Source: Manila Standard Today
Golden Boy Promotions head honcho Oscar de la Hoya spoke out on two possible rematches that a lot of fight fans want to see between Mexican and Filipino fighters, including the big one: Manny Pacquiao versus Juan Manuel Marquez.
de la hoya said, "It would be unjust to the boxing fans not to have a (Marquez-Pacquiao) fight. Obviously, the first fight they had was a very exciting one, where they had a draw so it would be fair to everyone to make that fight happen."
Oscar also defended Marquez's potential as a draw, citing two of his own fights: Felix Sturm (400,000 buys) and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (2.4 million). He noted, correctly, that it depends on the matchup. Barrera-Marquez, for the record, did fine. Marquez-Barrios/Juarez, for the record, never should have been scheduled as a PPV main event, and we all knew that.
Given that Pacquiao-Barrera II did very well (the best buyrate of Barrera's career, reportedly), I would have to guess that Pacquiao-Marquez II would be a solid PPV draw, though matching it head-to-head with Showtime's Vazquez-Marquez III is just a bad idea all around. Those are hardcore fight fan main events -- no one will make as much money as they should have that night.
de la Hoya also dismissed the report that Daniel Ponce de Leon would again meet Gerry Penalosa on the undercard of Mayweather-Hatton, saying that instead, they're working on a deal for a fight in the Philippines early in 2008. Ponce de Leon will, he said, fight on the undercard of Mayweather-Hatton, but against another opponent.
Reading between the lines, de la Hoya seems to agree with the vast majority of us that Ponce de Leon and Penalosa's first encounter was much closer than the judges' scorecards would indicate.
Let me add this, too: If Pacquiao comes into a March fight with Marquez the same as he did against Barrera earlier this month, Marquez will beat him, and I don't think it'll be particularly close. For all of Barrera's faults in that fight, Pacquiao's power looked sapped and his speed wasn't what it usually is. It was no secret that he had trouble making weight. Marquez is too aggressive and too strong for that same Pacquiao to come out victorious.
As for the other fight, I'd put money this time on a Ponce de Leon knockout, as he now has first-hand knowledge of what Gerry Penalosa's strengths are. He can't box with Penalosa, because Penalosa is too savvy and too skilled. But he can throw bombs on him and likely not get hurt if he manages to do it wisely.
It's too bad we won't see that fight on the undercard of Mayweather-Hatton, since those two fights, along with the likely Lacy-Manfredo bout, made for a very nice PPV card. As it is, we'll likely see Ponce de Leon in with a lesser opponent to raise his profile some more. His style is definitely something that could attract those who are likely to have never seen him fight before they will on December 8.