Boxing: Could Manny Pacquiao be Oscar the Next?
BILL DWYRE
With De La Hoya likely to finish his fight career in December, it's not too soon to ponder who'll be the next face of boxing. Maybe it's the beloved Filipino, maybe it's Kelly Pavlik, or ...
In light of recent developments, the sport of boxing can fairly be asked this question: Who's got next?
It is pertinent to explore now, because the longtime reign of the ruler, King Oscar the First, is within months of ending. Oscar De La Hoya, 35, will probably fight his last fight in December, and with that, he will go from being the face of boxing to being a face in boxing.
Before De La Hoya, the sport relied on the heavyweight division. If Ali, Frazier, Foreman and even Larry Holmes and Earlobe Mike Tyson had spread out their birthdays a bit more, this discussion wouldn't be needed. A rarity, Mexican heavyweight Christobal Arreola has a 24-0 record and a chance to be as huge as his punches, but he is still a few successful spots away from the big spotlight.
Once the Ali era aged, De La Hoya, Olympic hero, pride of East L.A., somehow perceived to be 51% American and 49% Mexican, took over, even while fighting at lower weights. He became to boxing what Tiger is to golf, Federer to tennis.
Interestingly, De La Hoya achieved his stature without achieving anywhere near the win-loss dominance of the other two. He was beaten, several times, in situations where Tiger and Federer would never have succumbed.
Still, where big punches failed, charisma and marketing prevailed. If he couldn't always be the Golden Boy in the ring, he seldom failed outside of it. His boxing promotions company, foundations, charity work and instincts for community service will make him an ongoing presence in boxing.
Except in the ring, where it counts the most.
Even up to several weeks ago, before Floyd Mayweather Jr. decided to take his millions and his unbeaten record and call it a career, the scheduled Mayweather-De La Hoya rematch in September had enough appeal to postpone looks into the future.
But now that Floyd has fled, leaving De La Hoya to scramble for a grand-finale foe, the sport must look elsewhere, after all these years, for Oscar the Next.
Arguably, there are two candidates, and one fights Saturday night at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Manny Pacquiao is the pride of the Philippines, as well as a great fighter. He will be moving up a weight class to 135 to fight former Olympian David Diaz of Chicago, who has recently emerged as a marquee boxer after years of matches against guys who went back to the their day jobs at McDonald's after he beat them.
