“Manny can win by applying constant pressure, staying inside and wearing Oscar down. Oscar does have a tendency to fade in the late rounds. If they get to fight into the late rounds and it’s competitive, then Manny has a chance.” — Tim Dahlberg, Associated Press.

The fight that started as a dream becomes a reality Saturday evening (Sunday noon in Manila) when Manny Pacquiao goes up against the bigger, older and more experienced Oscar de la Hoya at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

It’s the fight that’s been much talked about this year, one that’s been labeled a mismatch or a farce. But soon all the talking stops because the fight people want to see may be remembered in history as the greatest one pitting two superstars at least two weight classes apart.

The scheduled 12-round bout will be contested in the welterweight division, but surprisingly both fighters weighed in under the 147-pound limit, with De La Hoya tipping the scales at 145 and Pacquiao at 142.

For Pacquiao, who began his career as a 106-pound junior flyweight and has never fought above 135 pounds, it could bode well for him that he didn’t try to gain more weight than his diminutive 5-foot-6 frame could carry. The extra pounds could have risked losing the foot speed that many think will be his only clear-cut advantage.

source: http://www.philstar.com