LOS ANGELES ? Manny Pacquiao may lose some of his speed as he campaigns in the heavier division.
But certainly he won?t lose any of his power.
?His speed is just picking up quite a bit,? said Pacquiao?s trainer, Freddie Roach, Saturday or exactly one week before the Filipino megastar makes his lightweight debut against WBC champion David Diaz.
The fight, set at the 12,000-seat Events Center of Mandalay Bay, is Pacquiao?s first in the 135 lb division. It comes less than four months since he took the WBC super-featherweight crown from Juan Manuel Marquez.
Roach said it?s very typical for a fighter to lose some of his speed as he moves up in weight.
?He may be not the same as 130. But he?ll still be much, much powerful than Diaz,? said Roach who sees a knockout win for Pacquiao, out to become the first Asian to win four world titles in different weight classes.
Pacquiao won his first world title in 1998 as a flyweight (112 lbs), then in 2001 won the super-bantamweight crown (122 lbs), and last March the super-featherweight (130 lbs) title.
In 2003 he was also named Ring Magazine champion in the featherweight (126 lbs) division.
Roach believes that there?s nothing Diaz can do that Pacquiao can?t do better.
?Nothing,? he said firmly.
Diaz, according to Roach, should hope for the fight to last longer because that?s his only chance of stealing the victory, keeping his belt and making an even bigger name for himself.
?His best weapon is that he wins fights late. He breaks you down, he wears you down. He?s durable and he doesn?t get tired,? said Roach of the 30-year-old American with Mexican lineage.
?But we?ll be there with him. We?re ?gonna break him down,? said Roach.
