Pacquiao tells Oscar: Let’s do it
By Salven Lagumbay
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 16:53:00 08/18/2008
Making his move to save the fight, superstar Manny Pacquiao on Sunday penned an open letter, telling the legendary Oscar De la Hoya "to do this fight, once and for all, for the love of boxing."
In his column over Philboxing.com, Pacquiao reiterated that accepting De la Hoya's 70-30 revenue proposal would be a “slap in his face,” noting that he is also a superstar and not an up-and-coming fighter.
Fair share
"Mr. Dela Hoya, however, has shown little interest by offering me a percentage that only an up-and-coming fighter rightly deserves. If he really wants the fight, then he should at least, at the very least give me what I truly deserve, a fair share of the pie. He should understand that we are both superstars in the game and our mere names will sell everything and we stand to break all existing records in the sport, even the one that he established with Floyd Mayweather," Pacquiao wrote in Philboxing.com.
Pacquiao rationalized his asking for a bigger share by mentioning the fact that this fight will not be the same as De la Hoya's fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
"Mr. Dela Hoya, this fight is going to be better than the Mayweather fight because as you may already know, I will not be running away from you. It will be a fight for the ages, even our grandkids will be talking about this match even when we are already old. Don't let the opportunity pass," he said.
Talks about a December 6 De la Hoya-Pacquiao showdown hit a snag last week as both camps refused to go down on their proposals on how to divide the revenue of the fight.
De la Hoya had offered a 70-30 sharing in his favor, while Pacquiao wants to up his share through a 60-40 formula still in De la Hoya's favor.
"I think this fight should happen if Mr. Dela Hoya really loves the sport of boxing. This fight will be our legacy to the sport, especially because it will be Mr. Dela Hoya's last fight. People have started talking about it and we have not even signed our names on the contract. I'm sure we can fill up Dodger Stadium or any other venue. Yes, I will fight anywhere, anytime. Boxing's "Golden Boy" vs. Boxing's Most Exciting Fighter and the current top Pound-for-Pound fighter: A Dream Match," added Pacquiao.
|
