Pacquiao Delivers Realism to the Dream Match

By Moncayo Blackbull          Photos: Chris Farina - Top Rank (Click on pictures for larger view)

Las Vegas (IB-December 8, 2008) - Oscar De La Hoya hand picked Manny Pacquiao for his latest encounter in the ring. De La Hoya sidestepped Antonio Margarito and instead opted to fight a much smaller opponent in Pacquiao. By fighting Pacquiao, De La Hoya knew he would have every advantage in the books. Unfortunately for De La Hoya, he picked on a guy who does not believe in advantages and disadvantages.

This past Saturday night Pacquiao took De La Hoya back to school, there’s no other way to say it, He beat the dog feces out of the Golden Boy,

 

plummeting De La Hoya from rope to rope. At the end of the of the very first round, De La Hoya had an abrasion on the nose and swelling among the left side of his face. And it only got worse, by the sixth round the left eye was rapidly closing and De La Hoya’s face went from Cherry Red to Black and Blue. You actually started feeling sorry for the bigger man, except you knew he was getting paid Millions for this contest. Most guys would take a good old butt whipping for much less, if you know what I mean.

The contest ends with Pacquiao being awarded an eighth round TKO as De La Hoya emulates the career of Julio Cesar Chavez by quitting on the stool. Viewers thought they would see at least one more round of this disaster when the ring doctor said to De La Hoya he would give him one more round but if continued to absorb that much punishment it was over. Moments later a conversation between the commissioner and De La Hoya took place. The result was an end to the fight, De La Hoya had enough.

The beating was reminiscing of that when Salvador Sanchez defeated Wilfredo Gomez.

Outside of Pacquiao’s strong and outstanding performance the PPV show was a complete disappointment. Viewers had to wait forty-five minutes without action for the main event to start due to the previous mismatched contests ending faster than it takes to get up and grab a cold beer. In the first fight Daniel Jacobs disposed of Victor Lares in less than 2 rounds, followed by Juan Manuel Lopez stopping Sergio Manuel Medina in less than half a round. Then Jeffery Resto managed to last half way into the second round before Victor Ortiz puts an end to the contest. The entire PPV undercard provided less than twelve minutes of action.

What’s next for these guys? De La Hoya said his heart was still in the fight but maybe he should listen to his body. When your mind tells you to punch but your hands say “Let me think about it” then it’s time to put the gloves on the hook. De La Hoya has done good things for the sport, he should keep it that way.

For Pacquiao, the options are wide open, especially since having such a commanding performance at the heavier weight of welter. He can elect to drop back down to lightweight and take on a Nate Campbell or Juan Diaz or fight at super lightweight and take on Kendall Holt or Timothy Bradley.  These fights are certainly options but won’t command the big money.

Pacquiao is the money man right now, so in looking for a mega fight dance partner, I could only think of two. Drop down to super lightweight and challenge Ricky Hatton or a fight that would be looked at as the “ultimate pound for pound king” against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Mayweather Jr. has indicated he has no desire to return to the ring, but that was before the PacMan made an impact and has put his name alongside the “Greatest”. This contest can be made without any belts on the line, a belt would carry no significance to this battle of supremacy. The weight would not have to confide to any organization’s classifications and can be agreed upon by the fighters at whatever, 144lbs., 145lbs. As a matter of fact the fight would be cleaner if the ABC organizations were left out.

For now, we’ll  let Pacquiao enjoy the victory and let the future fall into place.

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