In a recent interview, Oscar De La Hoya accused Top Rank of protecting pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao because they've chosen to make a fight with Miguel Cotto instead of Shane Mosley. "Pacquiao is right now young and a guy that Top Rank is protecting and a guy they have big plans for. We all know that fight with Miguel Cotto wouldn't be as dangerous as a fight with Shane Mosley, so that's why they're doing it," De La Hoya stated.
Now, my memory might be a little fuzzy, but didn't Manny Pacquiao just fight three Golden Boy Promotions fighters in his last four fights? The last time I checked, Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton were all Golden Boy fighters. Call me crazy, but it almost sounded like De La Hoya just insulted Marquez, Hatton as well as himself. Is he trying to say that those were easy fights? I know 2 out of those 3 ended up being pretty easy, but surely he's not implying that Top Rank has been protecting Pacquiao after he just faced 3 of Golden Boy's top fighters.
While I understand that De La Hoya is trying really hard to plead their case for the Mosley fight, he's really got to be careful with what he says. To imply that Miguel Cotto is an easy fight is an insult, not just to Cotto, but to Mosley as well, who suffered a unanimous decision loss to the Puerto Rican star not too long ago. Whether or not Mosley is truly a more dangerous opponent than Cotto remains to be seen given the fact that Margarito was caught with a plaster-like substance in his handwraps prior to facing Mosley. Many people speculate that Margarito may have been using that same substance in his victory over Cotto so maybe, just maybe, Miguel Cotto is just as dangerous an opponent as Shane Mosley.
The thought of Top Rank being accused of protecting Manny Pacquiao is absolutley laughable...especially coming from a guy who was notorious for fighting "tune-ups" against the likes of Yory Boy Campas, Felix Sturm, Ricardo Mayorga and Steve Forbes following tough bouts against opponents like Fernando Vargas, Shane Mosley, Bernard Hopkins and Floyd Mayweather. Obviously I'm not saying that De La Hoya was ever protected throughout his career, but Miguel Cotto is no Campas, Sturm, Mayorga or Forbes. Just face it, with Arum confident that a Pacqiuao vs. Cotto deal can be closed as early as this week, it's time for Golden Boy Promotions and Shane Mosley to start focusing on Plan B.
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