Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent is likely to be Injin Chi, the rock hard Korean who has held the WBC featherweight crown twice in a wildly exciting career.
Although a rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera is one of the most anticipated fights around, Pacquiao-Barrera II has been put on hold until the Filipino’s promotional issues have been sorted out.
WBC champion Barrera – who has made four defenses since beating Erik Morales in 2004 – and his mandatory Pacquiao won’t meet up again until the Filipino’s foggy promotional status is cleared.
Pacquiao, 28, signed contracts with both Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank, leading the WBC to call off purse bids.
This spurred Golden Boy Promotions to match Barrera with the excellent Juan Manuel Marquez, leaving Pacquiao without a big name opponent.
Pacquiao, of course, stopped Barrera in A 2003 upset and drew with Marquez in a 2004 epic.
As such, some creative matchmaking was in order, and the Filipino buzzsaw is expected to fight Chi in an Asian-interest slugfest, at Steve Wynn’s casino in Macau, China. Bob Arum is promoting what appears to be a super featherweight battle, set for April 28.
Chi, 33, had an up and down 2006. Losing his title in Japan to home fighter Takashi Koshimoto (controversially), many felt the 31-3-1 (18 KOs) slugger was washed up. But he closed the year brilliantly by wresting the crown from ‘Koshimoto-basher’ Rudy Lopez, after twelve rounds of warfare.
The Korean burst onto the scene in a loss to a prime Erik Morales, who left the ring marked up and distressed after their 2001 encounter.
When Morales jumped up a division and left the WBC belt behind, Chi was matched with classy Mancunian Michael Brodie in a head on collision that left viewers astonished.
Though Brodie – previously robbed in a bid for Willie Jorrin’s WBC super bantam crown – was known as a hard luck case, it was Chi who seemed hard done by after their twelve round draw in the Brit’s hometown.
Declared a winner by majority decision, Chi was deprived of the crown when Jose Sulaiman found an error in the scorecard tabulation, and a rematch to 2003’s best fight was in order.
Chi left no room for doubt this time, against a Brodie depleted from the first fight. A right dropped Brodie in the first, and a body shot deflated the Brit in seven.
The rough edged crowd-pleaser managed a couple of title defenses at home in 2004 and 2005, against Eiichi Sugama (TKO10) and Tommy Browne (W12), before he was unseated by Koshimoto in a fight that many felt he won.
Though lacking raw power (with only 18 KOs from 31 wins), Chi proved he can still manage a furious workrate against Lopez last month, who, at 23 is a decade younger than the Korean.
In addition, Chi has never been down and the move up to 130-pounds may prove beneficial for the huge featherweight.
He’s a worthy foe for Pacquiao – coming off white-hot wins over Erik Morales (twice) and Oscar Larios (W12).
IS DIAZ A ‘BABIED BULL’?
Juan ‘Baby Bull’ Diaz is an exciting young fighter, but he needs to step up the level of competition if he’s going to break through as a star at lightweight.
No one’s heard of the WBA titlist’s next opponent – indeed, mandatory contender Prawet Singwangcha does nothing to boost his profile.
Only two fights ago Diaz, 23, pummelled Randy Suico – a man beaten by Marco Antonio Barrera sacrifice Mzonke Fana.
In lieu of Diaz’s improvement since winning the crown three years ago, it’s a shame that’s he’s not been matched with foes of sufficient calibre.
On his return to Showtime two months ago, the Texan proved he was much more than a hyperactive pressure fighter, displaying a fine jab against Fernando Angulo to make the fifth defense of his crown.
Diaz needs a name like Joel Casamayor to cement him at the highest level, and the two champions were linked when there were doubts that Singwangcha could make the March date.
However, the Thai is unlikely to throw away such a huge chance, and it seems Diaz-Singwangcha has merely been postponed, pushing Casamayor-Diaz further back.
Given that WBC king Casamayor – who owes David Diaz a title shot – is expected to get an extension by the sanctioning body, it begs a huge question.
Why doesn’t Diaz – who jumped ship from Main Events to Don King recently – ditch his WBA strap if it’s holding him back?
Though he’s never encountered anything near Casamayor’s class and skill, the Cuban has slowed down considerably – just as Diaz appears to be accelerating.
What are they waiting for?
