By Jun Medina Special Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Pay-per-viewrecord holder Oscar De La Hoya paid tribute to Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao and predicted the Filipino boxing icon could set a new pay-per-view record in a mega-fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

At the height of his popularity, De La Hoya generated much of the 2.45-million all-time pay-per-view record set during his May 2007 junior middleweight title fight with Mayweather. De La Hoya lost that fight via a controversial split decision.

Now, the former 10-time world champion is predicting Pacquiao-Mayweather could hit 3 million pay-per-view buys or even more to break that record.

At $55 each, 3 million pay-per-view buys translate into $165 million. At that level the fighters, assuming the agree to a 50-50 sharing, could gross at about $50 million each in what would be the richest fight in boxing history.

De La Hoya, whose company Golden Boy Promotions represents Mayweather, thinks a Pacquiao-Mayweather match would be the “biggest fight in boxing,” which he described as already on a great roll.

Huge blockbuster

De La Hoya, a former Olympic champion and boxing’s former top draw, explained why Pacquiao-Mayweather would be a huge blockbuster.

“In one corner, you have Mayweather, who many still believe is the best pure boxer on the planet today. And in the other corner, you have Pacquiao, a fighter who is explosive and always puts on a good fight, said De La Hoya, who was stopped in the eighth round by Pacquiao in December 2008 and retired after that.

According to De La Hoya, Pacquiao and Mayweather are “both crossover stars now,” and they appeal strongly not only to boxing fans but also non-boxing fans.

“So this isn’t a case of one fighter carrying the show; you have two fighters who will carry the promotion and make it a blockbuster,” De La Hoya explained. “When I fought Mayweather, he was extremely talented but not quite the crossover star he is now.”

De La Hoya conceded that negotiations to firm up Pacquiao-Mayweather won’t be easy, but it can be done.

“The ball is in Mayweather’s court; he calls his own shots. But that’s the fight I believe Mayweather wants, Pacquiao wants and the fans want. It’s a fight that should be done,” wrote De La Hoya on Thursday in his weekly Ring online blog.

Incredible Pacquiao

De La Hoya described Pacquiao as “incredible” in his dominant win over Miguel Cotto on Saturday.
“I thought Manny was very patient. He wanted to be sure to execute his game plan, which is the result of a lot of dedication and hard work during training. As the fight went on, Cotto just realized that he couldn’t hurt Pacquiao or beat him to the punch,” De La Hoya said.

“It was one of those [incredible] performances. Pacquiao put on a great show.”
He also expressed his admiration with the way Pacquiao kept on moving up in weight and beating the best fighters in the different weight divisions.

“To move up all those weight classes and beat the guys he’s beating is really something. I tip my hat to him. Not too many fighters can move up in weight and do what he’s doing,” said De La Hoya who remains active in the sport, this time as a full-time promoter.

He estimates that Pacquiao-Cotto chalked up more than a million pay-per-view sales, reflecting the people renewed interest in boxing as well as Pacquiao’s star power.