Oscar weighs 145. Pacquiao 142. Controversy emerges over how Oscar tapes his “fragile” hands.
By GEORGE WILLIS
LAS VEGAS–Is Oscar De La Hoya too light? Is Manny Pacquiao heavy enough? Those were the questions that emerged after the two boxers weighed-in today for their much-anticipated welterweight bout Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
De La Hoya, who is fighting at the 147-pound limit for the first time since 2001, weighed 145 pounds. Pacquiao, who is moving up after fighting at 130 and 135 pounds this year, was 142. Both fighters will rehydrate overnight and add anywhere from five to 10 pounds for the pay-per-view bout ($54.95).
Having fought most of his previous fights at 154 pounds, De La Hoya was expected to weigh close to 147. Being two pounds under could be an indication of being over trained though the Golden Boy discounted that notion.
“I feel great. I feel energetic,” De La Hoya said. “I feel happy. I feel like I have a little bounce. I feel ready to go.”
He indicated he would not bulk up overnight to increase his size advantage over Pacquiao. “I’m going to take care of myself and make sure I keep the speed because the power is already there,” he said.
Pacquiao is closer to being a junior welterweight than a welterweight. Already four inches shorter, he can’t afford to give up too much weight to De La Hoya. “I expect he’s in great shape and I’m ready, too,” Pacquiao said. “It’s going to be a great fight.”
Meanwhile, the Pacquiao camp lodged a complaint at the rules meeting over the way De La Hoya tapes his hands before fights. Freddie Roach wants the Nevada Athletic Commission to make sure De La Hoya uses only ¼-inch tape between his knuckles. Roach trained De La Hoya for his 2007 fight with Floyd Mayweather and noticed the Golden Boy likes to use a two-inch tape to protect his hands. “Because he uses a two-inch tape and rolls it up, it makes a ridge,” Roach said, “and that ridge can cause a cut. The way he wraps is illegal.”
Roach said De La Hoya has “fragile hands,” including a left hand that suffered a slight fracture in his fight against Steve Forbes last May. Roach said he’ll allow De La Hoya to use a half-inch tape, but only if it’s white surgeon’s tape. The De La Hoya camp was not happy, wondering why Roach didn’t say anything while he was working the Mayweather fight.
“I know the guy has bad hands and if the Mayweather camp let him get away with it that’s not my problem,” Roach said. “I’m going to stick up for my fighter as long as it’s within the rules.”
The issue was expected to be resolved either late Friday night or early Saturday morning, and Roach will be in De La Hoya’s dressing room Saturday night to watch his hands get taped. “I just want what’s in the rules,” Roach said.
Comedian George Lopez emceed the weigh-in along with Michael Buffer. Lopez was hilarious, keeping the crowd of about 3,000 in stitches with an endless stream of one-liners and wisecracks. At one point with De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins, Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosley, and Pacquiao on stage, he turned and said: “Is this the worst looking police lineup you’ve ever seen?”
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