I was going to do a write up on this fight to try to give some background on the fight, what to expect...etc but Scott Christ over at BadLeftHook has done his typical great work and it would be a waste of my time to try to cover the fight better than he already has.  So here as told through links to and quotes from various BadLeftHook articles is the story of the fight.

On Manny Pacquiao and his ways to win:

If Manny Pacquiao, whose highest-ever fighting weight came in June at 135 pounds, is to defeat Oscar de la Hoya this Saturday, he cannot let the size become an issue.

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But facts are facts. Oscar de la Hoya is a bigger man than Manny Pacquiao. He's four inches taller, has a good amount of reach on Pacquiao, and has never weighed less than 133 pounds for any fight, going as high as 160 against Felix Sturm.

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Pacquiao can win this fight, but he's going to have to be at his best defensively. At some point, Oscar will test his chin. And even if he can't knock Manny out, his natural advantages give him the ability to turn this into a toying session if he plays his cards right. He could jab all night. It probably won't back Pacquiao up for long, but it'll win rounds.

How can Pacquiao win? He has to make it about speed. There is no one Oscar could have brought in that truly spars like Pacquiao fights. Manny is a unique boxer. If you watched the most recent "24/7," you saw Bernard Hopkins in Oscar's gym giving his sparring partners advice on how to fight like Pacquiao, and "make Oscar work harder than he wants to work." Though B-Hop meant that to benefit Oscar, he got what Manny needs to do exactly right.

Manny has to move, throw combinations, and light Oscar up with them. I don't think Manny is big enough to be the first guy besides Hopkins to knock Oscar out, but I do think he can discourage him, frustrate him, and make him fight outside of his game. Oscar isn't the quickest guy anymore, his offensive reflexes looked somewhat shot against Steve Forbes in May, and even if he is training to see things before they come, the lightning-fast Pacquiao is going to hit him.

The other side of the coin:

For Oscar de la Hoya, a reputation hangs in the balance on Saturday.

Those that question his credentials ignore that his losses -- five in 44 fights -- have come to elites of the sport. Only Bernard Hopkins has ever knocked him out, and the only others to hold wins over "The Golden Boy" are Floyd Mayweather, Tito Trinidad and Shane Mosley.

He has held world titles in six weight classes, from junior lightweight all the way up to middleweight. He may not be a truly sensational all-time great talent, but his prime years were not far off from that, either. He is, though, a once in a generation draw for the sport. For all of Oscar's faults, boxing would be in truly dire straits without his presence the last 16 years.

He is, arguably, the last American Olympic boxer to truly captivate the imagination of the sport's fans. And he's the biggest non-heavyweight attraction ever.

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There are a lot of ways for Oscar to beat Manny. He could jab, use his size, and keep Manny on the outside, waiting for chances at big power shots. Pacquiao has a habit of leaving himself open, even now that he's become a much better defensive fighter than he was just a few years ago, when he was emerging as such an action star.

Oscar says it would be "a disaster" if he doesn't knock out the Filipino legend. I wouldn't have classed it that way, but now that he has, it's hard not to think that way going in. If Oscar wins a close decision, how many people are going to think he's just plain past it? If he can't win a shootout -- which is what fans want from Pacquiao fights -- who will really want to see him fight on against Ricky Hatton, or in an undesired rematch with Mayweather?

De la Hoya painted himself into the corner of needing to knock out Pacquiao, perhaps, but it's a worthwhile corner to be in, too. Oscar will do himself and the sport a favor by going out and fighting toe-to-toe with Manny. Given his size, he should have the confidence that he wins the war. If the two go balls to the wall, they will at least entertain.

How does the undercard look?:

That all depends on what you like. But rest assured, there will be action, there will be knockouts, and you'll get to see three of the fastest-rising stars in the sport in action at the MGM Grand.

Heading up the undercard action is 122-pound titleholder Juan Manuel Lopez, Puerto Rico's newest superstar export into the sweet science. Lopez's wicked power (21 knockouts in 23 fights, all wins) was on full display when he took the WBO junior featherweight title from Daniel Ponce de Leon in June, knocking the Mexican slugger out in just over two minutes. It was supposed to be the fight of the night -- instead, it was just a huge coming out party for the 25-year old Lopez. In October, Lopez made his first defense, knocking out Cesar Figueroa in 47 seconds.

He'll be opposed on Saturday by Sergio Medina (33-1, 18 KO), a 26-year old Argentinian whose only career loss came on the Oscar-Mayweather undercard in 2007, when he was beaten by Rey Bautista. He's fought five times since, all in his home country and mostly against illegitimate competition. Medina will be able to prove whether he's a contender or not on Saturday.

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Now as far as 2008 pay-per-view undercards go, this one is pretty much par for the course. It features some good young talent, but on paper they're all in fights meant more to present them than push them competitively. Medina has a pretty record, but it's a paper record. Resto is a mystery. And Lares is a tomato can.

Maybe the best thing you can say is that without some horrible misfortune, it won't be able the touch the overpowering stink that was the Calzaghe-Jones undercard in November, and it should feature some good action. There's a decent chance all three fights are very short, too, which could lead to some interesting production choices as we wait around for the main event. How many times can one interview Buboy?

The answer: Not enough.

Now for a few brief thoughts from me from a MMA fan standpoint:

Obviously I love boxing.  It was my first love in combat sports and I still follow it closely.  One look at the odds on the undercard shows that you're likely not going to be getting much by way of close fights (Lopez alone is sitting as a -3500 favorite) but there shouldn't be a boring fight anywhere on that card.  In the mismatches you're likely going to at least see someone get blasted.

The truth is, this isn't a card that you watch for the undercard.  The atmosphere for the main event will be nuts.  Oscar is a draw, Manny is a huge draw within his fanbase (as Scott says in the Philippines Manny is a combination of JFK plus The Beatles plus Muhammad Ali) and the atmosphere will reflect the strong fan support for each fighter.

Initially I was going to go with Pacquiao by decision here but the more I talked to Scott and really thought about things the more I came to terms with the fact that Oscar is a MUCH bigger man and he does have some pop in his punches.  As long as he throws his fists he can hurt Manny and finish him.  I'm going to go ahead and take Oscar by TKO in 5.

One last thing, don't forget to listen to MMA Nation with Luke Thomas on Saturday.  Scott Christ will be on to discuss the fight and David Samuels will also be on to discuss his work with The Atlantic .