Pacquiao 3 lbs lighter than De La Hoya
Pacman not bothered
LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Manny Pacquiao sounded more amused than anything when he ï¿½lostï¿½ four pounds in an official weigh-in where it looked to him that Oscar De La Hoya avoided a $6-million penalty for excess poundage.
But there was an unmistakable snarl in his voice when he was asked if he was bothered by the fact that he could be facing an already bigger opponent who could grow even more with the added two pounds.
ï¿½Ako pa,ï¿½ exclaimed Pacquiao. ï¿½Kung gusto nila, magsuntukan na kami ngayon, kahit wala pang gloves (If they want, we go at it without gloves).ï¿½
The Filipino pound-for-pound champ, who sports a 47-3-2 record spiked with 35 knockouts, battles boxingï¿½s Golden Boy (29-5, 30 KOs) Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in a duke-out dubbed ï¿½Dream Match,ï¿½ which will be fought at the welterweight limit of 147 lbs.
Pacquiao stepped on the scales and registered 142 lbs, just barely an hour after registering 146 in a pre-weigh-in check at his suite at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay.
ï¿½I was surprised at my weight,ï¿½ Pacquiao told journalists Friday. ï¿½Before I went to the weigh-in, I checked my weight and came in at 146 lbs.ï¿½
ï¿½When I got to the venue, in less than an hour, I weighed 142 lbs. In less than an hour I lost four pounds and I did not even do anything. I donï¿½t want to insinuate anything, but I lost four pounds in less than an hour without doing anything.
De La Hoya, on the other hand, came in at 145 -- that is, if nothing was amiss during the weigh-in.
It is common for two different scales to be calibrated differently, but the four-pound difference between Pacquiaoï¿½s hotel scales and the official one used during Fridayï¿½s weigh-in at the MGM Grandï¿½s Garden Arena caused eyebrows to rise -- especially since there is an expensive penalty for being overweight stipulated in the fight contract.
Under that stipulation, any fighter who weighs over 147 lbs will pay $3 million per pound. That clause was inserted into the contract as a safety measure by Roach to prevent De La Hoya from coming in too big and create an even bigger mismatch between the two fighters.
Pacquiao added there was no way the official scale and his own machine could have produced separate results because they were both on the mark just the day before.
ï¿½Yesterday (Thursday), before practice, I checked my weight at the official scale and came in at 149,ï¿½ Pacquiao recounted in Filipino. ï¿½When I returned to the hotel, I weighed myself at my scale and came in at 149, meaning the official scale and my personal scale were calibrated the same.
ï¿½After I trained, I checked my weight and came in at 146. I ate a little and the next morning, I checked my weight again and came in at 146. All of a sudden, the official scale and my scale were off by four pounds. Take those four pounds and that means Oscar is 149.ï¿½
Pacquiao, however, said he will no longer make an issue out of it. The 29-year-old reigning lightweight champion of the world said the only good De La Hoya could get out of it is that the former Olympic gold medalist will skirt paying a fine.
And money is the least of Pacquiaoï¿½s problems in this fight, where he stands to earn nearly $15 million, which also includes his share of the pay-per-view earnings.
Pacquiao also said he is putting to rest the tape controversy, where trainer Freddie Roach complained to the Nevada State Athletic Commission that the De La Hoya camp will be using illegal tape and taping methods on fight night.
The commission convened an emergency meeting at the media center at the MGM Grand and shot down Roachï¿½s appeal to make Team De La Hoya change the bandages they use for wrapping hands. But it did hammer out a compromise with what Roach said was an illegal use of ï¿½false ligamentsï¿½ made out of rolled tape.
ï¿½But that doesnï¿½t matter now,ï¿½ added Pacquiao. ï¿½Iï¿½m ready for Oscar.ï¿½
Pacquiao said De La Hoya gave him a mean staredown when they went face-to-face for photographers during the weigh-in. But he said that did not shake him one bit -- just like the extra pounds and the tale of the hand tape did not bother him at all.
Las Vegas, Nevada hosted the De La Hoya-Pacquiao match
Filipino WBC Lightweight Champion, Emmanuel "The Pacman" Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36 KOs) stopped American boxer and promoter Oscar "Golden Boy" De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs) after eight rounds of the "The Dream Match" in MGM Grand Garden Arena, at Las Vegas, Nevada on December 6, 2008. De La Hoya's corner threw in the towel before the start of the 9th round of the 12-round, non-title fight at the 147-pound welterweight limit. It was officially a technical knockout.

"Pacman" dominated the fight, from the opening bell, landing his straight left hand to the American's face, and later opens up with combinations in the seventh and eighth rounds. Two of the three judges scored all eight rounds for him, while a third gives De La Hoya the first round. Finally, Pacman gives De La Hoya a beating and closes his left eye in the eighth round. Pacquiao said, "You're still my idol." De La Hoya replied, "No, you're my idol." 

The camp of Manny Pacquiao has previously claimed that "Golden Boy" had weaknesses the Filipino boxer would exploit. Trainer Freddie Roach accurately foretold the outcome when he earlier said, "I'm not saying we're not going to knock him out. If it happens, fine. We'll take it. What we're going to do is break him down round by round. We're working on staying away from the jab and the left hook. The hook is a power shot. But Oscar makes a mistake with his jab. I'm not saying what it is, but I've seen it."

Meanwhile, sportinglife.com reported that Pacquiao "confirmed he's up for a showdown with Ricky "Hitman" Hatton, telling Sky Box Office: "My job is to fight in the ring, that's the promoter's job. I can fight any time, anywhere. I can go to England to fight Hatton, no problem." Hatton replies: "Manny's proved again that he's pound-for-pound the number one in the sport and I still might get my dream of becoming the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world."

Pacquiao stands to earn nearly US$15 million, which also includes his share of the pay-per-view earnings while De La Hoya is guaranteed $20 million for the fight.