De La Hoya Vs. Pacquiao: Dream Match?

I’ve dreamed of many boxing fights in my time, but oddly enough, never would I have dreamed that I’d be seeing Manny Pacquiao fighting Oscar De la Hoya.  But such will be the case when these two mega-stars meet on Saturday at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas in the promotion dubbed the ‘Dream Match.’

Let me first go on the record as saying that I don’t hate this fight.  There seems to be strong sentiment one way or the other in regards to the fight.  Some see it as a mismatch while others can’t wait to see a battle between two big-name fighters, which has become somewhat of a rarity.  Either way, for however long the fight lasts after the bell rings, it will provide the one thing that boxing provides more than any other sport:  The electricity generated by anticipation and subsequent combat by two venerable gladiators.

The folks who see this fight as a monumental mismatch can make a strong case.  De la Hoya is much bigger than Pacquiao.  Not only is he much bigger, but if he’s not struggled to make the welterweight limit of 147 lbs., and there’s been no indication that he has, he’ll probably be in the best shape we’ve seen him in years. 

Another factor in Oscar’s favor is his experience in big fights against big punchers.  He has fought men who are as large as, if not larger than himself.  Some of these men like Felix Trinidad and Ike Quartey were known as really big punchers and neither could stop De la Hoya.  The only time he has been stopped was by Bernard Hopkins all the way up the scales in a middleweight title fight.  And that KO came unconventionally after a perfectly placed body shot from Hopkins.

Though I don’t believe Pacquiao can stop De la Hoya, I do believe that he can create problems for the larger Golden Boy.  Something that is in favor of Pacquiao is what we saw from Stevie Forbes in May.  Forbes was continually able to get inside of Oscar’s longer reach and touch him up and even though the result was a unanimous decision for De la Hoya, it was apparent by the marks on his face that he can be hit by a quicker puncher.  Manny will have to get into Oscar’s chest early and often if he has any hopes of winning.

Pacquiao has shown tremendous hand speed and exceptional power in the lower weight classes where he’s dominated.  We won’t know until Saturday night if Pacquiao can bring his speed and strength up two weight classes.  De la Hoya, however, is a technician.  He doesn’t loop his punches and can throw any number of punches, especially his vaunted left-hook, with strength and pinpoint accuracy.  Pacquiao will need to be relentlessly perfect to win this fight.

Not only should Stevie Forbes serve as inspiration and as a possible blueprint for Pacquiao, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that Shane Mosley did jump two weight classes, from lightweight to welterweight, when he defeated De la Hoya in their first encounter.  So it has been done, but Pacquiao will need to be relentlessly perfect to win this fight.

Just as an added note, I’m still not sure this is a dream fight, but where I’ll agree with the critics is that maybe this is just a money grab for both fighters.  Let’s hope that next year we see both of these warriors in fights where they can be more evenly matched and still make a ton of money.  Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton would provide world-cup soccer like emotion.  While Oscar De la Hoya vs. Antonio Margarito in Dodger Stadium on Cinco de Mayo would make a killing and be a fight-of-the-year candidate.  We can dream.