Could De La Hoya fight Pacquiao?

[Fenster]

you can read the entire article here:

http://forum.philboxing.com/viewtopi...st=0&sk=t&sd=a

Nice one. CC.

Now ive read their (Merchants) argument I still think it's stupid as fuck. He'd rather see an "event" than a even fight.

[Lance Uppercut]

you can read the entire article here:

http://forum.philboxing.com/viewtopi...st=0&sk=t&sd=a

cc 325

Thanks- I wish someone would post more of his blogs-as you need to have paid subscription to read them. Rafael is probably the #1 journalist in the U.S.

[CutMeMick]

It's stuff like this that makes me dislike boxing and the stupid fans who fuel it.

[Lance Uppercut]

Read through Merchant's argument; it doesn't seem that ridiculous:

"First, once upon a time, it wasn't unusual for outstanding champions to fight way over their best weight to make money," Merchant said.

Merchant, who has forgotten more boxing than most of us know, reeled off a number of examples to support his fantasy:

• Sugar Ray Robinson, the generally recognized No.1 pound-for-pound fighter in history, was the welterweight and middleweight champion, who moved up for a shot at light heavyweight champ Joey Maxim in 1952 and was stopped in the 14th round of a fight Robinson had dominated until succumbing to heat exhaustion.

• Henry Armstrong, the pound-for-pound legend who simultaneously held the featherweight, lightweight and welterweight championships in 1938, challenged Caferino Garcia for the middleweight title in 1940 and got a draw.

• England's Ted "Kid" Lewis, who fought from flyweight all the way to heavyweight, was at his best at welterweight, where he had two reigns as champion between 1915 and 1919. But that didn't stop Lewis from challenging Georges Carpentier for the light heavyweight title in 1922 (and getting knocked out in the first round).

• Mickey Walker, a Hall of Famer who was welterweight champ and middleweight champ in the 1920s, twice challenged for the light heavyweight title. He also fought future heavyweight champ Jack Sharkey to a draw, despite being outweighed by 29 pounds.

For more recent examples, Merchant also had ammunition:

• Roy Jones Jr., who won titles at middleweight and super middleweight and was the reigning light heavyweight champion when he moved up to heavyweight for a shot at John Ruiz's alphabet title in 2003. Jones won it in dominant fashion.

• Bernard Hopkins, who after his dominant 20-defense middleweight title reign ended against Jermain Taylor, jumped up 15 pounds and easily won the light heavyweight title from Antonio Tarver last year.

Another reason the fight isn't as crazy as you might initially think? Merchant pointed to the fact that on the night Pacquiao fought Marco Antonio Barrera in their Oct. 6 rematch, Pacquiao weighed 144 pounds, 24 hours after weighing in at 130 pounds.

"Pacquiao would be in his prime, Oscar way past his trying to make a weight he hasn't made in (almost) a decade," Merchant said.

Then Merchant added the part that makes the fantasy perhaps a reality: "It sells millions (on pay-per-view), Oscar wins and goes on to fight (an eventually) revived Cotto or Hatton. Let's do it. If you're a fight fan, you have to watch it. It's not De La Hoya-Mayweather I, but it's a big deal and a lot of money. And if Pacquiao loses, so what? It doesn't hurt him. He goes back to fight at lightweight. The fight is a tantalizing curiosity like Jones fighting a heavyweight."

Merchant also mentioned another juicy storyline that would envelope the fight: Who would trainer Freddie Roach work with? He's been with Pacquiao for many years and was the trainer De La Hoya handpicked to train him for Mayweather after parting with Floyd Mayweather Sr.

And let's not forget the bitterness, although well-hidden, that surely must exist between De La Hoya and Pacquiao after Pacquiao signed with De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions only to turn around and pledge allegiance to Arum.

During the ensuing litigation, De La Hoya attempted to stop Pacquiao from fighting by trying to get an injunction, which didn't work. The sides ultimately settled and Golden Boy retains a small percentage of Pacquiao's promotional contract. Just think of the juicy stories a fight between them would generate.

"In the spectrum of the kind of fights you could have, it's a fun event," Merchant said. "Manny is shorter, but he's a left-handed puncher. Oscar would be the clear favorite to win and Manny would be the underdog, but all of their fans would have to watch it. It's about creating an event. That's an event."

[bzkfn]

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/index

Many people think De la Hoya is all done and has nothing but lets be realistic. He's far from being shot and can still offer some competition out there.

What do you guys think about this match?

If De La Hoya uses his jab and distance, I think he gets the win just like Morales easily did on their first fight where he just kept him away with jabs and one-two. When Pac charged in, he just stepped aside and returned to jab, one-two.

Forget this, when is Manny gunna get some balls and fight Wlad?

[Julius Rain]

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/index

Many people think De la Hoya is all done and has nothing but lets be realistic. He's far from being shot and can still offer some competition out there.

What do you guys think about this match?

If De La Hoya uses his jab and distance, I think he gets the win just like Morales easily did on their first fight where he just kept him away with jabs and one-two. When Pac charged in, he just stepped aside and returned to jab, one-two.

Forget this, when is Manny gunna get some balls and fight Wlad?

i doubt it, pac has been ducking wlad his whole career

[yoitsdan]

Why don't they go ahead and stick a few lions in the ring with them too. Freak shit.

[KKisser]

looking at their arguments then the fight is not as preposterous as previously believed but i still think it's untimely. pac needs to take care of business first at 130lbs then climb up to the lightweight division and establish his credibility fighting at a higher weight class. then and only then would this fight be a bit credible.

[KKisser]

and what happens to pac after this, after gaining all that muscle mass? will he still be able to go back down to fight in the lower weight divisions? goodbye to all those good fights at 130lbs. of course they can follow him up at lightweight but it just messes up the entire future fight scenarios for pac.

[pacfan]

At last, the ultimate fight all the loyal pac-fans have been waiting for is in the horizon. Whew! I can't wait.

Seriously, with my due respect to our good boss Kkizzer, I'm even against pac moving up to 135 and now this talks of him fighting the Golden Boy comes. Are they serious, they're just kidding, right? Oscar won't even feel pac's punches and on the other hand, Oscar's punches will... ...never mind!..

...Let's get to the next topic...

[SweetPea]

Read through Merchant's argument; it doesn't seem that ridiculous:

"First, once upon a time, it wasn't unusual for outstanding champions to fight way over their best weight to make money," Merchant said.

Merchant, who has forgotten more boxing than most of us know, reeled off a number of examples to support his fantasy:

• Sugar Ray Robinson, the generally recognized No.1 pound-for-pound fighter in history, was the welterweight and middleweight champion, who moved up for a shot at light heavyweight champ Joey Maxim in 1952 and was stopped in the 14th round of a fight Robinson had dominated until succumbing to heat exhaustion.

• Henry Armstrong, the pound-for-pound legend who simultaneously held the featherweight, lightweight and welterweight championships in 1938, challenged Caferino Garcia for the middleweight title in 1940 and got a draw.

• England's Ted "Kid" Lewis, who fought from flyweight all the way to heavyweight, was at his best at welterweight, where he had two reigns as champion between 1915 and 1919. But that didn't stop Lewis from challenging Georges Carpentier for the light heavyweight title in 1922 (and getting knocked out in the first round).

• Mickey Walker, a Hall of Famer who was welterweight champ and middleweight champ in the 1920s, twice challenged for the light heavyweight title. He also fought future heavyweight champ Jack Sharkey to a draw, despite being outweighed by 29 pounds.

For more recent examples, Merchant also had ammunition:

• Roy Jones Jr., who won titles at middleweight and super middleweight and was the reigning light heavyweight champion when he moved up to heavyweight for a shot at John Ruiz's alphabet title in 2003. Jones won it in dominant fashion.

• Bernard Hopkins, who after his dominant 20-defense middleweight title reign ended against Jermain Taylor, jumped up 15 pounds and easily won the light heavyweight title from Antonio Tarver last year.

But these examples really mean nothing.
Robinson and Armstrong... not only did they fight a long time ago, but they were 2 of the 4 best fighters ever. They could do things that other fighters can't do.

Lewis and Walker, that happened over 80 or 90 years ago.

Jones was able to move up because he was a lightning quick fighter who could AVOID CONTACT for 12 rounds. If Jones had gone toe-to-toe with a heavyweight, he would have gotten beaten. But he had the ability to make a guy miss for 12 rounds. This is the exact opposite of how Pacquiao fights. Pac is a straight ahead high-contact fighter.

Hopkins only went up from middle to light heavy, which is not a huge move, and Hopkins was always very drawn at 160, he easily could have moved to 175 years earlier. Hopkins didn't even look that much smaller when he fought Tarver. And again, Hopkins was a great defensive fighter who could avoid blows. Manny does not fight like this.

[KKisser]

At last, the ultimate fight all the loyal pac-fans have been waiting for is in the horizon. Whew! I can't wait.

Seriously, with my due respect to our good boss Kkizzer, I'm even against pac moving up to 135 and now this talks of him fighting the Golden Boy comes. Are they serious, they're just kidding, right? Oscar won't even feel pac's punches and on the other hand, Oscar's punches will... ...never mind!..

...Let's get to the next topic...

this fight should only happen if they want pac to retire.

[josef4334]

De La Hoya destroys Pacquiao inside of 1 round. De La Hoya would brush off Pac's best shot's like nothing. Pac would hit the floor from Oscar's best shots

dude, do you really hate pac that much everybody thinks this topic is dumb and you're here doing an RBR? give us a break will you? this fight is not gonna happen!!! now wipe that drool off your face

[Violent Demise]

De La Hoya destroys Pacquiao inside of 1 round. De La Hoya would brush off Pac's best shot's like nothing. Pac would hit the floor from Oscar's best shots

dude, do you really hate pac that much everybody thinks this topic is dumb and you're here doing an RBR? give us a break will you? this fight is not gonna happen!!! now wipe that drool off your face

The fight will not happen. Why? Cuz Pac handlers would never allow it. It's a simple fact. De La Hoya is to big for Pacquiao. It'll be a slaughter. Oscar would destroy him within a round. How's that a RBR? Stupid Pac groupie.

[Julius Rain]

De La Hoya destroys Pacquiao inside of 1 round. De La Hoya would brush off Pac's best shot's like nothing. Pac would hit the floor from Oscar's best shots

dude, do you really hate pac that much everybody thinks this topic is dumb and you're here doing an RBR? give us a break will you? this fight is not gonna happen!!! now wipe that drool off your face

thats just how he is, his one of the biggest pac haters around, don't worry nobody really pays much attention to his bias comments and insults.