Boxers on different paths

In the aftermath of Manny Pacquiao's decisive eighth-round technical knockout victory over Oscar De La Hoya on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden, the careers of two of boxing's biggest names became clearly defined.

If this was indeed De La Hoya's final appearance in the ring, as all signs indicate, he received quite a golden parachute for his crash-and-burn performance against Pacquiao. De La Hoya, who suffered the most lopsided loss of his Hall of Fame career in dropping to 39-6, pocketed $20 million for a fight he was never a factor in.

Richard Schaefer, chief executive officer of Golden Boy Promotions, said De La Hoya was resting Sunday and had no issues from his postfight visit to Valley Hospital.

"He had a CT scan and had his left hand and wrist checked out, and he's OK," Schaefer said. "He's obviously very disappointed, but things happen for a reason. Perhaps this was a signal that it's time."

Schaefer said De La Hoya, 35, has not made a decision regarding his future. But if it was Schaefer's call, De La Hoya has fought his last fight.

"If you ask me, I am going to tell him, 'This is it.' " Schaefer said. "But Oscar is a smart person. He will analyze everything, and when he's ready, he'll make his decision and announce it."

For Pacquiao, he can look forward to some big paydays in 2009 and can build on his growing worldwide popularity. He probably will drop down to 140 pounds and stay there for a while after having beaten De La Hoya at 147 Saturday.

The Pacquiao camp was especially gracious in victory, praising De La Hoya's courage and his legacy. But at the same time, they think it's time for De La Hoya to concentrate on promoting and leave the fighting to the others in his Golden Boy stable.

"I'd like to see Oscar retire," said Freddie Roach, who used to train De La Hoya and now trains Pacquiao. "It's time."

Roach admitted there was some animosity on his part toward De La Hoya, who employed Roach for his May 5, 2007, fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. but opted not to retain him after Mayweather won a 12-round split decision.

"It's a little bit of get back at him," Roach said. "It's great. But I hope we can be friends again now that this is over."

Pacquiao said he still holds great admiration for De La Hoya despite beating him up.

"Oscar is still my idol," Pacquiao said. "He has been great for boxing, and I wish him nothing but the best."

Top Rank's Bob Arum, who first promoted De La Hoya after he turned pro following his gold medal victory at the 1992 Olympics and currently is Pacquiao's promoter, also had kind words for De La Hoya.

"If this was Oscar's last fight, we all have to thank him for all he did for boxing," Arum said. "He was a shining beacon for the sport. He was a great champion, and he lost (Saturday) to another great champion in Manny Pacquiao."

For Pacquiao, who is coming off the biggest payday of his career -- $6.5 million -- the big question for boxing's best pound-for-pound fighter is, "Who's next?"

Some were asking Arum about luring Mayweather out of retirement. The more likely scenario is a fight late in the spring with Ricky Hatton, either in England or possibly Dubai.

Hatton, who was ringside at the MGM on Saturday night, said he was impressed with Pacquiao and would love to face him next year.

"Sure. It would be an honor to share the ring with him," Hatton said. "It was a spectacular performance by Manny. I didn't like to see Oscar get hurt, and I think the referee (Tony Weeks) should have stopped it a couple of rounds earlier."

Arum said no decisions on Pacquiao's future will be made until January.

"We'll celebrate Christmas, New Year's and the arrival of the new baby (Pacquiao and his wife are expecting a girl in a few weeks), then we'll decide who to fight next," Arum said.

Back in the Philippines, celebrations broke out following Pacquiao's victory. Pacquiao, who is usually soft-spoken and low-key, found himself staying long after Saturday's postfight news conference had concluded, smiling, posing for photographers and chatting amicably with the large contingent of Filipino media that had traveled thousands of miles to cover his historic win.

Roach likened the victory, Pacquiao's third in three weight classes this year (130, 135 and 147 pounds), to that of Henry Armstrong, who accomplished a similar feat in a 10-month span between 1937 and 1938 when he won titles at featherweight lightweight and welterweight.

"He'd be a great champion in any era," Roach said of Pacquiao (48-3-2). "He's a throwback to the old days."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.