FLIPSIDE OF LAST WEEK?S COLUMN
San Francisco, CA- Having pissed off more Filipinos than a doubling of the price of rice with a recent column on Manny Pacquiao?s fight with David Diaz next month, I thought I would today post the story that I had originally penned prior to my counterpunching the Pac fans as we engaged in the Internet jihad that Manny?s fans and I were all wrapped up in. In case you missed it the title of that somewhat controversial submission was, ?What If Pacquiao Loses To Diaz??
TIME TO ADD UP BOTH PLUSES & MINUSES
On paper, and Diaz being the WBC champion knows a lot about being paper seeing he is the lightweight (135 lbs.) division?s paper champion, the fight seems like the perfect 135 lb. foray for the ascending Pacquiao. Diaz at 34-1-1 with 17 KOs, he is not a big puncher. And at 5?6, he is the same height as Pacman. The only slight advantage Diaz may have is that he is a lefthander like Pacquiao.
FIGHTING FELLOW LEFTY A PROBLEM?
I can already here the cries in Internet cafes all across the Philippines questioning the last sentence of the prior paragraph, especially seeing Manny is also a lefty. The reason I think Pacquiao might be on the short end of this intangible is that very few southpaws fight fellow southpaws. Being a southpaw I myself had my head handed to me by fellow lefty Ernie Chavez, the same Ernie Chavez that rocked Meldrick Taylor?s world as a professional, in a Golden Gloves bout.
LATE SANCHEZ MORE DIRTY THAN LEFTY?
Taking that into consideration, one must also realize that Pacquiao had difficulties when facing the late (and left handed) Agapito Sanchez here in San Francisco in 2001. A technical draw after six heats, I?m not sure as to whether it was Sanchez?s being a southpaw, or his being the dirtiest fighter in the game that presented problems for the Pacman. Regardless, it was the toughest outing Manny has had since he burst on the big fight scene by bludgeoning Ledlo Ledwaba earlier that year.
WHAT ABOUT DIAZ VS. LEFT HANDERS?
The same problem may present itself to Diaz, especially seeing that the last southpaw he faced, Ramazan Palyani, held him to a 12-round draw in 2005. That being said, we can call this intangible a virtual push. With an edge in power, Pacman gives up a bit of natural size seeing Diaz fought a lot at 140 lbs., with his only loss being a TKO 7 to junior welterweight Kendall Holt. When it comes to hand speed, Diaz isn?t slow, but as we saw in his last fight, a struggle with journeyman Ramon Montano on the Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez II card, he certainly isn?t fast either. Another edge for Pacquiao.
PAC UNDER BRIGHT LIGHTS SINCE 2001
When you take into consideration that Pac has had a lot of high profile fights, and Diaz struggled with both the aforementioned Montano and a ?shot? Erik Morales, put another check mark in Manny?s column. All in all, unless Diaz can pull off what amounts to a huge upset, Manny Pacquiao will become the next WBC 135 lb. champion.
PART 2: WHAT IF MANNY DRILLS DIAZ?
Having laid the fight out for you and my hard lean towards Pacquiao to win, it is now time to assess what the victory does for Manny. There are potential super matches with the two best lightweights other than Pacquiao in recognized World champ Nate Campbell and Ring Magazine titleholder Joel Casamayor. And while rumor has Manny jumping straight to 140 and a Ricky Hatton fight, I don?t think the Pac Nation would want Manny to take that route after dusting off the weakest of the lightweight titleholders.
FANS WANT TO SEE TRUE GREATNESS
No, I?m of the opinion that Pac fans and the Pac nuts, they both want to see Pacquiao establish a true status as that of a pugilistic elitist. Even with a subprime Ricky Hatton, the fiery Filipino who started fighting professionally at 107 lbs. would be at a great size disadvantage. All that being said, after Pac pummels Diaz he needs to show us that he belongs on the Mt. Rushmore of boxing, something that beating the likes of Campbell, Casamayor, and Joan Guzman would surely do.
RISKS & REWARDS OF SUPER FIGHTS
Professionally and personally, I think that Campbell or Casamayor would both make great fights for and with Pacquiao. Campbell because of his ?warrior? mentality, and Casamayor due to the ring intellect he brings from Cuba. All three men, four if you include Guzman, have all come up from lighter weights to 135. Anyway you look at it, the journey for Manny to Mt. Rushmore is fraught with riches and risks. But come June 28th and the Diaz fight, the risks are minimal, while the rewards are handsome.
