“A minute of perfection was worth the effort. A moment was the most you could ever expect from perfection.” – Chuck Palahniuk
And that moment is what drives both Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De la Hoya.
Manny Pacquiao is rich. Oscar De la Hoya is wealthy. Just like Frank Lopez said “Don’t underestimate the other man’s greed!” For the most part, critics that have bashed this fight have responded with “What the fuck is wrong with these guys, man?” ala Al Pacino with his best Cuban accent as Tony Montana in Scarface.
Yes it is about the money. Only a hypocrite would dare say otherwise. But what else, especially given the struggling times we all are in nowadays, isn’t?
This fight however has the makings of an all-time classic. Hollywood would’ve had a harder time selling characters that are so antithetic yet exude so much of the same charisma that you can’t help but pull for both of them. It is dubbed The Dream Match after all.
On one side you have protagonist a; a man who has made the American dream his own. He has managed to bring honor to the country that has embraced him without forgetting his Mexican roots. The Golden Boy they call him after winning USA’s only gold medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, is undoubtedly the most popular and financially successful athlete in the sport. His name alone stands as one of the sport’s main foundations not only as an athlete but also as a promoter and businessman. Slight him all you want for taking on a fighter much smaller than him, but for Oscar De la Hoya to step in the ring with Manny, he is putting his legacy on the line to give boxing another chance to take center stage. Why Manny Pacquiao? Because Manny Pacquiao is the most popular boxer not named Oscar De la Hoya and the most exciting boxer in the planet, period. And that’s how you get people to care about boxing again. So in a sense, as much as he is taking in, De la Hoya is still giving back.
On the other hand you have protagonist b; an almost too good even for reel, rags to riches Little Mac of a boxer from the small island nation of the Philippines who has worked his way up just like that little guy in Nintendo’s Punch Out and now sits on top of the sport as it’s best fighter pound for pound. From a guy nobody even wanted to take in their gym less than a decade ago to a boxer that has transcended the sport like nobody in it before him, Pacquiao not only stops civil wars and crime in his nation when he fights, but the best of the best either want to get a chance to fight him or be around him. Oscar De la Hoya has the influence and the connections because of his stature and business endeavors that’s why having the support of Golden Boy employed fighters and personalities and getting celebrity pull isn’t much of a surprise. Manny Pacquiao however is as real as it gets. His connections to his supporters are attached more from his spirit and heart than his business tie-ups. People are naturally drawn to his personality, fighting style and tenacity. He comes to America only to train for fights, how he has gotten so popular within its celebrity elite for them to take time out just to see him train and fight is a phenomenon in itself.
Much has been said about this fight and it’s time really to step back and enjoy it. This will definitely be my last article about this until after the fight itself. But if there’s one thing I found out about the whole lead-up to De la Hoya vs. Pacquiao, it is that De la Hoya is trying to hold on to what Manny Pacquiao currently is.
Oscar had his time to shine and capture the world’s imagination. That era has passed however. As our President Barrack Obama said, “Change is coming.” Times change just like fads, champions and everything else. The Bruce Willis’s that cheered for Oscar 10 years ago may still be in the stands cheering for him on December 6, but the cameras will be pointed at the Mark Wahlbergs, Anderson Silvas, Shawn Merrimans and the Kevin Garnetts that are pulling for the man of the hour- and that man is no other than the Pac Man. “Real recognize real”. Oscar is no dummy, I believe he recognizes that too. This may be Oscar’s way of passing the torch like the last Rocky movie wherein Rocky lost to Tarver only to leave in a blaze of glory. Because honestly, regardless of the end result as long as it’ll be competitive, from all the media coverage and attention this fight has received and barring any permanent injury, the true winner of this Dream Match is Manny.
