PAC MIGHT NOT FARE WELL AT 135
San Francisco, CA- Manny Pacquiao is now 29 years old. Having first fought at 107 lbs., Pacman captured the WBC 112 lb. trinket with a 1998 KO of Chatchai Sasakul (33-1 at time) before a move to 122 and a stunning upset KO of the 31-1-1 IBF guy Lehlo Ledwaba in 2001. Two years later, Manny Pacquiao really opened some eyes when he reduced the great (57-3 at the time) Marco Antonio Barrera to boxing rubble.
CUT MARRED FIRST FIGHT WITH ERIK
The only loss Manny has suffered since, a 12-round decision to Erik Morales, was avenged by KO and not once, but twice! As he prepares for an October 6th rematch with Barrera, 62-5, 42 KOs, people are losing sight of the fact that Barrera, albeit a decided underdog in my mind, like Pac?s trainer Freddie Roach, Marco has to be respected as a ?formidable? foe, this even though he lost his last fight and at 33 years old has been a professional fighter since November 1999.
LET?S TALK ABOUT ?NATURAL? SIZE FOLKS
Manny is a natural flyweight (112), Barrera was a 115 lb. fighter that was offered a WBO 122 lb. title shot, won and began a great run of eight wins before losing twice to Junior Jones, who came in at 42-2 for their initial encounter in 1998. Erik Morales, he was a 122 lb. fighter at best. What do all three have in common is that that they all moved up in weight.
REMEMBER MANNY WAS ?LIGHT-FLYWEIGHT?
Having been as light at 107 lbs. for a fight, the truth of the mater is that the super fighter from General; Santos City, PI, Manny has been matched against guys that were small from the get-go like him. At 130 lbs., Joan Guzman (32-0, 24 KOs), considered the most serious threat for Manny, he too has moved up in weight from 122. But Manny fighting at lightweight, that?s a bit of a stretch my friends.
DIAZ JUST TOO MUCH FOR PACQUAIO?
Current lightweight (135) champ Juan Diaz (34-0, 16 KOs) is a big 135 lb. fighter, not so much in height, but in body mass and natural power. Officially, Pac is supposed to be ? inch taller than the unbeaten Diaz. But that body mass advantage, the fact that Diaz is a 140 lb. fighter that can barely make 135, this will give him a huge advantage over Pacman, one I don?t think the Filipino icon can overcome.
BEATING DIAZ WOULD BE INCREDIBLE!
If Pacman were to move up and defeat Juan Diaz (32-0, 16 KOs), it would be an accomplishment that would be more impressive than lightweight great Roberto Duran besting Iran Barkely at 160 lbs. Duran had moved up 25 lbs., Pac will have moved up 28. But the move from light fly to lightweight, it is to me a greater leap overall than going from lightweight to middleweight. That being said, Diaz is a 2 ? to 1 favorite, should Diaz beat Julio Diaz (34-3, 23 KOs) on October 13.
