Hanggang three rounds lamang ang posibleng itagal ni Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao kay world six-division champion Oscar Dela Hoya.
Ito ang prediksyon ni World Boxing Organizaiton (WBO) welterweight titlist Paul Williams kaugnay sa non-title welterweight fight nina Dela Hoya at Pacquiao sa Disyembre 6 sa MGM Grand Arena sa Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Oscar will stop Manny within three rounds,” ani Williams. “I don’t want to take anything away from Pacquiao, but his punches won’t hurt Dela Hoya. Manny is just too small, and Oscar is just too big. That’s why we have the different weight classes. The size and weight difference makes it a bad fight.”
Nagsimula ang 5-foot-6 na si Pacquiao bilang isang flyweight, samantalang natural na lightweight naman ang 5’10 1/2 na si Dela Hoya, ang gold medalist sa 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games sa Spain.
Ito ang unang pagkakataon na lalaban sa welterweight division (147 lbs.) ang 29-anyos na si Pacquiao, habang bababa naman sa naturang timbang ang 35-anyos na si Dela Hoya matapos talunin si Arturo Gatti noong 2000.
Kung kinampihan ni Williams si Dela Hoya, nagpatutsada naman si World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight king Antonio Margarito ng Mexico sa huli.
“Now Oscar is getting brave with a 135-pound fighter and is trying to convince everyone that it’s a tough fight,” wika ni Margarito. “He’s getting brave with a great fighter, but a fighter who fights at 135 pounds. He wants to show the world that he can pull the trigger against a 135-pounder. What a man! What a hero!”
Maapos agawin kay Miguel Cotto ng Puerto Rico ang WBA welterweight crown nito via 11th-round TKO noong Hulyo 27, hinamon ni Margarito si Dela Hoya na tinaggihan naman nito.