By Edward Chaykovsky

Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya is backing Manny Pacquiao to get an upset win over Floyd Mayweather Jr. in their WBC/WBA/WBO welterweight clash from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

De La Hoya, who co-promoted Mayweather's fights from 2007 to 2014, says the boxer never wanted to face Pacquiao in the ring. He feels the undefeated pound-for-pound king was pressured into the fight, because the time had come where everyone was demanding the contest.

“I honestly never thought it would happen,” De La Hoya told 7DAYS. “You see Floyd Mayweather was forced to take this fight. He was under pressure from promoters, the fans and the media so he had no other choice but to face Pacquiao.

“He was cornered and had to agree, but he didn’t want this fight and he still doesn’t. That might be the difference. My heart is with Pacquiao, but my head is with Mayweather. But it depends on which Manny shows up. His mentality will be to go in there and overwhelm Floyd from the start."

De La Hoya faced both fighters in the ring. He lost a close twelve round split decision to Mayweather in 2007 and then saw himself get stopped by Pacquiao within eight rounds in 2008 - which became the final fight of his pro career before announcing is retirement from active fighting and focusing his energy on promoting.

“If the Manny that beat me shows up then he has a great shot at winning. But he has to go in there and right from the first bell throw punches. He has wanted this fight for so many years and he may just be hungrier. Mayweather is the favorite, but don’t count out the underdog in this one. It will be great for the industry and boxing in general, especially if it’s a good fight,” explained De La Hoya.

“Boxing doesn’t need great match-ups, what boxing needs is great fights. So this is the perfect stage for Pacquiao and Mayweather to shine and bring boxing back to the glory days.”