By George Willis
Special to ESPN.com
- Oscar De La Hoya, far left, and Manny Pacquiao hammed for the cam in the first boxing news conference held at Liberty Island.
NEW YORK -- The ferry transporting Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao and various dignitaries across the Hudson River toward the Statue of Liberty signaled the latest extravagant promotion powered by De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions. If you thought there was a lot of hullabaloo surrounding the lead-up to De La Hoya's fight with Floyd Mayweather in May 2007, De La Hoya-Pacquiao promises to make that seem tame. The world won't have to wait to hear about De La Hoya-Pacquiao because Golden Boy Promotions, HBO and various sponsors are going to make sure the Dec. 6 fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas is circled on millions of calendars.
Chris Farina/Top Rank
Play nice, boys: Lady Liberty overlooked the proceedings as De La Hoya, left, and Pacquiao kicked off their media tour.
From buying a commemorative 12-pack of Tecate that will get you a $25 rebate, to the four-part "24/7" HBO countdown series, to the obligatory De La Hoya-Pacquiao promo T-shirts, there will be plenty of reminders about the pay-per-view fight, which despite its hefty $54.95 price tag is being billed as a way to escape the economic troubles that have engulfed the country. Kicking off a six-city media tour at the base of the Statue of Liberty was an appropriate setting, considering the millions of people who have looked up to Lady Liberty as a symbol of hope, prosperity and the free enterprise system. De La Hoya, the son of Mexican immigrants, is a symbol of the American Dream -- at least, it says so in his recently released autobiography, "American Son." Pacquiao, a native of the Philippines, has made a fortune fighting in America and will make upward of $10 million in this fight. Somewhere, boxing fans and writers alike heard Don King cackling "Only in America." "Watching the Statue of Liberty, I feel proud to be American," De La Hoya said from the dais. "With great respect I have to say this is one of the most special moments of my entire career."
Chris Farina/Top Rank
PacMan fever: Pacquiao fans turned out in droves to support their countryman.
Perhaps he was getting a little carried away, wrapping himself in the Red, White and Blue, but clearly it was a glimpse of what figures to be the boxing promotion to end all boxing promotions. But if bigger and better is the theme of Golden Boy Promotions, it's also thinking of the Pacquiao camp, which isn't about to be a prop at De La Hoya's pay-per-view party. Some have frowned on the pairing, calling it a 147-pound mismatch in favor of De La Hoya, who will carry sizeable advantages in height (four inches), reach (six inches) and normal weight into the ring. But Pacquiao, who will be moving up 17 pounds from his fight in March against Juan Manuel Marquez, figures beating a bigger fighter in name and size will only enhance his career. "Some people are criticizing Oscar for picking on a small guy like me," said the 5-foot-6½ Pacquiao. "Some are saying I'm taking the fight for the money. But on Dec. 6 I will prove all the critics wrong. It will be a great boxing match. You have seen my previous fights and you know how Manny Pacquiao fights in the ring. On Dec. 6 the fire and the intensity will be doubled. This is no mismatch." Let's hope the fire and intensity on fight night is a bit edgier than it was in the Big Apple. When the two fighters did their face-to-face stare-down for cameras, they had to wipe the smiles off their faces. But if De La Hoya can't work up a lather for Pacquiao, maybe he can for Freddie Roach, who predicted Pacquiao would win by knockout. Roach trained De La Hoya for his split-decision loss to Mayweather, but has been Pacquiao's longtime tutor and plans to educate the Filipino on all of the Golden Boy's weaknesses. "I learned a lot during the eight-week period," Roach said of his time with De La Hoya, "and now I'm going to use it against him. I know his strengths and I know his weaknesses. We're going to take advantage of his mistakes." De La Hoya admitted that Roach being in Pacquiao's corner is a "concern," but plans to have a few new tricks taught to him by Nacho Beristain, his third trainer in his past three fights. Regardless of who is in the respective corners, De La Hoya knows he'll have his hands full with what will be in front of him. "I am 35 years old, challenging a young, hungry, fast, explosive fighter like Manny Pacquiao," De la Hoya said. "It's a huge challenge for me. But when I have everything to lose and nothing to gain, to me that's the motivational factor. I have to prove to myself that I can still do this. Manny Pacquiao, the heart that he has, the fire that he has, he's a big threat to me."
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