'No verbal war, pre-fight punch but expect big clash with Oscar'

By ROY MEDINA, abs-cbnNEWS.com | 10/05/2008 11:38 PM

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De la Hoy and Pacquiao with the Statue of Liberty on their background. (Photo by Val Cuenca, ABS-CBN News) The six-city US journey for the "Dream Match" with 10-time world champ Oscar de la Hoya has been unlike any other press tour that he has seen for an upcoming fight, Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao has said.

According to Pacquiao, he and de la Hoya respect each other so much that they have refrained from figuring in verbal tussles and shoving incidents weeks before the December 6 clash at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

"Hindi gaya ng maraming boxing press conferences ang ginawa namin ni Ginoong de la Hoya, dahil walang tulakan o suntukan na naganap," Pacquiao said in his online column, "Kumbinasyon," on Philboxing.com.

The six-city tour to announce their welterweight super bout began in New York's Liberty Island on October 1 and saw the two fighters making their way to Chicago, Houston, San Antonio and San Francisco. The tour ends Tuesday, October 7, in Los Angeles.

Despite the respect he and de la Hoya have accorded each other throughout the tour, Pacquiao said that fans should expect "something big" for the megabuck clash.

"Pareho kaming rumerespeto sa aming kakayahan bilang mga boxer at alam ko, kahit na walang matinding alitan dito, matinding bakbakan ang magaganap sa taas ng ring," he said.

As for de la Hoya, Pacquiao said the "Golden Boy" of boxing regarded his silence as "something to be scared of."

"Sabi nga ni de la Hoya patungkol sa akin, 'It's the silent ones you should be more scared of," Pacquiao said.

Meanwhile, Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, seems bent on putting a dent on de la Hoya's resolve this early.

During the press tour's San Francisco leg, the Hall of Fame trainer stole the show when he made fun of de la Hoya.

Pacquiao's lawyer, Franklin "Jeng" Gacal, told Manila-based sports analyst Ronnie Nathanielsz in an overseas telephone conversation that during the press conference, Roach
pulled out a toy gun and told de la Hoya, "Oscar, I have a gun [but the trigger won't work]. I think it's yours!"

The trainer then handed over the gun to de la Hoya while Pacquiao smiled from his seat.

Roach's joke was the latest on de la Hoya since the announcement for the multi-million dollar welterweight super bout was announced months ago.

Roach has been quoted as saying that at 35 years old, de la Hoya is "already too old" for Pacquiao, who is 29.

De la Hoya, however, said that despite Roach's statements and the trainer's knowledge of his style, he still has a lot left in his arsenal that Pacquiao's trainer does not know of.

Meanwhile, Gacal said that Pacquiao played basketball for almost three hours during the San Francisco stop as part of his training.

He said Pacquiao will work out at the Wild Card gym before the final tour stop in Los Angeles.