Pac-man mania again on the rise

Manny Pacquiao calls it the “biggest fight of my life.” And because it is such, it will entail the longest preparation by the Filipino ring icon.
Pacquiao will fly to his trainer Freddie Roach’s Wild Card gym in Los Angeles on Sept. 12 to kick off a 10-week training program for the bout against Oscar de la Hoya on Dec. 6 at the MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas — a match that, this early, has been penciled as the world’s next “super fight.”
“This is my greatest challenge,” said Pacquiao, 29, at a teleconference last Friday, formally announcing the projected $100-million fight. “When I take that walk to the ring to fight Oscar, I will carry all the people of the Philippines — the entire country — on my shoulders.”
De la Hoya, who has spent most of his career hunting down the sport’s biggest names, will also put in a lot of work to prepare against Pacquiao.
“I have to find a way to increase my speed,” De la Hoya said. “We’re three months away, and we have to figure out quick how we’re going to neutralize him. It’s going to be an explosive fight. We’re going to fight in the center of the ring.”
$30-million share

“I have no intention of taking it easy in the gym because this will be the fastest, strongest southpaw I’ve ever faced.”
Pacquiao stands to earn anywhere between $15 to 30 million from his cut of the pay-per-view pie. That, plus a guaranteed purse still being negotiated, will make the match the biggest ever for the reigning WBC lightweight champion.
“I promise I will fight with all of my heart and that I will give everything I have,” added Pacquiao. “I am faster and stronger than him and I’m also younger. He’s bigger in height but I feel I’m stronger and it’s going to be a great fight.”
Known for his relentless boxing style, the current pound-for-pound champion has a string of famed Mexican victims under his belt, including Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez and Eric Morales.
Latinos for Pacquiao
In his last fight, Pacquiao dethroned former lightweight king David Diaz, an American of Mexican descent.
That prompted De la Hoya, an American born to Mexican parents, to say that he will be seeking vengeance against the Mexican tormentor.
Interestingly, though, legendary Mexican fighter Julio Cezar Chavez said in an interview with boxingscene.com that Latinos would “go with Pacquiao” in the match. Chavez was hoping to pit his son, Julio Cesar Jr., against De la Hoya.
Pacquiao usually spends eight full weeks of training under Roach, who has earlier promised to map up the sharpest fight plan possible for his ward.
But ranged against the ‘Golden Boy’ Pacquiao is leaving no stone unturned in his preparations, especially because his foe is not taking him lightly.
“Manny Pacquiao is considered the best fighter in boxing today and I always want to fight the best,” said De la Hoya, who has now suddenly decided not to talk about his planned retirement.
“My focus is on my training and my next fight,” he added. “I’m not going to talk or think about retirement. We’ll see how I feel after this fight. For now I have to focus on my training.”
No farewell yet?

Though he has repeatedly said the Dec. 6 fight will be his swan song, De la Hoya ducked questions about his supposed farewell performance, triggering rumours that he is still hoping to forge a rematch with rival Floyd Mayweather Jr., who beat him the last time they fought.
De la Hoya, who last fought in the agreed 147-lbs catch weight when he downed Arturo Gatti in 2001, is expected to climb the ring at 160 lbs, easily 10 lbs heavier than Pacquiao, who at 5-foot-6 also surrenders a four-inch height disadvantage.
Pacquio is expected to weigh in at 145 and climb the ring at 150.
“I am glad we were able to make this fight happen because while Pacquiao is at the pinnacle of his success and has defeated all of the top fighters he has faced, I am going to show the world that it stops with me,” De la Hoya said.
“Dec. 6 can’t get here soon enough.”
‘Loudest dog in the pound’
True to his warrior nature, De la Hoya even agreed to the use of eight-ounce gloves, something that could work to the favour of Pacquiao, who is known for his relentless hand speed and punching power.
Pacquiao, who has never fought above the 135-lbs rank, is coming off a masterful demolition of Diaz in June.
The jaw-breaking southpaw rose from 108 lbs to win four titles in four different weight classes (WBC flyweight, IBF super bantamweight, WBC super featherweight and currently WBC lightweight). He also won the Ring Magazine featherweight crown after beating Barrera in 2003.
De la Hoya has the distinction of taking on the best pound-for-pound boxer available and was famously quoted: “I want the loudest and the biggest dog in the pound.”
Pay-per-view blockbuster
De la Hoya has won the WBO super featherweight, IBF lightweight, WBC super lightweight, WBC welterweight, WBC super welter, and WBO middleweight titles to dominate the sport in an era devoid of an A-list heavyweight.
De la Hoya (39-5-0, 30 KOs) changed the fight’s stakes on Thursday when he acknowledged he wasn’t sure he would retire afterward.
He had repeatedly said he would quit boxing after this year, but his inability to land a rematch with Mayweather in September might have altered his plans.
“Let’s just say my foot got caught in the door,” De la Hoya said.
Given De la Hoya’s worldwide popularity and Pacquiao’s (47-3-2, 35 KOs) fanatical following in his homeland, the fight seems likely to challenge the pay-per-view records set by De la Hoya’s fight with Mayweather.
“I know some people say that it’s a very easy fight for Oscar, but I always do my job in the ring, and I’ll do my best to give a good fight and to win this fight,” said Pacquiao.
Too quick
De la Hoya claimed he got extra motivation for the fight from Roach, Pacquiao’s longtime trainer who filled in for Floyd Mayweather Sr. in De la Hoya’s corner last year. Roach was eager to see Pacquiao take the fight, saying Pacquiao was too quick for the 35-year-old Golden Boy.
“I felt challenged, especially from an expert trainer like that,” De la Hoya said. “He knows my style, and he knows Manny’s, and for him to say that was a big challenge.”
If De la Hoya remains privately committed to retirement, a fight with Pacquiao isn’t an easy way to go out — but De la Hoya has rarely avoided major challenges in his 16-year-old professional career since winning a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics.
“I think my legacy is already cemented, you can’t take away what I have achieved in the ring,” he said.