INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines—Oscar De La Hoya hopes to defuse Manny Pacquiao’s fiery style the way Juan Manuel Marquez did in their two previous encounters which the Filipino ring icon barely survived.

In an interview with the boxingscene.com, De La Hoya said he has been studying tapes of Pacquiao’s two fights against Marquez to make sure that he’s prepared “when he comes in with his explosive style and his hard punches.”

And what better way to prepare him against the smaller but feistier Pacquiao for their Dec. 6 fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, than hiring the renowned Mexican trainer of Marquez—Nacho Beristain.

Beristain, considered as Mexico’s top trainer, guided Marquez from three knockdowns in the first round to a split draw with Pacquiao in their first fight in 2004.

Last March, Pacquiao had to settle for a split decision win over Marquez for the WBC super featherweight crown in a fight many thought could have gone either way.

“Obviously I have to be smart. I have to use my jab. I have to be rangy in that ring, just the way Juan Manuel Marquez did against him both of their fights,” De La Hoya was quoted as saying. “He (Marquez) was using that long jab. He was using those long right hands.

“I just have to make sure that I have my hands up when Pacquiao comes in with that explosive style and his hard punches.”

De La Hoya said in a recent interview in Las Vegas that he is inclined to tap Beristain after his long-time strategist Floyd Mayweather Sr., opted to train Ricky Hatton, who is fighting Pauli Malignaggi for the IBF junior welterweight title late November.

“I’m going to want someone who’s experienced. I want someone who has the knowledge of Pacquiao and Pacquiao’s style,” De La Hoya told reviewjournal.com.

Pacquiao, who is scheduled to leave for the US tonight, visited his relatives in Cebu after attending mass in a chapel he built from his earnings.

Meanwhile, Top Rank president Bob Arum said there will only be a few tickets left for the public to buy as his company, De La Hoya’s Golden Boy promotions and the MGM Mirage had placed bulk orders for the fight.

Arum didn’t say how many tickets Pacquiao ordered but the Filipino ring icon normally gives away hundreds of tickets to his friends during his fights.

“I am not a ticket broker or seller. But the demand is wild. This fight is going through the roof. I was a bit skeptical at first due to the size difference but this is what the public wants,” said De La Hoya’s top close adviser Don Chargin in an interview with boxingconfidential.com.

Earlier reports said TR, GBP and MGM are placing 5,000 tickets each, reducing the number of tickets available to the public to no more than 2,000. The MGM Grand seats 17,000 people.

Tickets are priced $1,500, $1,000, $750, $500 and $250, but Arum admitted that no ticket will be available at face value anymore.

Brokers and online ticket sellers have started peddling tickets that are expected to sell as much as $42,000 for the precious floor-seats.

During the box-office hit De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather fight last year, gate receipts reportedly reached $20 million.

Arum, in a recent radio interview, said there’s a big possibility the fight could top that record mark.