With the Statue of Liberty behind them, “The Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya (L) and Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao pose on Liberty Island October 1, 2008 to promote their upcoming welterweight fight to take place December 6, 2008 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Tickets to “The Dream Match” are already gone just hours after going on sale early this week, making the almost 16,000-seat arena a complete sell out with a gross gate of almost $ 17.0 million, making it the second biggest gate in boxing history.
It was also confirmed that legendary Mexican trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain will now formally handle the training for Oscar De La Hoya .Beristain will train Oscar DLH in the in the mountain of Big Bear, which has an elevation of 7,000 feet, De La Hoya might end up using the swanky facility that he used to own before selling it for $2.1 million to mixed-martial arts superstar Tito Ortiz.
In addition to the Statue of Liberty stop, the De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao press tour will stop at other monumental locations across the country that reinforces the magnitude of the event. The tour schedule is as follows:
October 2 Chicago, IL-Sears Tower-Media Only (Noon)
October 3 Houston, TX-Space Center Houston-Media Only (11:00 am)
October 3 San Antonio, TX-The Alamo-Open to the Public (3:00 pm)
October 4 San Francisco, CA-Golden Gate Park Chrissy Field-Open to the Public (Noon)
October 7 Los Angeles, CA-Whittier Boulevard Arch-Open to the Public (Noon)
Photos by TIMOTHY A. CLARY