The six-city press tour to announce “The Dream Match” between Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao has finally come to the end with a special appearance of comedian George Lopez to introduce both fighters.
“I am honored to be here today,” said George Lopez. “It’s great to be in East Los Angeles and come December 6, Oscar is going to take Manny down.”
Two of boxing’s biggest attractions, Olympic Gold medallist and 10-time world champion “The Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya and current Ring Magazine No. 1-ranked pound for pound champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao will collide in a welterweight showdown that pits boxing’s most popular boxer against the sport’s recognized pound-for-pound king. “The Dream Match” is scheduled to take place on Saturday, December 6 at a sold out MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“It feels good to be home,” Oscar De La Hoya said with pride. “We have been to so many memorable places these past couple of days, from the Statue of Liberty in New York to the highest tower in Chicago, to the Space Center in Houston Texas, The Alamo in San Antonio to The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, but to me being here in East Los Angeles where I grew up and where it all started will always be the most important place of my life.”
Born and raised in East Los Angeles, Oscar De La Hoya is considered to be one of the best fighters in the world at any weight as well as the biggest non-heavyweight attraction and moneymaker at the gate. Nearly $17 million tickets were sold in one day for “The Dream Match” which was second only to the De La Hoya vs Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight held in May 2007 which featured a record breaking $19 million gate.
“Due to the magnitude of this fight the MGM is offering a closed circuit event with a starting price of only $60.00,” Richard Schaefer, Chief Executive Officer of Golden Boy Promotions stated.
HBO also announced today the return of their reality franchise “24/7,” which was awarded three sports Emmy awards earlier this year, in November with a four-episode, all-access series featuring De La Hoya and Pacquiao’s training regimen before their Dec. 6 pay-per-view welterweight showdown. To show their appreciation to the “Golden Boy”, HBO presented their own Emmy statue to Oscar De La Hoya.
With over 5,000+ boxing fans in attendance, many took to high risks by invading roof tops of small businesses just to get a glance of this special event, not only was this event open to the public but was also a special day for students who participated in this special field trip. Students and cheerleaders where dropped off by 5+ school busses, the cheers of hundreds of kids yelling for Oscar De La Hoya by name was enough to give some goose bumps.
“I challenge all this beautiful women to participate in a contest we’ll be having, we’re looking for the prettiest Mexican woman and the prettiest Filipino woman out there,” said Hall of Fame Promoter Bob Arum, “and on December 6 we’ll announce the winner, to participate visit our website for more details.”
Both Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao have several things in common, power, speed, agility and heart. “The Dream Match” is the type of epic match-up that boxing fans dream about, but this is not a dream, this fight is real. “The Dream Match” will be distributed by HBO-Pay-Per-View and the live telecast will begin 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
Click Picture to enlarge.
All Photos by Raymond Rodriguez