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PPV Predictions
By Boxeo
Saturday night we have the “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya, (39-5, 30KO’s) returning home to PPV television for a welterweight super fight against pound-for-pound king Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao, (47-3-2, 35KO’s). The De La Hoya/Pacquiao bout will take place live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV.
The Golden Boy quickly opened as the favorite in the fight, but since the opening line was posted Pacquiao money has been steadily coming in. Even with the surge of Pacquiao cash flowing in, De La Hoya remains a –195 favorite. Pacquiao supporters can grab the underdog money at +185. The O/U on the bout is set at 9.5 rounds, with the under coming in at +155 and the over at –175.
De La Hoya by KO comes in at +155, while De La Hoya by decision will net you +263. Pacquiao by KO hits the mark at +450, and Pacquiao by decision lands at +373.
Although Pacquiao is widely considered to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the game (Mayweather is still officially retired) you cannot ignore the fact that he opened up as a 2-1 underdog in his fight against De La Hoya.
It is my belief the sole reason that Manny is installed as the underdog in this fight is because of his non-stop scale climbing that he has fashioned throughout his career.
Now it is not uncommon for fighters to move up in weight as they get older or even for a super fight here and there, but Pacquiao is taking the term “moving up in weight” to a whole new level.
The kid originally started out his professional boxing career at 106 pounds! He slowly marched his way up the boxing weight classes until finally hitting his all time high of 135 pounds in his last bout against David Diaz.
From the time he started his career until his last fight he has moved up almost thirty pounds. Granted, his body is in tremendous shape and he has loads of energy inside the ring, but at some point and time you have to wonder when he will hit the wall.
For those gamblers out there picking Oscar to put Pacquiao away that time is now! Not only did Manny move up to 135 in his last fight, but also will make the gigantic leap from 135 all the way up to 147 to meet the “Golden Boy” for a super payday.
That is forty-one pounds from 106 pounds to 147 pounds! One would assume at some point his tremendous punching power might not follow him as he increases in weight and faces bigger and stronger fighters.
It is also important to point out that during his rise in weight he has only encountered three defeats but two of those defeats were by stoppage!
For Oscar’s part he is actually moving down in weight from his last fight. Prior to this fight against Pacquiao, De La Hoya’s official weight of 150 pounds against Steve Forbes was his lowest since he squared off with Arturo Gatti over seven years ago.
Since the entire theme of this piece centers on weight, I would be doing a disservice to my millions of readers if I didn’t mention Oscar’s own weighty issues.
Although there are zero questions that Oscar is a certain hall of fame inductee, he has had his own fair share of troubles as he has moved higher and higher in weight. Actually, three out of his five losses have come at weights 154 and above! His lone knockout defeat at the hands of Bernard Hopkins came at 155 pounds!
Even when he has managed to officially get the win on the judge’s scorecards, he has looked less then stellar doing so at these higher weight classes (can anyone say Felix Sturm!)
Now the Golden Boy returns to the welterweight division where he compiled a 10-2 record with 7 stoppage wins.
Part of the reason that Oscar has been able to make the move back to 147 pounds at the advanced age of 35 is because recently he has fought to stay in shape in between fights.
Usually, like most of the prizefighters out there, Oscar would balloon up in weight in between fights and spend a large portion of his training camp trying to lose those excess pounds.
After weighing in at 150 for the Forbes fight Oscar stayed relatively trim during the down time, making the move down three pounds to the welterweight limit of 147 not as difficult as it would have been in years past.
In this match against Pacquiao I believe De La Hoya simply has too many physical advantages for Pacquiao to overcome.
Oscar is bigger, stronger, taller, has the better beard, and will bring a six-inch reach advantage to the dance. Those are not insignificant advantages that De La Hoya possesses over Manny Pacquiao!
Theoretically he should be able to stand toe-to-toe with Manny and get the better of the exchanges or box from the outside, popping the jab in his smaller foe’s face every time “Pac Man” tries to close the distance.
Now that is not to suggest he is not going to be hit and hit often. Pacquiao has faced the best of the best in the lower weight divisions and delivers his punches with incredible speed and power.
In fact, if there is any single area where Manny may hold an edge over Oscar it will be in the speed department. Oscar is still pretty fast for a welterweight, but from all of the training footage I have been able to see of Manny it still appears he will hold the edge in hand speed when the two meet in the ring.
Although I expect Pacquiao to have the hand speed advantage in the ring I think we all can agree that Manny has serious technical flaws. Truth be told, he has a severely limited offensive arsenal. It is no mystery that Manny’s best punch is his left hand. Most of his offense is derived from a simple one-two combination punch.
On paper it would seem like a very easy task too nullify Pacquiao’s incomplete offensive arsenal, but the guy hits so hard that it only takes a single grazing shot to send his opponents down and out for the count.
With that said, Pacquiao without a doubt has progressed as a fighter since long time trainer Freddie Roach first started working with him. Under the tutelage of Roach, the hard-hitting Pac Man has added a very respectable body attack to his repertoire (just ask Erik Morales) as well as a slowly improving lead right hook from the southpaw stance.
In the end, the left hand will always be Manny Pacquiao’s most dangerous weapon.
But the question remains, will that potent left hand that has dropped or stopped opponents in the lower weight classes have any effect whatsoever when it lands on De La Hoya? How will Pacquiao react if Oscar takes his money punch and continues to fire back?
I anticipate wicked exchanges throughout this fight as both fighters try and impose their will on each other. Remember, throughout his long career Pac Man has been considered a puncher and will have a severe height and reach disadvantage if he decides to stay on the outside.
If the action starts fast and furious I would also not be surprised to see both fighters marked up in the face very early in the fight. In the past both guys have had trouble with their right eyes.
Pacquiao has been severely cut over his right eye in previous fights and De La Hoya was marked up badly against the light hitting Steve Forbes, and most recently sported a very nice shiner under the right eye from sparring with Victor Ortiz.
I believe if he truly wishes to win this fight, at some point and time Pacquiao is going to be forced to march forward and attack De La Hoya. If he doesn’t attack and make this fight an inside affair, his technically superior opponent will pick him apart on the outside. Either way he goes at it Pacquiao is going to have to take tremendous amounts of leather to give it.
Although his face first style of fighting has worked well for him in the past, if Pac Man can be stopped at 110 & 113 pounds there is nothing that suggests he cannot be stopped at 147 pounds against a great like Oscar De La Hoya!
Boxeo: 3.00 Units On De La Hoya By KO {+160}
Krakrabbit: 2.00 Units On De La Hoya By Decision {+263}
Grass Hopper: 2.00 Units On Pacquiao {+185} & 1.00 Units On Pacquiao By Decision {+373}
Doody: 1.00 Units On Pacquiao {+185}
D3: 1.00 Units On Pacquiao {+185} & 1.00 Units On De La Hoya By Decision {+263}
PPV Predictions
By Boxeo
Saturday night we have the “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya, (39-5, 30KO’s) returning home to PPV television for a welterweight super fight against pound-for-pound king Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao, (47-3-2, 35KO’s). The De La Hoya/Pacquiao bout will take place live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV.
The Golden Boy quickly opened as the favorite in the fight, but since the opening line was posted Pacquiao money has been steadily coming in. Even with the surge of Pacquiao cash flowing in, De La Hoya remains a –195 favorite. Pacquiao supporters can grab the underdog money at +185. The O/U on the bout is set at 9.5 rounds, with the under coming in at +155 and the over at –175.
De La Hoya by KO comes in at +155, while De La Hoya by decision will net you +263. Pacquiao by KO hits the mark at +450, and Pacquiao by decision lands at +373.
Although Pacquiao is widely considered to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the game (Mayweather is still officially retired) you cannot ignore the fact that he opened up as a 2-1 underdog in his fight against De La Hoya.
It is my belief the sole reason that Manny is installed as the underdog in this fight is because of his non-stop scale climbing that he has fashioned throughout his career.
Now it is not uncommon for fighters to move up in weight as they get older or even for a super fight here and there, but Pacquiao is taking the term “moving up in weight” to a whole new level.
The kid originally started out his professional boxing career at 106 pounds! He slowly marched his way up the boxing weight classes until finally hitting his all time high of 135 pounds in his last bout against David Diaz.
From the time he started his career until his last fight he has moved up almost thirty pounds. Granted, his body is in tremendous shape and he has loads of energy inside the ring, but at some point and time you have to wonder when he will hit the wall.
For those gamblers out there picking Oscar to put Pacquiao away that time is now! Not only did Manny move up to 135 in his last fight, but also will make the gigantic leap from 135 all the way up to 147 to meet the “Golden Boy” for a super payday.
That is forty-one pounds from 106 pounds to 147 pounds! One would assume at some point his tremendous punching power might not follow him as he increases in weight and faces bigger and stronger fighters.
It is also important to point out that during his rise in weight he has only encountered three defeats but two of those defeats were by stoppage!
For Oscar’s part he is actually moving down in weight from his last fight. Prior to this fight against Pacquiao, De La Hoya’s official weight of 150 pounds against Steve Forbes was his lowest since he squared off with Arturo Gatti over seven years ago.
Since the entire theme of this piece centers on weight, I would be doing a disservice to my millions of readers if I didn’t mention Oscar’s own weighty issues.
Although there are zero questions that Oscar is a certain hall of fame inductee, he has had his own fair share of troubles as he has moved higher and higher in weight. Actually, three out of his five losses have come at weights 154 and above! His lone knockout defeat at the hands of Bernard Hopkins came at 155 pounds!
Even when he has managed to officially get the win on the judge’s scorecards, he has looked less then stellar doing so at these higher weight classes (can anyone say Felix Sturm!)
Now the Golden Boy returns to the welterweight division where he compiled a 10-2 record with 7 stoppage wins.
Part of the reason that Oscar has been able to make the move back to 147 pounds at the advanced age of 35 is because recently he has fought to stay in shape in between fights.
Usually, like most of the prizefighters out there, Oscar would balloon up in weight in between fights and spend a large portion of his training camp trying to lose those excess pounds.
After weighing in at 150 for the Forbes fight Oscar stayed relatively trim during the down time, making the move down three pounds to the welterweight limit of 147 not as difficult as it would have been in years past.
In this match against Pacquiao I believe De La Hoya simply has too many physical advantages for Pacquiao to overcome.
Oscar is bigger, stronger, taller, has the better beard, and will bring a six-inch reach advantage to the dance. Those are not insignificant advantages that De La Hoya possesses over Manny Pacquiao!
Theoretically he should be able to stand toe-to-toe with Manny and get the better of the exchanges or box from the outside, popping the jab in his smaller foe’s face every time “Pac Man” tries to close the distance.
Now that is not to suggest he is not going to be hit and hit often. Pacquiao has faced the best of the best in the lower weight divisions and delivers his punches with incredible speed and power.
In fact, if there is any single area where Manny may hold an edge over Oscar it will be in the speed department. Oscar is still pretty fast for a welterweight, but from all of the training footage I have been able to see of Manny it still appears he will hold the edge in hand speed when the two meet in the ring.
Although I expect Pacquiao to have the hand speed advantage in the ring I think we all can agree that Manny has serious technical flaws. Truth be told, he has a severely limited offensive arsenal. It is no mystery that Manny’s best punch is his left hand. Most of his offense is derived from a simple one-two combination punch.
On paper it would seem like a very easy task too nullify Pacquiao’s incomplete offensive arsenal, but the guy hits so hard that it only takes a single grazing shot to send his opponents down and out for the count.
With that said, Pacquiao without a doubt has progressed as a fighter since long time trainer Freddie Roach first started working with him. Under the tutelage of Roach, the hard-hitting Pac Man has added a very respectable body attack to his repertoire (just ask Erik Morales) as well as a slowly improving lead right hook from the southpaw stance.
In the end, the left hand will always be Manny Pacquiao’s most dangerous weapon.
But the question remains, will that potent left hand that has dropped or stopped opponents in the lower weight classes have any effect whatsoever when it lands on De La Hoya? How will Pacquiao react if Oscar takes his money punch and continues to fire back?
I anticipate wicked exchanges throughout this fight as both fighters try and impose their will on each other. Remember, throughout his long career Pac Man has been considered a puncher and will have a severe height and reach disadvantage if he decides to stay on the outside.
If the action starts fast and furious I would also not be surprised to see both fighters marked up in the face very early in the fight. In the past both guys have had trouble with their right eyes.
Pacquiao has been severely cut over his right eye in previous fights and De La Hoya was marked up badly against the light hitting Steve Forbes, and most recently sported a very nice shiner under the right eye from sparring with Victor Ortiz.
I believe if he truly wishes to win this fight, at some point and time Pacquiao is going to be forced to march forward and attack De La Hoya. If he doesn’t attack and make this fight an inside affair, his technically superior opponent will pick him apart on the outside. Either way he goes at it Pacquiao is going to have to take tremendous amounts of leather to give it.
Although his face first style of fighting has worked well for him in the past, if Pac Man can be stopped at 110 & 113 pounds there is nothing that suggests he cannot be stopped at 147 pounds against a great like Oscar De La Hoya!
Boxeo: 3.00 Units On De La Hoya By KO {+160}
Krakrabbit: 2.00 Units On De La Hoya By Decision {+263}
Grass Hopper: 2.00 Units On Pacquiao {+185} & 1.00 Units On Pacquiao By Decision {+373}
Doody: 1.00 Units On Pacquiao {+185}
D3: 1.00 Units On Pacquiao {+185} & 1.00 Units On De La Hoya By Decision {+263}