Former Pacquiao opponent now promoter Oscar De La Hoya has sung the praises of his old foe Manny Pacquiao ahead of his fight with Lucas Matthysse this weekend.

Matthysse is promoted by De La Hoya but the American promoter was keen to highlight the positives Pacquiao has done inside and outside the ring going into this weekend’s bout.

Speaking to the world media, De La Hoya said:

“First of all I want to tell Manny Pacquiao how proud I am of him not only because he has become one of the most important legends in the sport of boxing, but because he is a legend outside of the ring. Manny Pacquiao in the recent history of the sport has become one of the iconic figures that the sport has ever had. Why? Because he is building bridges between countries. He’s attracting the youth to become fighter, to become warriors. He’s giving them hope and opportunity. Manny Pacquiao is doing this through his fists, through his heart, he’s doing it because he loves to give back.”

De La Hoya knows just how good Pacquiao is in the ring having suffered defeat inside the distance a few years back to him in what was the big breakthrough fight of Pacquiao onto the world stage at the time.