SAN FRANCISCO – Freddie Roach threw the first haymaker.
"I found this toy gun," Roach said, handing it to Oscar De La Hoya on the dais Saturday at Fort Mason, with the Golden Gate Bridge as a backdrop. "But I can't pull the trigger. It must be yours."
Ouch.
Roach was the Golden Boy's trainer for his May 2007 loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr., when De La Hoya could not "pull the trigger" against a smaller, faster opponent. Roach now is in the corner of De La Hoya's next foe, the smaller, faster Manny Pacquiao.
This fight, Dec. 6 in Las Vegas, is that rare bout promising to be action-packed from the opening bell.
Unlike Mayweather, pound-for-pound champ Pacquiao actually fights, rather than talking, talking some more and hiding through early rounds.
"I dream about it every night," said De La Hoya, a 10-time world champ in six weight classes who has postponed retirement. This was to be his farewell bout.
"Please, stay right in front of me; let's make it a fight. Which, I'm sure, he (will). There's no backing down in Manny."
Even if the Golden Boy enjoys a four-inch height advantage and walks into the ring for the 147- pound fight at about 160 and Pac Man has never fought above 134. De La Hoya (39-5, 30 knockouts) is a 2-1 favorite.
"He is a legend in boxing, and it is my honor to fight him," said Pacquiao (47-3-2, 35). "It's a big test for me."
It should be a treat for sweet science fans.
What to surf
www.etruesports.com. The guys at eTrueSports are at it again: They've given Chicago Cubs a new definition.
What to watch
Baseball: Rays at White Sox, 1:07 p.m., TBS. See if the upstart Rays can pull off the sweep in Chicago.
What to do
College men's soccer: San Jose State at Sacramento State, 1 p.m. It's the conference opener for both schools. Sac State is 5-2-2 and San Jose State 4-1-3.
Saturday's results
Area college football
• N. Arizona 42, SAC ST. 10
• UC DAVIS 34, N. Colo. 30
• Notre Dame 28, STAN. 21
• CAL 24, Arizona State 14
• Nevada 49, Idaho 14
• Hawaii 32, Fresno St. 29 (OT)
National League playoffs
• Brewers 4, Phillies 1
• Dodgers 3, Cubs 1
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.