Oscar De La Hoya was honored with a statue at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Monday, and some are wondering whether a public ceremony could distract him from preparing for his fight Saturday night Manny Pacquiao.
But De La Hoya and his promoters say there's nothing to worry about.
De La Hoya said this at the ceremony:
"I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be here with a statue of me next to Wayne Gretzky and Magic Johnson," said De La Hoya, 35. "Growing up in East Los Angeles, wanting to grow up and be a fighter, just wanting to be something and somebody, East Los Angeles instilled something in me that made me work hard, dedicate myself to my dreams and is something I am very proud of today."De La Hoya's promoter, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, also insisted that there's no way posing in front of his likeness at the Staples Center (where he lost a split decision to Shane Mosley in 2000) will get in the way of his final preparations for the fight against Pacquiao at the MGM Grand on Saturday.
"I don't think there could have been any better time than Oscar taking off an hour later to Las Vegas after getting that kind of honor bestowed upon him."
We'll have a De La Hoya-Pacquiao live blog on Saturday night here at FanHouse.
