Pacquiao: "I'm 100% Sure That I Will Beat De La Hoya"
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Filipino ring idol and national treasure Manny Pacquiao has expressed confidence he will beat “The Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya in their “Dream Match” at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on December 6.
Pacquiao made the statement in an exclusive interview with insidesports.ph, Manila Standard and Viva Sports after a sumptuous lunch held at the gym of his good friend Rex “Wakee” Salud.
Pacquiao was besieged by fans including many foreigners on his arrival at the airport in Mactan and spent at least 30 minutes posing for pictures and was even asked to carry babies by excited mothers who were overjoyed that Pacquiao was so accommodating.
One lady from the Dominican Republic who reportedly was a fan asked Pacquiao to beat De La Hoya but told him “please don’t smash his handsome face.”
During his whirlwind visit to Cebu, Pacquiao was present at the inauguration and blessing of a chapel of St. Michael the Archangel in Punta Princesa near Salud’s gym which Pacquiao had constructed at a cost of some P1 million. Hundreds of people crowded into the chapel and the surrounding area to get a glimpse of their idol while many more crammed the Salud gym where the boxing promoter/manager hosted a sumptuous lunch.
Pacquiao, his charming wife Jinkee who is expecting their fourth child later this year and his father and elder brother then took a three-hour drive to his father’s hometown of Pinamungajan for a fight card put up by MP Promotions.
He was scheduled to return to Manila on Sunday and said he would leave for Los Angeles aboard a Philippine Airlines flight Sunday night to begin training for the showdown with De La Hoya.
Pacquiao spoke about the chapel he built saying “all that I do, I always thank God because everything I have came from Him. The support I receive from all the people is because they know me and that I will help no matter where I go and we will continue to help as long as we can afford to.”
Pacquiao said together with celebrated trainer Freddie Roach he would “study what strategy we need to use to win” stressing that he would “focus more on speed which is my advantage.”
He said “I believe I can win and God won’t abandon me. I really will train long and hard. I cannot reveal my strategy but I will do my best in training so I can give a good fight that will make the fans happy.”
Pacquiao said that no matter what people say about the fight with De La Hoya in his mind “this is a tough fight and I need to be disciplined and train properly. I will have more than ten weeks of training” which will be the longest in my career.
Pointing out that he doesn’t interfere in other peoples lives, Pacquiao said no matter what others may say he “focuses on my life and my future. Let people say what they want. That’s not my problem.”
Pacquiao reiterated he would have one or two more fights after De La Hoya and then retire and run for public office. He said he was “willing to fight (Ricky) Hatton but let me finish this fight with De La Hoya then we’ll see.”
He said his “spirit is strong and my heart is full because of the prayers of our people and the fact that God always protects and looks after me and blesses me during a fight.”
In a parting shot Pacquiao said “I am one hundred percent sure I will win.”
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Filipino ring idol and national treasure Manny Pacquiao has expressed confidence he will beat “The Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya in their “Dream Match” at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on December 6.
Pacquiao made the statement in an exclusive interview with insidesports.ph, Manila Standard and Viva Sports after a sumptuous lunch held at the gym of his good friend Rex “Wakee” Salud.
Pacquiao was besieged by fans including many foreigners on his arrival at the airport in Mactan and spent at least 30 minutes posing for pictures and was even asked to carry babies by excited mothers who were overjoyed that Pacquiao was so accommodating.
One lady from the Dominican Republic who reportedly was a fan asked Pacquiao to beat De La Hoya but told him “please don’t smash his handsome face.”
During his whirlwind visit to Cebu, Pacquiao was present at the inauguration and blessing of a chapel of St. Michael the Archangel in Punta Princesa near Salud’s gym which Pacquiao had constructed at a cost of some P1 million. Hundreds of people crowded into the chapel and the surrounding area to get a glimpse of their idol while many more crammed the Salud gym where the boxing promoter/manager hosted a sumptuous lunch.
Pacquiao, his charming wife Jinkee who is expecting their fourth child later this year and his father and elder brother then took a three-hour drive to his father’s hometown of Pinamungajan for a fight card put up by MP Promotions.
He was scheduled to return to Manila on Sunday and said he would leave for Los Angeles aboard a Philippine Airlines flight Sunday night to begin training for the showdown with De La Hoya.
Pacquiao spoke about the chapel he built saying “all that I do, I always thank God because everything I have came from Him. The support I receive from all the people is because they know me and that I will help no matter where I go and we will continue to help as long as we can afford to.”
Pacquiao said together with celebrated trainer Freddie Roach he would “study what strategy we need to use to win” stressing that he would “focus more on speed which is my advantage.”
He said “I believe I can win and God won’t abandon me. I really will train long and hard. I cannot reveal my strategy but I will do my best in training so I can give a good fight that will make the fans happy.”
Pacquiao said that no matter what people say about the fight with De La Hoya in his mind “this is a tough fight and I need to be disciplined and train properly. I will have more than ten weeks of training” which will be the longest in my career.
Pointing out that he doesn’t interfere in other peoples lives, Pacquiao said no matter what others may say he “focuses on my life and my future. Let people say what they want. That’s not my problem.”
Pacquiao reiterated he would have one or two more fights after De La Hoya and then retire and run for public office. He said he was “willing to fight (Ricky) Hatton but let me finish this fight with De La Hoya then we’ll see.”
He said his “spirit is strong and my heart is full because of the prayers of our people and the fact that God always protects and looks after me and blesses me during a fight.”
In a parting shot Pacquiao said “I am one hundred percent sure I will win.”
