De La Hoya Is Greedy

It was supposed to be the best fight in 2008, even topping the Cotto-Margarito fight. It was supposed to be Oscar De La Hoya's last fight. It was supposed to the fight that solidified that Manny Pacquiao was the pound-for-pound best fighter of this decade.

But now IT, the boxing match that would have been the most watched of 2008, may not happen after all.

Negotiations for the fight have broken down and the mega fight that was supposed to take place on Dec. 6 may not be delivered to boxing fans around the world.

Talks reached a stalemate Wednesday when neither De La Hoya nor Pacquiao would budge from the percentage split each wanted.

According to Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, De La Hoya was seeking a 70-30 revenue split in his favor while Pacquiao wanted 40 percent of an HBO PPV fight that would likely generate more than $100 million.

"Bob told me today that Manny has declined to the accept the terms," Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com. "I had a nice conversation with Bob. We'll move on and I guess Manny will move on."

De La Hoya needs to realize that he got into boxing to compete against the best, and not make enough money to buy all the fishnet he wants. If this fight does not happen it would be a slap in the face to boxing fans. De La Hoya needs to fight PacMan, for the sake of his reputation as a warrior.

Boxing fans cannot go through another fight like his last, against a inferior opponent in Steve Forbes, who exposed what De La Hoya is all about at this stage of his career: money. There is no way I, or millions of boxing fans, are willing to fork over cash for another bout like that.

Man up De La Hoya, take the 60-40 that PacMan wants and end your career with some dignity instead of leaving all boxing fans with this word in mind: coward.