Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

BIG BEAR CITY— There’s been a lot of talk about how Oscar De La Hoya is preparing for his showdown against Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on December 6.

The Golden Boy hired two new trainers, Ignacio Beristain and Angelo Dundee, left sunny Puerto Rico to cold Big Bear for training camp, and has to cut weight to 147 pounds, a weight limit that De La Hoya has not fought in since his match against Arturo Gatti in 2001.

On a cool chilly day, across the winding mountain roads, inside his training camp in Big Bear last Nov. 11, De La Hoya gave reporters from all over the world a glimpse on how he’s handling perhaps the last match in his illustrious career.

And it appeared to this reporter, cutting all those pounds to make the required weight limit is having a negative affect on the 35-year-old. De La Hoya looked more like a beat up Casper the Ghost than a "Golden Boy" during the media day workout.

The moment De La Hoya walked inside the crowded gym, he appeared slimmed down, had a paler than normal complexion and sported a shiner underneath his right eye.

De La Hoya, who has fought normally between 154 and 160-pounds for the past seven years, said he’s currently weighing 145-pounds and is stronger in this weight than at any other time in his career. He dismissed the notion that cutting weight is having a negative impact on his body.

"I feel great. I actually feel strong," said De La Hoya, who has fought his last two matches at 150-pounds. "I sparred eight rounds today with three different guys, and I feel good. I have to be honest with you about a month ago when I was going down to 150 and 149 pounds after the workouts, I would feel a little light headed but now I’m comfortable with 147 pounds."

"I haven’t weighed 145-pounds in a long time," added De La Hoya. "The power is still there but speed has changed."

His trainer Beristain had a different take on the matter. He blamed De La Hoya’s "early morning workout" for the Golden Boy’s paler-than-normal complexion.

"He has tremendous stamina right now and he’s in great shape," assured Beristain through an interpreter. "It just goes to show you how great a shape he is."

With three weeks of training camp left, most boxers usually weigh in three to five pounds heavier than the required weight limit and focus to cut the weight leading up to the week of the match. But in De La Hoya’s case, the trainers are taking a calculated gamble. They believe because De La Hoya has not fought in this weight limit in such a long time that if he can weigh and walk around the 147-pound weight limit now, he won’t feel lethargic or dehydrated come fight night.