Oscar De La Hoya: Pacquiao Will Be More Remembered Than Mayweather

As fans await the much-anticipated fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr to take place, boxing champion turned promoter Oscar De La Hoya has revealed that he is picking the undefeated American fighter to beat the Filipino boxing icon if the said super fight really happens. However, De La Hoya also revealed that Pacquiao will be more remembered than Mayweather.

In an article by Boxing Scene, De La Hoya said that Pacquiao would have easily scored a victory over Mayweather if the fight happened a few years back, but it is not the case now. According to the retired six-division world champion who had both faced Pacquaio and Mayweather in the ring, Mayweather has an edge now over the Filipino just because of the fact that Pacquiao's skills have declined because of the numerous intense battles that he had fought.

Even though De La Hoya favours Mayweather to win, he believes that the world will remember Pacquiao more than the American. He said that Pacquiao will earn more respect than Mayweather.

"There is no doubt about that," De La Hoya said. "With Manny Pacquiao, they are going to say 'wow, he fought all these guys, fought tough battles and gave us [all these fights].'"

Who has the better legacy, Pacquiao or Mayweather? Mayweather may have been successful in protecting his undefeated record, winning all his 47 fights, but some say that that he cannot really cement his legacy without facing Pacquiao.

Boxing News 24 reports that Mayweather doesn't really need to fight Pacquiao because he can retire and still have a better legacy than the Filipino. The report said that Mayweather, who has two more fights in his lucrative Showtime deal, can still battle two other opponents outside of Pacquiao. Furthermore, Pacquiao reportedly continues to suffer from low pay-per-view sales that keep falling with each fight. As Pacquiao's pay-per-view number plummets, Mayweather, on the other hand, will be able to sell double and even triple than what he is earning right now.

In addition, Pacquiao's connection with Bob Arum's Top Rank will hinder him from fighting other boxers from other stables. Instead, Pacquiao will be constrained to fighting the likes of Timothy Bradley, Brandon Rios and Chris Algieri until he hangs up his gloves for good.

In the latest development about the super fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather, the group of investors from Abu Dhabi has confirmed that they have given a record-setting $120 million to Mayweather and his promotions company to fight Pacquiao in the first half of 2015 in Abu Dhabi. The offer is reportedly the largest prize money for an individual for a single event in the history of sports.

To reach the author of this article, email r.corpuz@ibtimes.com.au.