BOXING fans now have an opportunity to watch the Oscar De La Hoya versus Manny Pacquiao fight.

Limited seats have been made available following an arena reconfiguration for “The Dream Match” at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The match will feature two of boxing’s biggest attractions: Olympic gold medalist and 10-time world champion De La Hoya and current Ring Magazine No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound champion Pacquiao.

They are scheduled to fight on December 6 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

MGM said tickets are now on sale and available for purchase here and here.

The bout will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9 p.m. EST/6 p.m. PST.

With the match between Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao nearing (December 6), expect to hear more analysis and word war between the two camps. Will it be Pacquiao or De La Hoya? Is Pacquiao ready to face the bigger De La Hoya? Will the predictions or speculations turn out in favor of one? But what are the people saying about this match. Here are some samples we’ve gathered so far through e-mail.

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Freddie Roach, who has been a consistent handler of boxing champ Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao surely knows his fighter and the science of boxing. Freddie Roach’s prediction that it will end on the 9th or 10th round is 95 percent sure. Let’s all bet on our national treasure even at 10:7. On the other hand, the camp of De La Hoya is lead by a new handler who has a good track record but his fighter is new to him. Antonio Iturralde, Zamboanga City, via e-mail

Even though I’m a naturalized American citizen now for many years, I still have that Filipino roots and upbringing with me so naturally I always root for Pacquiao whenever he has a fight. But I want to tell you that this time I’m not rooting for anyone. Why? It is not because the Golden Boy is a Mexican. From the boxing standpoint, Pacquiao can’t win. I’m no boxing genius but I have this feeling that Pacquiao will have his first defeat at the hands of the Golden Boy. And, I think it will be bloody. I have never seen such confidence from the Mexican population here in New York. And their points aside from being practical are mostly based on statistics. One thing they always point out is it should be quick and easy. Golden Boy will finish Pacquiao in the 3rd round or it will be a draw. Mariano Beltran, New York City, via e-mail

We also welcome other opinions about this bout through this blog.

By Anna Valmero
INQUIRER.net

PASIG CITY, Philippines — Want to be good in a sport that constantly innovates?

Try playing the yo-yo.

“Yo-yo is a sport that inspires endless ideas and innovation. It is a safe sport that can be played by everyone, plus it can be done almost everywhere,” said Philip Rodriguez, a professional yo-yo player.

“To start playing, all you need is the yo-yo, a small space to throw the gadget, patience and dedication to practice. Everyone can be good at it,” he said.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

Franchis Ochoa writes that amid the “distraction” caused by WBC fee issue, Freddie Roach is confident Manny Pacquiao will deliver.

Excerpt:

MANILA, Philippines—Amid the “distraction” wrought by the issue of unpaid sanction fees, confidence within Team Pacquiao continues to soar with the belief that the Dec. 6 “Dream Match” at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas won’t end up being a nightmare.

For Manny Pacquiao, that is.

As far as Freddie Roach is concerned, Oscar De La Hoya is going to wake up bewildered after Pacquiao puts him to sleep somewhere in the first nine rounds of the year’s most anticipated fight.

“I’m so confident in Pacquiao in this fight,” Roach told FoxSports.com’s Mark Kriegel during an exclusive video interview. “We’re going to knock (De La Hoya) out nine rounds.”

What is this issue distracting Pacquiao all about?

Philboxing.com’s Ronnie Nathanielsz offers this explanation in a recent column.

Nathanielz writes:

The fundamental procedure is for a promoter to deduct the sanction fee from the boxers’ purses and make the payment to the sanctioning body concerned. If there was non-payment or shortfall then Pacquiao should not be the one to be castigated by the WBC. It should be the promoter because that’s his job although the sanction fee is levied on the fighter.

WBC president Jose Sulaiman after an initial, certainly untimely and emotional outburst against Pacquiao, quickly moderated his tone when we called him at his hotel suite in Chengdu , China . Regrettably however, the damage had already been done to our national treasure as well as the image of the Philippines and to undo the wrong will take some doing.