DE LA HOYA WORKING HARD ON HIS LEFT JAB

By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 23 Sep 2008



“The Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya agrees with fight fans who believe his left jab will be his most potent weapon against Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao when they clash in their “Dream Match” at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on December 6. De La Hoya spoke to www.insidesports.ph, Manila Standard and Viva Sports by overseas telephone from Monterrey, Mexico where Golden Boy Promotions staged a highly successful fight card in which Colombia’s Antonio Pitalua scored a stunning sixth round knockout over Jose Armando Santa Cruz and will fight Edwin Valero for the WBC interim lightweight championship.

De La Hoya said “honestly I am going to work on my left jab. I want to throw it three or four or five times and I want to put my punches together. Fire combinations so I will be working on different techniques in training, up to the fight.”

De La Hoya doesn’t have a trainer as yet and this apparently worries him a little but he assured us “I will be ready for the fight.”

The Golden Boy revealed that Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain, the great Mexican trainer who handled Juan Manuel Marquez among others, is on top of the list. De La Hoya said “I am going to be talking to Nacho Beristain in the next couple of days.” De La Hoya described Beristain as “a great trainer who obviously knows Pacquiao very well.”

De La Hoya claimed he has had one month’s training so far and his weight is down to 151 pounds which is a mere four pounds above the stipulated 147 pound limit for the Pacquiao fight.

He said “I feel great. I feel very motivated” emphasizing that “this fight is very serious for me.” De La Hoya reiterated that he is training very hard and expects “a very tough fight from Manny, but we’ll be ready.”

De La Hoya downplayed his height advantage over Pacquiao saying “you know I think he can give me a tough fight. I think because of the speed and his power. Age is obviously going to be a factor but all I can do is get in the best shape of my life and train like I always train, so I could be ready.”

While he conceded that by moving up to the 147 pound limit from his last fight at 135 Pacquiao will “get a little bit slower” De La Hoya noted that “Manny, a little bit slower is still faster than anybody else.”

Discussing the biggest assets of Pacquiao in relation to their “Dream Match, De La Hoya said “I think his greatest asset is his left hand. He’s got a good left hand. And the speed” saying that it was the “one thing we are working on to neutralize.”

Speaking about the promotional tour which opens on October 1 in front of the Statue of Liberty in New York said they had put together a great promotional tour where he and Pacquiao will visit places all over the US that are going to be historical. Aside from New York the tour will move to Chicago, Houston and San Antonio in Texas and San Francisco and Los Angeles.