Fight Insight

Boxing Predictions

De La Hoya Vs. Pacquiao: A Superfight In Name Only

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Yes, I said it. This fight is not a superfight. It is a spectacle being marketed as a superfight. The spectacle centers around the current pound-for-pound king Manny "Pac Man" Pacquiao (47-3, 35 KOs), who began his career fighting at a mere 106 pounds, facing off against "the Golden Boy" Oscar De La Hoya (39-5, 30 KOs) 41 pounds later. Besides this weighty matter, the fight is meaningless on a few levels.

My biggest beef is that this fight will have no impact on boxing’s current divisional or pound-for-pound rankings. If Manny wins, he’ll probably get a measure of credit for beating a man who is much bigger than him. But this feat will be diminished by the fact that De La Hoya is fighting way past his prime. If Oscar wins, people will say, "so, go pick on someone your own size!"

At the end of the day, this fight will have its greatest impact on the already-considerable bank accounts of both fighters. I haven’t decided if I am willing to contribute to either. Whether I purchase this pay-per-view event will be much harder than the prediction that I am about to make.

All that glitters ain’t gold, but the Golden Boy should have enough left in the tank to beat the great, but little Pac Man. In boxing, it is often said that a good big man will usually beat a good little man. This fight should be no different. Although De La Hoya has lost some foot and hand speed over the years, he still has considerable defense, height, reach, and, most importantly, power advantages in this fight. Pacquiao will counter with faster hands, quicker feet and decent power (even at the higher weight). The little guy will make it very interesting, but will find out that size still matters.

De La Hoya by mid-to-late round stoppage over Pacquiao.

Filed Under: Boxing Predictions

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About Ja Dawes

After years of debating via email with my buddies on topics ranging from who the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world is to who is going to win the upcoming heavyweight title fight, I wanted to create a forum where I could share my opinions on such topics. Enter FightInsight.com. You can also follow me on Twitter: fightinsight

Comments

  1. Orlando says

    I agree completely. I can’t help but think of Gatti vs. Gamache whenever I see a preview for this fight. For money purposes, it makes sense for both fighters but as you stated, a good big man will almost always beat a good little man. I like De la Hoya by KO in 6.

  2. Ja Dawson says

    I don’t know if it will end as violently as the legalized be-heading that Gatti-Gamache was, but I think the size and power differential will be similar in some ways. The height/reach difference is what really stands out to me.

  5. Ja Dawson says

    Juan Miguel,

    I actually wouldn’t mind the the smaller guy (Pacquiao) doing something very impressive, but I just don’t see it. Don’t get me wrong, Oscar has not proven unbeatable BUT styles make fights. Oscar, being the savvy promoter now, seems to know how to pick ’em lately. He fought Mayweather, who he figured couldn’t hurt him, and if he lost (he lost to the #1 fighter in the world) but if he won, what a big comeback victory. He called out the winner of Cotto-Margarito, when in reality he only wanted Cotto, who he felt he could defeat and at top dollar. Now, he’s called out Manny…another great fighter (like Mayweather), but even smaller with less defensive prowess. However, I think if he loses, it will look REALLY bad it would probably end his career. With that, I’m pretty confident that he knows this and is VERY confident of victory (based on PacMan’s style). We shall see; I’m not Nostradamus, but I see Oscar by stoppage. I’ve been wrong before; just not too often (lol).

  7. tony51 says

    i’m a pacman fan but i don’t see a pacman win, dlh is older but at 35 he’s still fast and strong

  9. Booba says

    Oscar will not not win this fight. I’m going to say a prayer for him cause he simply doesn’t have one.

  10. Ja Dawson says

    De La Hoya BETTER win this early’ I am VERY concerned with this re-hydration issue…he got down to 145 and is only 147 on fight night? Hmmm. We’ll see.

  12. Joe says

    Now I KNOW you all simply mortgaged your houses and bet it on Pacman.

    Very funny you pretend to be Oscar believers.

    Congrats and enjoy the lavish lifestyles!

  13. Ja Dawson says

    Pac Man I am sorry – you are RIDICULOUSLY good. I know that Oscar came in looking like a famished skeleton, but my hat goes off to Manny Pacquiao. Wow.