Manny Pacquiao described Oscar dela Hoya as his “boyhood idol” and said not even in his wildest dream did he ever see himself facing the legendary boxer.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think and imagine that I will be fighting the same man who was then a superstar and is still the sport’s biggest draw,” he said.
Dela Hoya was already fighting as a lightweight (134 lbs), and was on a hot 17-0 winning streak, when Pacquiao began his pro career in 1995 as a gangling 106-pounder.
On Dec. 6 or less than a hundred days from now, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Pacquiao faces Dela Hoya in what he considers the biggest fight of his life.
Pacquiao said he remembers the day when he fought Lehlo Ledwaba on June 23, 2001 at the MGM in the undercard of Dela Hoya’s fight against Javier Castillejo.
Pacquiao won on that night and took the IBF super-bantamweight (122 lbs) crown while Dela Hoya survived 12 rounds for the WBC light-middleweight (154 lbs) crown.
“It’s nice to think that seven-and-a-half years after the two of us will be fighting each other in a main event, in the biggest fight of the year, at the same hotel,” said Pacquiao.
“Seven years more from 2001 and 25 pounds heavier, I will face the man who I admired most for his speed and wisdom in the ring,” Pacquiao reported yesterday from Gen. Santos City.
“Everyone will be watching,” he said of the fight that is set at 147 pounds and is expected to gross a hundred million dollars in revenue.
The fight is so big that ticket prices are so high – at $1,500 each for a ringside seat and $250 for each seat up in the stands. These prices are the biggest ever in a fight featuring Pacquiao.
Pacquiao stands to earn $10 million to $15 million or even more for this fight, and may even get an extra $3 million if Dela Hoya weighs in a pound of a fraction heavier than the limit.