MANILA, Philippines—Two-time trainer of the year Freddie Roach should get a special award as boxing salesman of the decade once they’re done counting the profits from the Dec. 6 bout between Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya.
OK, the eminent Larry Merchant should also get his due as the original proponent of the year’s most intriguing ring match-up.
But it was Roach who ably nursed the Merchant dream into reality, the first of its kind, by firing off a decisive statement.
“De La Hoya can no longer pull the trigger,” Roach declared firmly.
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If to a priest, De La Hoya should be defrocked.
That exactly was Roach’s judgment, and nobody could be in a better spot to give that awesome verdict.
As you and I know, Roach trained De La Hoya against Floyd Mayweather Jr. last time.
Roach was also the most frustrated guy in the corner after Oscar failed repeatedly to fire in the crucial stretch of the slug-out.
As far as Roach was concerned, Oscar committed the deathly sins that should promptly merit banishment to the barn.
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Maybe Roach wanted to say De La Hoya, old and tired, was messy and could ultimately become a nuisance.
But before things could get out of hand, Roach made a turnaround.
Next we knew, Roach had already sold De La Hoya as the next foe for Pacquiao, his richest and most valuable star.
No, Roach did not have to pay tribute to Oscar’s monumental stature.
He sold the Dream Match in Las Vegas by swearing that, yes, De La Hoya would still be a supreme challenge to Pacquiao, the world pound-for-pound king.
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You could say that Roach, in this case, was caught contradicting himself.
But, as the sage Bob Arum would advise beginners, there are countless tricks you can use to sell a big fight.
Anyway, being no beginner, the respected lawyer-sportsman Rudy Salud, founding secretary general of the World Boxing Council, minced no words in swearing De La Hoya is definitely over the hill.
“I saw this with Flash Elorde, Sugar Ray Robinson and even with my friend Roy Jones,” Salud told Nick Giongco of the Bulletin.
What did he see?
“De La Hoya’s timing is off, he can no longer connect as he used to, he has fading skills and his talent is receding,” Salud said.
Salud stressed that Pacquiao is on top of his game while the other guy is on the decline.
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It was not the first time Salud had spoken of the great disparity between Pacquiao, 29, and De La Hoya, 35.
When he told me these things earlier, Salud was totally convinced nothing could help restore De La Hoya’s lost stamina and vigor.
There’s no holding back the years, maintained Salud, a consummate boxing scholar.
He could be right again.
But there’s another twist that could help fire up interest in the promotion.
Perceived to be old and heavy, De La Hoya was reported to have weighed only 149 lb, two over the stipulated limit of 147 lb, in Puerto Rico last week.
Pacquiao, said to be at least 154 when he left for California the other day, has not even bothered to read the scales.
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Now, for some questions:
1) If De La Hoya has refused to immediately pick his next trainer, could it be that he doesn’t find the immediate need to truly sharpen his skills for his next fight?
2) Could it be that, knowing what had caused him to fade and falter in recent bouts, he has decided to correct these recurrent faults first?
3) Has he been concentrating on checking his suspect oxygen tank and at the same time having his boxing engine finely tuned up, if not totally overhauled?
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Hogwash, knowledgeable critics would most likely smirk.
Once over the hill, there’s no going back in boxing.
There are those who are likely to suggest De La Hoya could turn to voodoo, hire a witch doctor and this won’t help.
Or maybe he could finally turn to the greatly tested Nacho Beristain, who could’ve used some secret formula, if not sorcery, in crafting a total of 16 world boxing champions.
None of my concern, Roach snapped when informed about the likelihood of magic man Beristain, his old rival, working in De La Hoya’s corner on Dec. 6.
Wasn’t Roach lying to himself?
