Pacquiao would’ve ‘easily’ beaten Mayweather in their prime, says De La Hoya
FILE — Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao. INQUIRER PHOTO
KUALA LUMPUR — Oscar De La Hoya has no doubt Manny Pacquiao would beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. had the two fought in their prime.
Mayweather and Pacquiao finally faced each other in 2015 in a megafight that came several years too late as both fighters stepped inside the ring already at the tailend of their careers.
Mayweather won by unanimous decision but De La Hoya said the result would’ve been “a lot different” had the showdown happened earlier.
“Pacquiao would have beaten him easily. In their prime? Absolutely,” said De La Hoya, who had the chance to fight both fighters before retiring in 2009.
De La Hoya lost to Mayweather by split decision in 2007 and suffered a TKO defeat to Pacquiao in 2008 before announcing his retirement five months later.
De La Hoya, who is a former six-division champion, arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday from Los Angeles in time for the final press conference of “The Fight of Champions.”
