Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao camps discuss Dec. 6 bout
BOXING
A deal is not yet final but representatives are looking at a non-title welterweight bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Representatives for Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao met Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles to begin hammering out a deal for a Dec. 6 non-title welterweight bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, according to Bruce Binkow, an agent for Golden Boy Promotions.
Richard Schaefer, chief executive for Golden Boy, which represents De La Hoya, and Bob Arum, president of Top Rank, which represents Pacquiao, met for two hours but are still days away from making a deal, Binkow said.
De La Hoya, 35, boxing's most popular fighter, has said he would fight once more before retiring.
Among the issues being discussed in a De La Hoya-Pacquiao bout is the weight limit, which is expected to be 147 pounds, the brand of gloves and the disbursement of the purse.
Both boxers would need to make dramatic weight changes to make the fight.
De La Hoya, 35, weighed in at 150 pounds for his last fight against Steve Forbes, the lightest he has been since taking on Arturo Gatti at 147 pounds in March 2001.
De La Hoya is just 2-2 in the welterweight division, losing to Felix Trinidad and Shane Mosley, and defeating Gatti and Derrell Coley.
Pacquiao, 29, began his professional career as a 106-pound strawweight. He has been fighting at 130 since 2005. In his last fight, he moved up to the 135-pound lightweight division for the first time, taking the WBC title from David Diaz with a ninth-round knockout at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Although welterweight would be a bigger jump for Pacquiao, his trainer, Freddie Roach, has said Pacquiao entered the ring against Diaz at 146 pounds. With the victory over Diaz, Pacquiao became the first Asian to win boxing titles in four different weight classes.
Pacquiao built his career behind a series of impressive bouts against the top Mexican fighters of the post-Julio Cesar Chavez era, defeating the likes of Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez.
Following his victory over Diaz, many expected Pacquiao's next challenger to be popular Englishman Ricky Hatton in the 140-pound division, or against 130-pounders Edwin Valero or Humberto Soto.
De La Hoya has fought as high as the 160-pound middleweight division. He first gained notice as a 1992 Olympic gold medalist at 132 pounds. The lightest he fought in his pro career is 128 1/2, when he fought Jimmy Bredahl in his first title fight in 1994.
He became interested in fighting Pacquiao after Antonio Margarito defeated Miguel Cotto last month in a welterweight title fight.
dan.arritt@latimes.com
