friday morning in Manila that officially announced the "dream match up" between the two popular and charismatic fighters, Pacquiao said his advantage in youth and speed would enable him to beat the Mexican-American fighter.
"All i can say this fight is, I know everybody is ... a difficult fight for me...very easy fight for Oscar but ... I always do my job in the ring and I do my best to give a good fight, to win the fight, and I think I can beat De la Hoya," Pacquiao said.
"I saw his last performance on the last fight and I think I'm faster ... and I'm younger. The point is my speed is gonna be effective on this fight. Oscar de la Hoya ... he has advantage by the height, and he's bigger, he's taller than me, but I believe that I'm stronger than him. It's gonna be a great fight on December 6," he added.
Richard Schaefer, CEO of De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, said the fight would take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on December 6.
De La Hoya, 35, had said he would make just one more bout before retiring from the sport but he refused to confirm this would be his final fight.
"My focus is on my training and my next fight. I am not going to talk about retirement," De La Hoya said when asked directly if this would be his last.
"I am going to give 100 percent of my focus to this fight and then we will see after the fight," he added.
"Let's just say my foot got caught in the door," he added.
Negotiations for the fight had previously broken down over the division of the purse but neither Schaefer nor Pacquiao's promoters Top Rank would discuss the financial terms.
The bout will be a 12-round, non-title fight contested at the 147-pound welterweight limit.
The 5 foot 10 De La Hoya will a significant height advantage over the 5 foot 6.5 Pacquiao, but the 29-year-old Filipino believes he can win through greater speed.
De La Hoya accepted that he was going to have to fasten up his fighting in training.
"I have to find a away to increase my speed in the ring, I have quite a task in front of me," he said.
De La Hoya, born in Los Angeles to Mexican parents, rose to fame by winning a gold medal for the United States in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and won the nickname "Golden Boy" for his good looks and wholesome image.
He won professional acclaim by defeating Mexican Julio Cesar Chavez in 1996 and has won championships at six weight classes. At age 35 he has a record of 39-5 with 30 knockouts.
The American said he was not concerned about a possible defeat taking the shine off his career.
"I think my legacy is already cemented, you can't take away what I have achieved in the ring," he said. -- report from Reuters
