Pacquiao versus De La Joya: Fight of the Year

While the media swarmed Clark County Court in Las Vegas, Nevada today to cover OJ Simpson, 61, after a 15-year verdict for kidnapping and armed robbery, tomorrow, Saturday, December 6, 2008, all lights and camera will be focused at the MGM Grand Garden Arena for Manny Pacquiao vs. Oscar De La Joya million-dollar boxing bout.

The Mindanao-born (south island of Philippines) WBC Lightweight Champion boxer, (Emmanuel Dapidran) Manny “Pacman the Destroyer” Pacquiao, 29, will put up a 12-round, non-title fight against the Mexican-American, Oscar “The Golden Boy” De La Joya, 35.

This boxing “dream match” is one of the most anticipated TV coverage for most Filipinos around the world.  I know some groups of friends who have been planning for months now for tomorrow night’s game with get-together party, drinking or just “chip-in watching” (a sign of the time recession-proof alternative to pay for the pay-per-view fee).  Pacquiao will receive $15 to 30 million (share of the pay-per-view), plus a guaranteed amount.

Tickets reportedly sold out just hours after they went on sale. The total gate revenues were said to be nearly $17 million dollars. That amount would give the bout has the second largest gate revenue in boxing history (after the De La Hoya-Mayweather Jr. fight in 2007 which generated $18.4 million in gate revenue).

I would be unforgivably remiss if I fail to mention that Pacquiao’s victorious fame in the ring has also earned Philippine pop-culture his ubiquitous presence.

He has appeared in ads for more than a dozen international brands, including Nike, McDonald’s and San Miguel Beer (a top-selling beer in the Philippines).

A movie based on Pacquiao’s life was released in 2006 entitled, “Pacquiao: The Movie”. The movie is believed to have flopped at the box office. Also in 2006, around the time of Erik Morales rematch with Pacquiao, he produced and recorded the song, “Para sa’yo ang Laban na ‘to (This Fight is for You),” which caters to national pride and his struggles in the ring.  He is featured in the boxing video games, “Fight Night: Round 2″, and “Fight Night: Round 3″.

Along the way, Pacquiao has been showered with a number of other prestigious honors, which include being named the 2003 Person of the Year in the Philippine archipelago, as well as recognition by HBO, Ring Magazine and the Boxing Writers Association as America’s 2006 Fighter of the Year.

Pacquiao ran for a congressional seat to represent the 1st district of South Cotabato in August 2008, but he was defeated.  He has said he will enter politics after he ends his boxing career.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Pacquiao was the Philippines’ national flag bearer. He became the first Filipino athlete to appear on a postage stamp.

Manny Pacquiao owns a lottery outlet that’s supported by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, which is part of the government’s charity arm, and is frequently called upon to provide funding for essential health and welfare activities.

I may be playing favorites but I predict that Pacquiao’s powerful “southpaw” punches will prevail in the ring over De La Joya’s “orthodox” stance until the 12th round in a unanimous decision.  I make this guess while thinking as a businessman. Well, promoters, advertisers, and (with due respect to the most honorable) politicians alike “strike while the iron is hot”.  Let’s face it, Pacquiao is as hot as hell in the box office! Whatever happens tomorrow night, I may be too smashed already to call my die-hard aficionados (my mother included) in the Philippines to exchange post-fight analysis.

After tomorrow’s fight, only one thing is for sure – life goes on.  More potential stories would certainly unfold and here are some of them:
-    Both Pacquiao and De La Joya will add millions of dollars to their names while the fanatics either win or lose their hard-earned $10 bets.
-    Pacquiao will release a second album, “This Fight is for You Again ”, while De La Joya will re-launch his album “Oscar De La Joya Story” back-to-back with Britney Spears on a world tour.  Another prospect of a collaborative project is a Pacquiao-De La Joya album entitled, “Dream Voice”.
-    Both will be a featured in a starring role in the movie,  “The Golden Pacman”.
-    De la Joya will be invited to join (and probably will consider)  “Dancing with the Stars”
-    Pacquiao will launch building the most-expensive campaign machinery for the national elections in the Philippines in 2012.
-    OJ Simpson will be serving his sentence in a Nevada jail.  Indeed, “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”.
-    The automakers’ plea for government bailout will be debated forever in Congress until we all find ourselves taking the “tuk tuk ” to work.  Remember people – they already have your votes.