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Manny Pacquiao proved he is still a feared
heavy-handed fighter—even for a first timer in the
lightweight division.
Pacquiao executed a carnage via a
ninth-round technical knockout (TKO) win over a bloodied
David Diaz Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events
Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
It was an all-Pacquiao show right from the
very start as the Filipino superstar immediately pounced
on Diaz, a Mexican-American fighter based in Chicago, in
a fight that would gauge Pacquiao’s abilities in the
135-lb division.
Pacquiao battered Diaz with his usual
blinding speed coupled with his typical power, but what
was more impressive about the Filipino’s performance was
his very active and crushingly effective right hand,
which he alternately used as a stinging jab and
uppercut.
“It was his speed, it was all his speed. He
boxed more than I thought he would,” Diaz said. “I
looked at films and I thought I could handle that. But I
couldn’t.”
It was the same story from the first up to
the fateful round that saw Diaz suffer an ugly welt on
his left cheek, a cut on the bridge of his nose and the
nastiest wound of them all—a long gash on his right
eyelid that gave the ringside physician much to do on a
night attended by 8,362 paying fans.
The end came at 2:24 of the ninth canto
after Pacquiao connected a perfectly timed left cross
that made the brave but clearly outclassed Diaz fall
face first. Referee Vic Drakulich did not bother to
administer even a single count as he instantaneously
waved off the fight.
The ultimate blow was reminiscent of the
punch that floored Pacquiao’s bitter Mexican rival Juan
Manuel Marquez in the third round of their return bout
in March. The difference, clearly, was that Marquez
survived that punch while Diaz didn’t.
Pacquiao approached Diaz and tried to help
him up, but the Mexican looked more startled than hurt
while lying down.
“Did anybody get the number off of that
truck?” Diaz joked, referring to Pacquiao’s decisive
hit. “Today is the day that we lost. Tomorrow is another
day. He’s fast. The speed was the difference in the
fight. I have all of the respect for him.”
American trainer Freddie Roach couldn’t help
but praise his prized ward, who considered Pacquiao’s
latest performance his best.
“That’s the best I’ve ever seen Pacquiao
box. We fought a great fight plan. We fought it to the
tee. We wanted to take him out in the later rounds. I am
very proud of Manny,” said Roach.
The win made Pacquiao Asia’s first
four-division world champion as he snatched Diaz’s World
Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight crown. Pacquiao
actually already made history after winning the WBC
super-featherweight crown from Marquez in their rematch
held also in Las Vegas, which made the Filipino fireball
Asia’s first three-division crown holder.
Celtics
celebrate with Pacman
Pacquiao celebrated the win in his dugout with his usual
throng, but the merriment had glitter this time as he
was also joined by National Basketball Association
superstars Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce of
the recently crowned champions Boston Celtics. Also part
of the party were Celtics guards Sam Cassell and Rajon
Rondo.
The main question among boxing observers has
been whether Pacquiao, who debuted as a 108-lb fighter
some 13 years ago, is capable of carrying his vaunted
speed and power the way he did in the lower weight
classes, where he won jewels in the flyweight and
super-bantamweight divisions and, most recently, in the
super-featherweight class.
“I am happy for the win tonight. I never
thought I would win four world titles in four different
classes. I feel great at this weight. I feel stronger at
135 pounds than at 130. He did hurt me one time during
the fight. David Diaz is a very strong fighter,”
Pacquiao said.
Pacquiao raised his record to 47-3-2, with
34 knockouts, while Diaz, 32, fell to 34-2-2 with 17
KO’s.
Who’s
next?
After
feasting on a steady diet of Mexican toughies, Pacquiao
is now bound to cement his legacy by fighting one more
time before the end of the year against either of two
non-Mexicans regularly mentioned as potential opponents.
Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum said they are
looking at the possibility of pairing the Filipino
bomber against World Boxing Association
super-featherweight champion Edwin Valero of Venezuela,
an undefeated knockout artist who has stopped all 24 of
his opponents, with the first 19 ending in the first
round.
The problem in arranging a Pacquiao-Valero
bout is that the Venezuelan fighter is currently banned
in Nevada after figuring in a severe motorcycle accident
in 2001 that fractured his skull and that required
surgery to remove a blood clot.
Arum, however, is optimistic Valero may be
soon cleared to fight in Las Vegas, as the Venezuelan
recently was granted a license in Texas.
The alternative, who is probably as popular
as Pacquiao in the US, is British superstar Ricky
Hatton.
“We will defend the WBC lightweight title
later this year. There is a possibility we could fight
Ricky Hatton next year. That remains to be seen,” Arum
suggested.
With Arum’s statement, Pacquiao is expected
to relinquish his 130-lb belt and campaign full-time in
between 135 and 140 lbs.
Other
bouts
In a
controversial ending, Humberto Soto gave opponent
Francisco Lorenzo a bad beating, only to lose by
disqualification in the fourth round.
Soto, who was prominently mentioned as a
possible Pacquiao opponent, was pummeling Francisco with
a variety of solid shots that forced referee Joe Cortez
to step in, albeit momentarily, as he motioned to both
fighters to continue the action. Soto obliged, and as he
was about to unleash a left punch, Francisco knelt and
got hit by that blow at the back of his head.
Francisco claimed the blow was illegal, then
later on laid on the canvass while Cortez conferred with
several ring officials about the situation. In the end,
Cortez declared Soto hit Francisco with an illegal blow
that warranted a disqualification.
The Soto-Francisco bout was for the interim
WBC super-featherweight tiara of Pacquiao, making the
New Jersey-based Francisco, a native of the Dominican
Republic, an unlikely heir apparent to the Filipino’s
130-lb throne.
Another Filipino, Dennis Laurente, fought in
the undercard and scored a scintillating win in his US
debut as he stopped Steve Quiñonez in the fourth round
in a battle of southpaws.
Laurente floored Quiñonez with a right
counter, then knocked him down again with a flush left.
Quiñonez, a regular sparring partner for Pacquiao in
preparing for the Diaz bout, decided not to answer the
bell for round four, claming he twisted his left ankle.
Laurente improved to 29-3-5 with 15
knockouts, while Quinonez dropped to 30-13-1 with 10
knockouts.
In an action-packed championship match,
World Boxing Organization featherweight champion Steven
Luevano kept his crown as he settled for a 12-round
split draw with crafty challenger Mario Santiago of
Puerto Rico.
Both fighters scored a knockdown in the
second round and went toe-to-toe from then on, with
Santiago winning, 117-111, in one judge, while Luevano
got the nod of the other judge, 115-113. The third
scored it 114-114. |
