'You're my still my idol,' Pacquiao tells De la Hoya

MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao has always wanted to pattern his career after Oscar de la Hoya. That's why even if he mauled The Golden Boy, Pacquiao gave his props where it was due. "You're still my idol," Pacquiao told de la Hoya before Pacquiao was handed the microphone for an interview by HBO analyst Larry Merchant. "I'm still looking at Oscar as a good fighter and I still respect him," Pacquiao added later. It was a virtual passing of the torch between boxing's two most popular names. On Sunday (Saturday, US time), Pacquiao, currently the toast of the sport, grabbed the mantle as boxing's top draw away from de la Hoya, the acknowledged king of pay-per-view TV "I'm so lucky because I controlled the fight in the first round," Pacquiao added. "That's what we were working on everyday. Speed is the key to the fight. I used it in the fight." "It proved I was right," Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, said. After Pacquiao acknowledged de la Hoya, de la Hoya threw back the compliment. "Now, you're my idol." - GMANews.TV