“It doesn't matter how much bigger and taller he is, it's about what he can do in the ring.” -- Manny Pacquiao
Listen to the Manny Pacquiao audio interview here
Boxing Herald sat down with the pound for pound king, Manny Pacquiao and got his thoughts on his HUGE upcoming fight against the legendary Oscar De La Hoya. Pacquiao's training camp is already in full throttle, and the champion from General Santos City had plenty to say about what is no doubt the biggest fight of his career.
BOXING HERALD – Manny this is a huge, huge, huge fight for you. A lot of your fans are very excited.
MANNY PACQUIAO – YeS, [laughing] this is going to be a great fight.
BOXING HERALD – Talk about the matchup with you and Oscar De La Hoya.
MANNY PACQUIAO – Well, Oscar is bigger and taller than me, but it doesn't matter how much bigger and taller his is. The most important thing is what can he do in the ring. I think I have the advantage over him, and that's speed. Speed and strategy in the fight.
BOXING HERALD – A lot your fans and boxing writers feel that Oscar is too big for you. What can you say to your fans that will relax them, to make them feel that you will be OK in there against De La Hoya?
MANNY PACQUIAO – Well, what I can say is just relax, and take it easy, I can handle this. I am focused on my training. I will train hard for this fight. I came to training camp early for this fight, because I knew that I would have to.
BOXING HERALD – I heard that you will be sparring with junior middleweights and middleweights in preparation for Oscar.
MANNY PACQUIAO – Freddie found good sparring mates, taller guys like Oscar, so this will be a great, great training camp. We will have a great training camp.
BOXING HERALD – You have fought the best to offer, Marquez, Morales, Barrera etc. Now you will fight Oscar De La Hoya. Will he be the most dangerous fighter that you will have ever faced?
MANNY PACQUIAO – I can say that he's going to be the hardest fight of my career. I understand that this guy is also a great fighter. I know that he is a legend, but for me it's an honor to fight a legend like Oscar De La Hoya. I will do my best to win this fight and to make people happy.
BOXING HERALD – Do you feel that it's a possibility that Oscar might get tired in the later rounds, and that may be another key to your victory?
MANNY PACQUIAO – We believe that he may get tired in the later rounds. That is one of our advantages.
BOXING HERALD – There were a lot of negotiations that were going on in order to make this fight a reality. How difficult were the negotiations, and to finally sign the contract?
MANNY PACQUIAO – Well, the first thing was to get both parties to agree on everything. We both have agreed on the negotiations, so the fight will happen now.
BOXING HERALD – So you are happy with the percentage of your purse, and the weight that you will both be fighting at?
MANNY PACQUIAO – I am happy with the negotiation. I think now I have to focus on the training for this fight.
BOXING HERALD – What is the one thing overall that Oscar does in the ring that most concerns you?
MANNY PACQUIAO – Well first, Oscar is bigger and taller than I am. That is the first concern, and that is why we will train hard for this fight. We have a strategy in place in order for us to beat a bigger and taller guy.
BOXING HERALD – You are now getting into boxing promotions, talk about that.
MANNY PACQUIAO – It's my plan that after my boxing career, I want to be a promoter. I have a promotion coming up this September 26th in San Diego.
BOXING HERALD – How many more fights do you think you have left in your career before you retire?
MANNY PACQUIAO – I have more fights after this one.
BOXING HERALD – Is Ricky Hatton one of them?
MANNY PACQUIAO – Maybe [laughs].
BOXING HERALD – Do you want to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. before you retire?
BOXING HERALD – That's a possibility. If I win this fight maybe Floyd Mayweather will come out of retirement looking for a big fight.
BOXING HERALD – The pound for pound king fight.
MANNY PACQUIAO – Thank you.
BOXING HERALD – Manny thank you for your time.
MANNY PACQUIAO – Thank you, Brad.
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