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    DL Hoya says Pacquiao 'has proven that he still has it'

    DL Hoya says Pacquiao 'has proven that he still has it'
    Jul 17, 2018
    Manny Pacquiao is mobbed by fans upon his arrival in GenSan.
    PHOTO: Wendell Alinea

    OSCAR dela Hoya declined to speculate on until when Manny Pacquiao will keep fighting after the Filipino ring hero won another world title on Sunday.

    But boxing being a cruel sport, he said fighters are only as good as their last fight.

    “He’s proven that he still has it. But in boxing, unfortunately, you’re as good as your last fight,” said the Golden Boy. "That’s what boxing is.”

    Pacquiao became a world champion again at 39, dethroning Lucas Matthysse of Argentina via seventh-round stoppage in a battle for the latter's World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight crown.

    While Dela Hoya welcomed Pacquiao’s return to the top of the boxing world, he also urged the legendary Filipino boxer to continue promoting his own fights like he did in the first major boxing card in Malaysia in 43 years.

    “We’re the next generation of promoters,” said Dela Hoya, the CEO and chairman of Golden Boy Promotions, which he established in 2002.

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      “It’s always nice to have a little competition so I hope Manny is really serious about promoting because it would be nice to have competition,” added the 10-time world champion. “It’s nice to get fighters together, fight fighters together. It would be good for the sport.”

      Matthysse fights under the Golden Boy banner, which Dela Hoya boasts of having boxing’s current mega-star in Canelo Alvarez of Mexico.

      The 45-year-old native of East Los Angeles, California said boxing continues to thrive - especially in the U.S. - as fights are being televised now everywhere in the world.

      Dela Hoya describes promoting as ‘tough but fun.’

      “At the same time, you can really help these young kids who want to achieve their dreams, their goals to become world champions, to make money, and even go beyond that. You can change lives, you can bring cultures together, you can bring countries together,” he said.

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      “You can bridge the gap between cultures,” said Dela Hoya, citing the Pacquiao-Matthysse as one of his examples.

      At the same time, the Golden Boy expressed gratitude to his and Pacquiao’s former promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, for opening the doors for ex-fighters like him to venture into the business of promoting.

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      “We have to thank promoters like Bob Arum because I took a page out of his book and learned from the good things he did to the sport,” Dela Hoya said.

      Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph

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      Manny Pacquiao is mobbed by fans upon his arrival in GenSan.
      PHOTO: Wendell Alinea
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