Oscar De La Hoya Blog: Mayweather-Pacquiao

By Oscar De La Hoya

Oscar De La Hoya, whose promotional firm represents Floyd Mayweather Jr., was impressed with Manny Pacquiao's performance against Miguel Cotto on Saturday and is as excited as the rest of us about the prospect of a Mayweather-Pacquiao showdown. Here are his thoughts on the Filipino marvel and that potential fight.


Manny Pacquiao was incredible against Miguel Cotto on Saturday. I thought he was very patient. He wanted to be sure to execute his game plan, which is the result of a lot of dedication and hard work during training. As the fight went on, Cotto just realized that he couldn’t hurt Pacquiao or beat him to the punch. It was one of those performances. Pacquiao put on a great show.

I was very impressed. To move up all those weight classes and beat the guys he’s beating is really something. I tip my hat to him. Not too many fighters can move up in weight and do what he’s doing. And he has a lot of fans. That fight probably did a million pay-per-view buys, which would make it back-to-back million-home fights. The Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Juan Manuel Marquez fight also did a million. That’s very rare in boxing.

And that leads us to what everyone is talking about: A Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight. I think it would be the biggest fight in boxing, which already is on such a great roll. The ball is in Mayweather’s court; he calls his own shots. But that’s the fight I believe Mayweather wants, Pacquiao wants and the fans want. It’s a fight that should be done. It could break the all-time pay-per-view record, 2.45 million, which was set in my fight against Mayweather in 2007.

In one corner, you have Mayweather, who many still believe is the best pure boxer on the planet today. When it comes to talent, when it comes to skill, he’s by far the most-talented of the bunch. People recognize that. And in the other corner, you have Pacquiao, a fighter who is explosive and always puts on a good fight.

They are both crossover stars now. They reach not only boxing fans but also non-boxing fans. So this isn’t a case of one fighter carrying the show; you have two fighters who will carry the promotion and make it a blockbuster. When I fought Mayweather, he was extremely talented but not quite the crossover star he is now. If he was, we probably would’ve done 4 million homes.

There is so much money on the table that I don’t see why Mayweather-Pacquiao shouldn’t happen. It could hit 3 million pay-per-view buys. And if two fighters can do it, it’s Mayweather and Pacquiao. It’s going to be up to the fighters, though, up to Mayweather. And then we’ll take it from there.

I believe it will happen. Mayweather wants to make history, he wants to fight the best. He’s out to prove he’s the best. He’s a competitor, a person who is ego driven. He wants to prove he can beat a fighter like Pacquiao. I think we’re coming to a new era in boxing, where fighters realize it’s not good enough to put on just an OK show. Fighters are realizing their careers are short and they want to make the most of them. Mayweather-Pacquiao is an opportunity to show the best side of boxing.

I’ve been through many negotiations for big fights. It takes a lot of work, a lot of back and forth, everything from who enters the ring first to what corner each fighter will be in. It’s a process. But when you have people like Leonard Ellerbe, Richard Schaefer and Bob Arum, people who understand the game and how to promote a fight, it makes it that much easier.

I’ll speak generally about money. We at Golden Boy look at market value (when discussing how the purse will be divided). In this case, Mayweather has not only the skill but also the power to call his own shots. He’s in charge, he’s in control.

My general advice to anyone going into negotiations would be not to let the little points ruin the negotiations. Go in with an open mind and be patient and everything will work itself out. I think that will be the case with Mayweather-Pacquiao. It definitely would be wonderful to be a part of another historic fight.

Pacman does it again on pay-per-view

By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports
Nov 20, 1:19 pm EST


Pound- for-pound kingpin Manny Pacquiao scored his second big knockout victory in a week on Friday, when HBO Sports announced that his Nov. 14 victory over Miguel Cotto sold 1.25 million pay-per-views and generated $70 million in pay-per-view revenue.

Pacquiao, who knocked Cotto out in the 12th round to capture the World Boxing Organization welterweight title, has averaged 1.1 million in PPV sales in his past three outings – knockout victories over Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Cotto.

The win could set up a 2010 match with unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr., the other man with a claim to the throne as the top fighter in the sport. That bout would likely shatter all pay-per-view records.

More From Kevin IoleWard's Super chance at breakthrough Nov 19, 2009 Arum won't stand in way of dream fight Nov 18, 2009 Mayweather holds the record for most pay-per-view units sold in an individual bout, with 2.45 million when he won a split decision over De La Hoya in 2007. Mayweather has averaged 1.48 million on pay-per-view in his past three outings, following up the De La Hoya fight with 940,000 in sales against Ricky Hatton and 1.05 million on Sept. 19 in his comeback bout with Juan Manuel Marquez.

HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg said the performance of Pacquiao-Cotto is yet another indication of the sport’s upward mobility. This is the first time since 1999 that there have been two pay-per-view cards in one year that have reached 1 million or more buys. He said sports fans, not just boxing fans, are talking about a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight.

“Boxing is back in the mainstream and this is what we’ve been working for for so long,” Greenburg said. “I am feeling (the excitement for a Mayweather-Pacquiao match) and people are walking around the streets talking about it. These are two guys who are recognized around the world as the best pound-for-pound fighters. They’re in the same class and they’re in their primes.

“It harkens back to the Sugar Ray Leonard-Tommy Hearns fight in 1981. Those are very few and far between. People are so excited. That’s why it feels bigger than most. It’s exciting for the sport, it’s exciting for the fighters, it’s exciting for the trainers and everyone involved.”

Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum was thrilled with the result and expects the 1.25 million figure to grow as more results trickle in. Arum said the figure released Friday is “very preliminary” and could get larger. It is not unusual for cable companies to report additional sales many months after the fight.

Arum knew he had a winner from the moment he signed Pacquiao-Cotto, but didn’t expect such a large figure until the week of the fight. Not only was the bout receiving wall-to-wall coverage from traditional boxing media, it also drew unprecedented attention from mainstream outlets such as The New York Times and Time Magazine.

“The New York Times covered the fight so well – and when’s the last time they did anything on boxing like that?” Arum asked. “Time put Manny on the cover [of its Asian edition]. Basically, we were expanding our base [of media coverage] and when I saw that, I knew this fight was going into another realm. And what happened then didn’t surprise me. This is a very preliminary number and it could grow considerably.”

Mayweather manager Leonard Ellerbe congratulated Pacquiao on the sales performance, but said it would not have an impact on negotiations for a bout with his fighter. “That’s good for boxing and good for the sport,” Ellerbe said.

Ellerbe said Team Mayweather is meeting internally to determine its stance. Ellerbe said Mayweather is more than willing to fight Pacquiao if an equitable deal can be struck.

Arum, too, insisted he wants to see the fight made because of the public demand for it. But because of the animosity between Mayweather and Arum, reaching a deal could be problematic. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer will deliver Mayweather’s position to Arum, Ellerbe said.

“We feel as though this is the biggest fight by far in the history of the sport,” Ellerbe said. “We will approach it accordingly. Mayweather Promotions/Team Mayweather is sitting down and going over all of our options to come up with our position. Once we come up with our position, we will let Richard know and he’ll deliver it to Bob.”

The biggest pay-per-view draws to this point have all been American fighters: Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, De La Hoya and Mayweather. Arum said he is amazed that a Filipino fighter who speaks English as a second language has been able to cross over and become a legitimate star.

Now, a potential Mayweather-Pacquiao fight would match not only the men widely regarded as the two best in the sport but also pair its two best draws. It may turn out to be the most anticipated bout since Muhammad Ali met Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden in New York on March 8, 1971.

“What this kid has done is astounding,” Arum said. “You don’t see these kinds of numbers with foreign fighters. With the De La Hoya fight, yeah, you could say it was De La Hoya [who drove the sales]. Manny was the ‘B’ side, no question. But for Hatton, Manny was the ‘A’ side and, without a doubt, he was the ‘A’ side against Cotto.

“He’s become a legitimate, genuine attraction. People are fascinated with the kid. They absolutely love him. I was in New York and everywhere I went, literally, people who wouldn’t know a left hook from a right cross were talking about him. He’s got the great story that appeals to the non-boxing fans, and the boxing guys love him because of how he fights and how fearless he is.”