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WBC Champ Diaz Challenges Pacquiao
By Bill Velasco
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 12 Nov 2007
CHICAGO -- After the WBC told Manny Pacquiao to fight for a title, and after sending Erik Morales into retirement, World Boxing Council lightweight champion David Diaz issues a challenge to Manny Pacquiao.
The 1996 Olympian admitted that he was greatly fulfilled by being able to defeat a noble warrior like Morales.
"To have a victory over a legend, a living legend, was unbelievable. I mean this guy had fights with Pacquiao, Barrera. He kept the Mexican name high. And that's something I wanted to do and got it," Diaz told this writer at the Jabs gym here.
It took the Mexican ten years to become a world champion after campaigning in the Atlanta Olympics. Along the way, he overcame going into debt to pay for his mother's kidney transplant, the death of his brother due to AIDS, and a tear in his Achilles tendon. But he knows he won't be truly feared in the boxing world unless he beats the biggest draw in the fight game today: Manny Pacquiao.
"Not only would I be fighting a legend, I would be fighting the number one guy who has captivated the world in boxing."
After everything he's been through to become king of his weight class, Diaz says he has tremendous respect for the Pacman.
"What makes him tough? His aggressiveness, his toughness, and his hard punch," Diaz elaborates. "He's a non-stop worker in the ring. He's fast. You have to stay away from his left. That left could bring down a building, honestly."
But Diaz feels the fight would not be one-sided.
"I think his style would be a perfect match for my style. I don't back down from a fight. I work my butt off. So Manny, if you're listening, let's get this fight on," the champion called out.
The only question now is how interested Pacquiao would be in moving up and trying his luck in the next weight division. And what pay-off it would take to lure him there.
Editor's Note: PhilBoxing.com would like to give a warm welcome to its newest contributor, Bill Velasco.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Bill Velasco.
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