Oscar De La Hoya blog: Mayweather-PacquiaoPosted Nov. 18, 2009 at 06:47pm

Oscar De La Hoya blog: Mayweather-PacquiaoPosted Nov. 18, 2009 at 06:47pm

By Oscar De La HoyaBuzz up!

Oscar De La Hoya, whose promotional firm represents Floyd Mayweather Jr., was impressed with Manny Pacquiao's performance against Miguel Cotto on Saturday and is as excited as the rest of us about the prospect of a Mayweather-Pacquiao showdown. Here are his thoughts on the Filipino marvel and that potential fight.


Manny Pacquiao was incredible against Miguel Cotto on Saturday. I thought he was very patient. He wanted to be sure to execute his game plan, which is the result of a lot of dedication and hard work during training. As the fight went on, Cotto just realized that he couldn’t hurt Pacquiao or beat him to the punch. It was one of those performances. Pacquiao put on a great show.

I was very impressed. To move up all those weight classes and beat the guys he’s beating is really something. I tip my hat to him. Not too many fighters can move up in weight and do what he’s doing. And he has a lot of fans. That fight probably did a million pay-per-view buys, which would make it back-to-back million-home fights. The Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Juan Manuel Marquez fight also did a million. That’s very rare in boxing.

And that leads us to what everyone is talking about: A Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight. I think it would be the biggest fight in boxing, which already is on such a great roll. The ball is in Mayweather’s court; he calls his own shots. But that’s the fight I believe Mayweather wants, Pacquiao wants and the fans want. It’s a fight that should be done. It could break the all-time pay-per-view record, 2.45 million, which was set in my fight against Mayweather in 2007.

In one corner, you have Mayweather, who many still believe is the best pure boxer on the planet today. When it comes to talent, when it comes to skill, he’s by far the most-talented of the bunch. People recognize that. And in the other corner, you have Pacquiao, a fighter who is explosive and always puts on a good fight.

They are both crossover stars now. They reach not only boxing fans but also non-boxing fans. So this isn’t a case of one fighter carrying the show; you have two fighters who will carry the promotion and make it a blockbuster. When I fought Mayweather, he was extremely talented but not quite the crossover star he is now. If he was, we probably would’ve done 4 million homes.

There is so much money on the table that I don’t see why Mayweather-Pacquiao shouldn’t happen. It could hit 3 million pay-per-view buys. And if two fighters can do it, it’s Mayweather and Pacquiao. It’s going to be up to the fighters, though, up to Mayweather. And then we’ll take it from there.

I believe it will happen. Mayweather wants to make history, he wants to fight the best. He’s out to prove he’s the best. He’s a competitor, a person who is ego driven. He wants to prove he can beat a fighter like Pacquiao. I think we’re coming to a new era in boxing, where fighters realize it’s not good enough to put on just an OK show. Fighters are realizing their careers are short and they want to make the most of them. Mayweather-Pacquiao is an opportunity to show the best side of boxing.

I’ve been through many negotiations for big fights. It takes a lot of work, a lot of back and forth, everything from who enters the ring first to what corner each fighter will be in. It’s a process. But when you have people like Leonard Ellerbe, Richard Schaefer and Bob Arum, people who understand the game and how to promote a fight, it makes it that much easier.

I’ll speak generally about money. We at Golden Boy look at market value (when discussing how the purse will be divided). In this case, Mayweather has not only the skill but also the power to call his own shots. He’s in charge, he’s in control.

My general advice to anyone going into negotiations would be not to let the little points ruin the negotiations. Go in with an open mind and be patient and everything will work itself out. I think that will be the case with Mayweather-Pacquiao. It definitely would be wonderful to be a part of another historic fight.