The super fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao is finally upon us, so it's time for my official preview and prediction. Some in the boxing world have looked at this fight with a bit (or a lot) of skepticism, as De La Hoya is a much larger man than Manny Pacquiao has ever faced. Pacquiao has only fought once at a weight higher than 130 lbs, while Oscar De La Hoya has fought as high as 160 lbs and has recently been campaigning at 154 lbs. 

What Manny Pacquiao lacks in size he makes up for with speed, aggression and power. However, the other looming question (besides the size difference) is whether or not Manny Pacquiao's power will carry over to the higher weight. And will he be as fast as he is accustomed to being while carrying the extra pounds on his frame?

Manny Pacquiao has been troubled in his encounters with Juan Manuel Marquez and has sidestepped his way around some of the slicker fighters in the divisions he has fought in. This is due in no small part to the fact that Pacquiao does best with aggressive, come forward brawlers, who are susceptible to being hit by his bombs and don't have the tactical skills to defend against them. Oscar De La Hoya, however, has a great jab and solid defensive skills. He is also known for having a great chin, with only Bernard Hopkins ever knocking him out, and that was via a body shot.

Oscar De La Hoya was intending to prepare for a rematch against Floyd Mayweather when he fought Steve Forbes. But in fact it served as a de facto preparation for Pacquiao. Forbes is a smaller and quicker fighter, the difference being that he is a defensive minded boxer while Pacquiao is an aggressive puncher. In this case, I think Pacquiao's aggressiveness will be detrimental to his chances of success in this match.

In the opening rounds, De La Hoya may be caught off guard by the pure, unbridled aggression and speed of Filipino sensation Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao may even land a few hard, flush shots that serve to jolt De La Hoya awake a bit. As the fight progresses, De La Hoya will begin consistently getting his jab involved. By doing so, he will be able to use his height and reach advantages to keep Manny Pacquiao at a distance. This will help to disrupt the offensive effectiveness that Pacquiao is accustomed to.

By the middle rounds of the fight I expect De La Hoya to be in complete control. De La Hoya was able to knock out brawler Ricardo Mayorga, who's a larger fighter than Pacquiao is. However, Pacquiao is at the prime of his game while Mayorga had just been knocked out by Felix Trinidad. In the upcoming PPV showdown De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao, I doubt that Pacquiao will be knocked out. A monster left hook may put him on the canvas, but he has too much heart to stay there. At the same time, I doubt that De La Hoya still has what it takes to really pour it on a fighter and finish him the way he jumped all over an injured Fernando Vargas.

My official prediction is that while Pacquiao makes a good fight out of it, surprising some and letting down some others, he loses a wide decision to the much larger and much more tactical boxer in Oscar De La Hoya. Oscar may hurt Pacquiao, but as I mentioned, won't be able to finish him. Conversely, Pacquiao will struggle to hurt De La Hoya who has been hit by much more powerful punchers and who keeps the fight at long range with his jab.

The scorecards may even be a bit funny (as they tend to be in De La Hoya fights); I wouldn't be surprised to see a split decision rather than a unanimous decision, with Pacquiao fans being upset that he got robbed. However, I do expect the fight to be rather handily won by De La Hoya, and for Pacquiao to go back down and continue his career at a lower weight where his unique blend of talents have proven to be so successful.

The Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao fight is this weekend in Las Vegas, being shown on HBO PPV. If you want to bet on the fight, the Bodog Sportbook lets you bet not only on the outcome of the fight, but also on the length of the fight, the scorecards and many other fun elements as well. Currently, the Bodog Sportsbook has the odds:

• Oscar De La Hoya -180
• Manny Pacquiao +140

Over/Under 9.5 rounds

• Over -185
• Under +145

There you go! Check back right here to see how the fight turns out and to see whether or not my official prediction for the De La Hoya and Pacquiao pay-per-view showdown was correct.