The Golden Boy De La Hoya predicts Mayweather vs. Pacquiao winner

OSCAR “The Golden Boy” De La Hoya has suffered defeats at the hands of both Floyd Mayweather (2007) and Manny Pacquiao in 2008, and he weighed in on who he thinks will win the Fight of the Century this Sunday.

Floyd Mayweather ($1.46 at Sportsbet.com.au) scored a judge’s decision for his victory against De La Hoya, but he seemingly toyed with the boxing great.

Manny Pacquiao ($2.60 at Sportsbet.com.au) was the man who ended the Golden Boy’s career with a round-two knockout victory in 2008.

Both fighters have pro’s and con’s, with Maywesther boasting a more defensive technique and Pacquiao bringing some serious hand speed to his fights.

De La Hoya has battled against both opponents and gives his expert opinion into who wins this fight on Sunday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“The will to win is what separated Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao from any other fighters I’ve ever faced,” De La Hoya said.

“Manny Pacquiao’s will to win is based off strength, conditioning and heart – being able to prove that he’s better than you, physically.

“With Mayweather, his will to win is more based on out-boxing you, outsmarting you. I can’t say out-hustle you. Mayweather just out-thinks you.”

Mayweather doesn’t need to knock his opponents out to demonstrate his dominance. The 38-year-old will gladly accept a points decision victory and CrownBet.com.au are offering $1.79 for this option.

It’s unlikely that Manny Pacquiao will win on points, he’s simply puts too much energy in the early rounds to score enough points. He is currently $5.50 to win via this option, but punters are warming to the knockout option at $5.25 at Sportsbet.com.au.

“The credit that I give to Mayweather is he was able to recognise that past the eighth round, I was a wounded lion,” added De La Hoya.

“When a wounded lion out in the jungle cannot eat anymore, he starves to death. That’s exactly what Mayweather capitalised on. My jab, my most important weapon — not that I abandoned it — it just wasn’t working for me anymore.

“Mayweather has that sneaky power. It can’t knock you out, doesn’t hurt, but if it surprises you, it can sting you. Look at Mayweather’s last knockout, against Victor Ortiz [in 2011] and that was a punch that surprised Victor. He didn’t expect that was coming at him.

“Mayweather loves throwing the jab to the body. The reason he throws it is to obligate you to put that right hand down and then he can attack you to the chin. That’s the combination he uses. He’ll throw the jab to the body, feint you, then come back with his left hook. It was the same punch my former trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. taught me.”

De La Hoya continues to express how Mayweather’s “just enough” attitude will be enough to beat Pacquiao, who rarely goes down without a fight.

“The way I describe Pacquiao is that he’s a fly you can’t shoo away. He seemed to be throwing thousands of punches at me, and I just couldn’t get him off me. It wasn’t that he hurt me — credit to my chin, the fact that I can take a punch — but it was like, “When are you going to stop throwing punches?”

De La Hoya sums up his thoughts and offers his fight pick.

“I’m inclining more, as the fight gets closer, to Pacquiao,” he said.

“But Pacquiao has to dig really deep inside and do a number on Mayweather.

“Can he take Mayweather out of his comfort zone?

“Because if Mayweather stays in his comfort zone, then it can be an easy fight for him and a relatively dull fight, where Mayweather will just outbox Pacquiao, pot-shot him and put those rounds in the bag.

“If Pacquiao can surprise him in the first two or three rounds, though, and get Mayweather where he has to catch him and come from behind, then it can be a very interesting fight.”

There is a good chance that Pacquiao could do what he did to De La Hoya, knock him out in Round 2. The knockout option is at $5.25 with CrownBet.com.au