Manny Pacquiao’s star-making victory over Oscar De La Hoya only happened because of Floyd Mayweather refusal

Oscar De La Hoya was looking for an alternative to Floyd Mayweather when the idea of him fighting Manny Pacquiao, then a lightweight, was first proposed.

It was none other than the respected HBO analyst Larry Merchant who first detected the ability in them to combine in an occasion capable of transcending boxing, but when he did so Pacquiao, for all of his undoubted ability, had never fought above 135lbs.

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HBO Boxing had largely come to define the sport during what represented the glory era of the noughties.

Their 24/7 series had first enhanced De La Hoya’s standing as the world’s highest-profile figure and contributed to Floyd Mayweather succeeding him in that status; when De La Hoya vs Pacquiao was signed for December 6, 2008, it then started the process of transforming the exciting Pacquiao into a crossover star. 

If De La Hoya had been frustrated by Mayweather’s refusal to commit to a rematch – in May 2007 Mayweather had earned a split decision over him at super-welterweight – Pacquiao had come to represent the next most lucrative opponent.

Pacquiao had also been viewed as fortunate to earn a decision over Juan Manuel Marquez in March 2008 at super-featherweight – it was widely concluded that even after impressing in victory over David Diaz at lightweight three months later, he would be too small to trouble De La Hoya, who had previously fought at 160lbs.

“The size difference won’t be a big deal to me or Manny,” said the “Golden Boy” when their welterweight contest was agreed to.

“I understand the relentless style Manny has. For me, as a 35-year-old fighter it really is a big challenge to me. I felt challenged, especially from an expert trainer who trained me and trains Manny.

“He knows my style and knows Manny. If he thinks I can’t pull the trigger, we’ll see December 6.”

“I can beat De La Hoya,” said Pacquiao, then 29 and therefore six years younger than his opponent.

“I saw his last performance and I’m faster and stronger than him and I am younger. I think the point is my speed is going to be effective in this fight.

“De La Hoya has an advantage in height but I believe I am stronger than him, so it’s going to be a great fight.”

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Perhaps most relevant of all was the confidence of the respected Freddie Roach, the long-term trainer of not only Pacquiao, but, for the fight against Mayweather, De La Hoya, too.

De La Hoya had been critical of Roach in the aftermath of that defeat; Roach, in turn, had accused the ageing De La Hoya of no longer being able to ‘pull the trigger’, and more than any other had detected the extent of his decline.

Little, ultimately, had been made of the fact that De La Hoya had last fought at the welterweight limit of 147lbs in 2001, but it was that, as much as the extent of Pacquiao’s improvement and De La Hoya’s age, that was to determine what would unfold.

Roach was already confident that Pacquiao’s career was about to be transformed when De La Hoya, surprisingly, weighed in at 145lbs – only three heavier than the expectedly light Pacquiao.

De La Hoya was expected to return 24 hours later considerably heavier; instead, he had gained only two pounds.

De La Hoya looked unhealthy when he made his way to the ring that night at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand, and when the fighters stood in the centre of the ring while the referee Tony Weeks gave his final instructions, Roach noticed what appeared to be IV injection marks on one of De La Hoya’s arms, indicating that he had been struggling to rehydrate.

Ricky Hatton was ringside that night, in the expectation that he would fight the winner, and in his role as a commentator for Sky Sports – he had recently defeated Paulie Malignaggi at the same venue – he spoke of how emotional he had found the scenes in front of his eyes.

De La Hoya, simply, had too little to give. One of the most celebrated fighters of the modern era had no answer to Pacquiao’s extraordinary speed, and the punches he attempted to throw in exchange were too rare, often wide, and too slow.  

A further concern for De La Hoya may have been that Floyd Mayweather Sr’s commitment to Hatton had meant him working for the first time with the respected Nacho Beristain as his trainer, but he had so little to give on fight night that it wouldn’t have mattered if it had been Mayweather Sr in his corner of the ring. 

“He can’t handle your speed, son,” Roach told Pacquiao as he returned to his corner at the conclusion of the fourth round, by when he deserved to have been judged the winner of all four.

“If you don’t throw punches,” Beristain later warned, “we’re going to stop the fight.” He acted at the end of the eighth – two later than De La Hoya had started to retreat – and after Weeks and the ringside physician had warned De La Hoya that they would end the fight if he continued to struggle to fight back.

“You’re still my idol,” the emotional Pacquiao said to De La Hoya, who had made his way to congratulate him as soon as Beristain had withdrawn him. “No, you’re my idol,” the Golden Boy replied.

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“We knew we had him after the first round,” Roach said, post-fight. “He had no legs; he was hesitant, and he was shot.”

“Freddie, you’re right,” De La Hoya told him. “I just don’t have it anymore.”

Years later, after his struggles with retirement contributed to him abusing drugs and alcohol, De La Hoya revealed that the fight with Pacquiao was the first for which he had shown up to training sessions drunk. Four months after the sixth defeat of his decorated career he announced his retirement. 

In 2014, in the first year he was eligible – and at a time when Pacquaio’s career was continuing to thrive – he was then inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.