During the post-fight interview with Juan “The Baby Bull” Diaz this Saturday night, HBO analyst Max Kellermen asked the young Houston boxer how interested he would be in fighting junior lightweight fireplug Manny Pacquiao.
Diaz’s eyes light up and said a fight with the Filipino would be a dream.
In the background Don King, Diaz’s promoter, could be seen counting the money a Diaz vs. Pacquiao fight would bring in, but miles away in Las Vegas, Bob Arum was reported to laugh out loud at Kellerman’s question. A promoter as shrewd as Arum would not put in Pacquiao to the likely destruction Diaz would bring.
This is not a resounding endorsement of Diaz, who I believe could be stiffly challenged by veteran boxer Cuban Joel Casamayor, nor is it a slap in the face of Pacquiao’s skill.
Both men seem to only know one gear, forward, and they press the accelerator when they are in their sole gear. As Kellerman played pseudo-matchmaker in front of a televised audience he must have been thinking about the terrific head-on explosion Pacquiao vs. Diaz would surely be.
Only one little, tiny, weenie problem Max. Diaz is a naturally larger man who has been fighting at a lightweight for quite a while and debuted as a 141-pounder. Manny Pacquiao on the other hand, started off at 107 and a move to lightweight would be a stretch.
As Diaz’s eyes looked like the ones on those freaky cat wall clocks that were popular in the 1970s (see picture) following Max’s question, he must have been thinking, “Sure, I will take a multi-million dollar payday with Pacquiao, avoid the cagey old veteran Casamayor, and laugh all the way to the bank.”
More importantly, it is highly doubtful Arum would march Pacquiao to a probable loss against Diaz after all the time and money he has put into Manny’s career and the lawsuit against Golden Boy Promotions. Clearly, a boxer can lose on any given night, but I am sure Arum would rather have Manny lose to Humberto Soto (also a Top Rank fighter), where all the options and rematches go strictly through Top Rank. Dancing with Diaz would mean dancing with Don King.
So let’s hope Diaz fights Casamayor, or even Sycuan Ringside Promotion’s Julio Diaz. Fights that make sense for the lightweight division and do not mark the end of one of boxing’s hottest commodities, Manny Pacquiao.
