De La Hoya-Pacquiao A Turn Off For Many Boxing Fans
November 12th, 2008
By Jim Dower: As much as six division champion Oscar De La Hoya (39-5, 30 KOs) might like for boxing fans to be interested in his December 6th fight with former featherweight Manny Pacquiao (47-3-2, 35 KOs), so far the perspective bout seems to draw out more ridicule and disgust aimed at Oscar more than anything in the way of praise.
That, of course, won’t get in the way of the fight being a huge PPV attraction, one that will likely come close to matching the $120 million PPV that Oscar attracted for his 1997 fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. However, in this case, most of the PPV buys will be from casual fans, ones that have no real understanding about the huge weight difference between him and the much smaller Pacquiao. For knowledgeable boxing fans, De La Hoya’s decision to face Pacquiao has had the effect of spraying raid in a crowded room, causing fans to flee and hold their nose in the process.
The reason for the turn off of De La Hoya is quite simple. He’s 35, made millions in the sport, but has done next to nothing in the past five years, during which time his record is three wins and three losses with the wins coming over a faded Ricardo Mayorga, a much smaller Steve Forbes and a questionable gift decision over Felix Sturm.
Taking away the Sturm fight, which in my opinion should have gone to Sturm, De La Hoya has only two wins in the past five years, and even those wins aren’t anything to particularly proud about. But just when you thought that De La Hoya might be showing interest in facing the winner of Miguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito, which he said previously that he would face the victor, he opts not to fight Margarito after he came out on top.
That’s a tragedy that De La Hoya chose not to fight Margarito, because in deciding not to fight him, it made De La Hoya look cowardly in the minds of many boxing fans. Then what made things even worse, however, was for De La Hoya to turn around and decide on fighting the 5’6” former flyweight Pacquiao. While Manny has since grown into the lightweight division (135 pounds), but that’s still 19 pounds lighter than the light middleweight class where De La Hoya has been fighting for the past seven years.
The boxing publics’ attitude about this fight, mainly because of the huge size difference, has been naturally one of disgust based on the unfairness of it all. There are, however, those that suggest that things are more or less evened out because Pacquiao is at the top of his game, dominating the super featherweight division where he is the considered to be the top fighter, whereas De La Hoya has been on the downward career slide for the past five years and probably would lose badly against all of the current light middleweight title holders.
De La Hoya, however, doesn’t appear to be interested in gaining titles any longer. Instead, like Joe Calzaghe, Bernard Hopkins and Ricky Hatton, he’s mainly interested in going after the biggest named fighters in order to get a huge payday. At this time, there are no real big stars in the light middleweight division, nor the middleweight or welterweight division that come close to meeting De La Hoya’s criteria for a huge PPV bout.
Young stars like Miguel Cotto and Kelly Pavlik, have been defeated recently, thus removing them from any interest by De La Hoya. Boxing fans, however, don’t see De La Hoya’s rationale for choosing the pocket-sized Pacquiao as an opponent, and instead seem to believe that De La Hoya has done it out of greed and the desire to ensure that he continues winning by fighting opponents much smaller than himself.
Even if De La Hoya were to explain himself to fans, it’s doubtful they’ll believe in what he says. They see him turn down a fight with Margarito, the best in the welterweight division, and selecting a fighter much less of a threat than him in facing the smaller Pacquiao. That’s something that De La Hoya can never explain away for many fans.
Tags: 10 Responses to “De La Hoya-Pacquiao A Turn Off For Many Boxing Fans”
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wtf does that guy mean 1997 didn’t that fight take place last year.
his 1997 fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.-wtf
probably true of some OMAR, but it has to be said, with the USA not producing anything at all in the way of talent barring the odd 1 fighter here and there, the competition simply isnt there at their own weight and therefore have to look elsewhere?? granted, there are fighters at de la hoya’s weight that he could fight, but that doesnt mean pacquiao isnt a) a challenge and b) not worth fighting
If De la Hoya wants to be one of the best fighters in this sport. He should fight the best fighters in his weight, like Margarito. Pacquiao is a very good fighter, no doubt about it, after all he defeat the best mexican fighters in his weight. But fight a fighter like De la Hoya is different, Pacquiao -fights-. De la Hoya -boxs-. With the advantage that De la Hoya has in his arms, how close can Pacquiao get, so he can fight?
I really love boxing, but this kind of fights, tell me one thing, that this sport is in crisis. Is not like before with those fighters: Julio Cesar Chavez, Salvador Sanchez, “el finito” Lopez. Those fighters really loved the sport. In this time the fighters love THE MONEY.
sorry i appear to have pasted the payday quote into the middle of a sentence earlier than i wanted, sorry it should read at that point he might find what power he has left somewhat diminished. its on the next line close to the right margin it picks up again
it was an interesting read, but essentially its no different from the writers calling the fight an execution.
as all of you are saying your not casual boxing fans then im sure you will ALL be aware that come fight night, there will be NO weight difference since the fight is happening at a catchweight between light-middle and super-feather. so the only criticism you have of oscar for fighting a much lighter guy, goes well out of the window. this leaves de la hoya, still jaded, carrying less weight than he is used to and might finInstead, like Joe Calzaghe, Bernard Hopkins and Ricky Hatton, he’s mainly interested in going after the biggest named fighters in order to get a huge payday.d what power he has left to be diminished somewhat, and off the back of a string of bad fights, he doesnt look all that good for this one. pacquiao however, is putting on weight, which may slow him down a little, but the fact is, he hits hard, and more weight will only make this more evident. he is still fighting hard and winning these days unlike de la hoya, this puts him in a similar position to calzaghe against jones the other day, jones hasnt fought a decent fight for years and has been losing and joe has fought the best opponents and still battered them in the last couple years. therefore for me, if pacquiao doesnt come in and absolutely poleaxe de la hoya, i will be deeply shocked.
one other comment id like to make is about this line “Instead, like Joe Calzaghe, Bernard Hopkins and Ricky Hatton, he’s mainly interested in going after the biggest named fighters in order to get a huge payday.” for joe calzaghe it was not about money i assure you, it was about finally getting jones in the ring after chasing him for 11 years and battering him, like he knew he always could. hopkins has more than enough cash so isnt fighting for paydays, he has stuff to prove and in fighting calzaghe and pavlik he has proven he still has it. for anybody to say hatton is fighting for paydays is utterly stupid and you shouldnt be allowed to watch boxing anymore, leave writing about it!! if you knew anything about hatton, you’d know he hasnt moved far from his dad’s pub nwhere he grew up and that he has a small house, even smaller than the one i live in and im a student! also do you know what car he drives? a robin reliant. yes those old cardboard 3-wheeled cars. hatton fights simply for the love of fighting, not for money, not for fame and not to live a superstar lifestyle.
i cant wait for this fight, paquioa is a lot smaller but he is a quality fighter, these yanks are so negative about everything,
2007
I for one am intrigued. Like the Calzaghe/Jones fight, boxing is about entertainment. Different weights, different styles, different records, makes for a better attraction. I can wait.
Im not aware of the quantity of on site ticket sales or PPV units sold for this particular fight, but speaking from personal perception the Pacquiao-De La Hoya fight is an intriging prospect, Of course there is a huge weight and height differential but are we not dismissing the talents of the Ring magazines number one rated pound for pound fighter here? Yes, De La Hoya’s best days are behind him but surely that is what will also make up the short fall in size for Paquiao? the old adage, “a good big un, will always beat a good small un” may not be totally aplicable when the big one is jaded and the small one such an immense talent. I have been an avid fan for over twenty years, i certainly dont consider myself a casual fan, to dismiss this fight as some kind of freak show or non event is unfair in my opinion .