It seems that there is no turning back for Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao and boxing’s Golden Boy Oscar Dela Hoya to slug it out for a mega buck fight in early December as both camps have expressed their unwavering desire to face each other.

Dela Hoya, 35, is now insisting on a Pacquiao fight to happen mainly because the latter’s camp provoked him. Reacting on a statement by Freddie Roach saying “he can no longer pull the trigger”, it propelled the Mexican-American boxer-promoter to stage another episode in his series of “farewell fights”.

Pacquiao, on the other hand, is gunning for another crack at history in terms of money and legacy as he plans to move up 2 weight classes to challenge Dela Hoya on a catch-weight of 147 lbs. While there are obvious contenders for Pacquiao’s WBC lightweight title, nobody comes close to what an Oscar Dela Hoya fight can offer. Pacquiao can even match Floyd Mayweather Jr’s purse when he fought Dela Hoya last year and $20 million is definitely a huge factor in taking the fight.

Now let’s take a look on what’s going to be the biggest factors in deciding who wins this fight.

POWER: If there is a fight that we can safely say that Pacquiao does not have the power-punching advantage, this is it. Aside from moving up 2 weight classes, Pacquiao faces a fighter who has been knocked out only once in his entire career. Though I believe that he can hurt Oscar mainly because Mayweather Jr, who is not known for power-punching, gave the former some scary moments during their fight. Dela Hoya, on his part, still has that reliable and devastating left hook that has decked countless bodies to the canvass. This is going to be the battle of Pacquiao’s left straight and Dela Hoya’ left hook.

Advantage: Slight advantage to Dela Hoya

SPEED: Pacquiao looked pretty fast in his last outing against David Diaz but some are saying that it was emphasized because of Diaz’s lack of speed. Dela Hoya meanwhile showcased a glimpse of his old fast self when he bombarded Steve Forbes with a lot of lightning-quick combinations. Though Manny was more successful in landing punches against Diaz than Dela Hoya hitting Forbes, it was the fact that Forbes was much more mobile than Diaz. Both have fast hands, and I don’t see much difference.

Advantage: DRAW

SIZE AND REACH: Dela Hoya clearly has the advantage in size and reach. It is necessary to note though that in his last fight, he fought Forbes who has almost the same measurements as Manny in terms of height and reach. Dela Hoya got caught several times by a much less aggressive Forbes but he was able to impose his stiff left jab that was his primary weapon during the fight.

Advantage: Dela Hoya

ACCURACY: I was quite surprised with how Manny threw accurately in his last fight. He was right on the money against Dangerous David and we could say he threw everything except the kitchen sink. In his last two fights, Dela Hoya looked very aggressive against Mayweather Jr and Forbes but a lot of it were ineffective because most of the punch flurries were blocked. I don’t see Dela Hoya changing his style as quickly as he wants to and with Manny having better defense more than ever, my money is on Pacquiao landed the cleaner shots.

Advantage: Pacquiao

STAMINA: Pacquiao is well-known to be a workhorse on top of the ring. Dela Hoya, on the other hand, is known to fade on latter halves of big fights. It really depends on what Oscar comes out to fight. If it was ODLH from the Mayweather Jr bout, Pacquiao by a huge margin especially in the later rounds. But if it was the ODLH from the Forbes fight, we should expect an action-packed 12 rounder.

Advantage: Pacquiao

EXPERIENCE: Both boxers have had first-ballot Hall of Fame careers and their vast experience will only contribute to the excitement and quality of the fight.

Advantage: The fans

HUNGER: I am more inclined to believe that Pacquiao has more desire to win this fight than Dela Hoya. In this stage of his career, Dela Hoya is fighting as a promoter and whether he wins or losses, he’ll end up with the profit. Pacquiao, though he is going to have a guaranteed purse between 15-20 million dollars, might lose marketability for future bouts, assuming he still fights after. For Pacquiao, its like hitting two birds with one stone. Cementing his legacy by beating a bigger Dela Hoya and taking home that huge amount of money. For Dela Hoya, it was beating the smaller pound for pound king.

Advantage: Pacquiao

FINAL THOUGHTS: With the conditions set by Pacquiao’s camp that the weigh-in will be done on the same day of the fight, I am leaning towards Manny winning a late-round knockout or a unanimous decision. Dela Hoya will feel bloated on fight night because of sudden weight gain which will prove to be a big factor as he will not be able to make a sustained forward attack. Plus, the only knockout loss on Oscar’s resume was against Bernard Hopkins via a body shot. If the weigh-in goes on its usual course though, I will give the advantage to Dela Hoya.

Prediction: Too early to tell. I’ll update you on my fearless forecast when the contract has been signed.