Report: Hoya doubts Pacquiao honorable

MANILA, Philippines – There's some bad blood between Oscar de la Hoya and Manny Pacquiao after all. De la Hoya questioned Pacquiao's "honor" and Pacquiao was irked apparently by being "sued", feelings that were fueled by a series of promotional deals that went down late in 2006 according to Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times. De la Hoya's resentment was triggered by Pacquiao's decision in 2006 to side with Bob Arum's Top Rank Inc., the rival of de la Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, despite allegedly already agreeing to work with GBP. De la Hoya sued Arum last year but they appeared to have buried the hatchet later when they copromoted the Pacquiao-Marco Antonio Barrera sequel. The LA Times revealed, however, that de la Hoya still hasn't gotten over the 2006 episode. "Manny talks about honor, how it's so important to him. How honorable is he?" de la Hoya said. "When he looked into my eyes and shook my hand that we had a [promotional] deal, and then leaves me because someone will pay him more ... how honorable is that? It is the first time that the ill will – described by de la Hoya as "very personal" and by Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach as "bad blood" – has been brought to the surface since the December 6 bout was formally announced. In the last week, de la Hoya and Pacquiao were lapping it up in all the six cities that hosted their massive promotional tour. In San Francisco, Roach got into the act by showing up with a busted toy gun, a reference to his "Oscar can't pull the trigger" line. After de la Hoya voiced his bitterness, the hostility is expected to be kicked up a notch. But Roach says the animosity is two-way. "Manny doesn't like Oscar, either. In the Philippines, it's a slap in the face to be sued. They may be acting like gentlemen up there, but there's a lot of dislike and motivation here." – GMANews.TV