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PACQUIAO ACHIEVES HISTORIC FEAT WHERE ELORDE AND OTHER GREAT ASIAN FIGHTERS FAILED By Granville Ampong PhilBoxing.com Tue, 01 Jul 2008  LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- June 28, 2008 marks the tectonic shift in the history of boxing, and so the pundits say. Outside along the strips, transients - relishing and relieving - increased by hundreds, then thousands, as the scorching heat of the sun retreats deep to the west. But, inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center packed with 8,362 attendees it had been madness, everyone screaming - yes, cheering in fact - vis-?-vis chanting Manny! Manny! Manny! and countering Diaz! Diaz! Diaz! Mexico! Mexico! Mexico! conceivably except the credentialed journalists and judges and, of course, a few others who appeared to be calm, albeit with tachycardia. These, of course, included the sixteen players of Boston Celtics present to watch the fight. This, just when the bell rang at the main event of the evening. If that sounded benign, no one knew better than the Filipino phenom, WBC super featherweight Champion Emmanuel ?Pacman? Pacquiao, who had fatal intent to snatch the crown from WBC Lightweight Champion David Diaz en route to his fourth world title. This fight dubbed ?Lethal Combination.? Conversely, it was. But, it turned out to be one-sided, lethal destruction. Rightly so, the dynamic, controlling forces of these two feisty, gutsy and combative individuals brought the grisly attacks and counterattacks into an astonishing halt! Pacquiao (45-3-37 knockouts) scored a bloody, brutal knockout in the 9th round at 2:24 and became the new World Boxing Council Lightweight Champion (which Flash Elorde failed to capture and was knocked out by Ortiz), sealing his legendary status as the first Asian Boxer to win four titles in four different weight divisions and firming up his claim as the new pound-4-pound king. Pacquiao landed a total of 230 punches and 180 power shots versus 90 and 59 respectively by Diaz. Diaz, a rugged southpaw and a tenacious Chicano with fiery heart, gave it all as he tried to handle the fast-power punching challenger, which ironically put him as the heavy underdog in their 12-round of boxing. Meanwhile, Pacquiao made his fight with Diaz an all-time high. A southpaw by nature, he fire-bombed more than seventy percent of his brilliant hooks to the body and to the head at different angles in much broader spectrum came from his right which exposed Diaz of such ferocity, attacking in an assassin-like efficiency and pummeling him until referee intervened. His lateral movements opened up windows for his debilitating jabs to Diaz? both left and right quadrants of the gastric region. Even then, Diaz stood his ground and refused to submit his might to the challenger. Defiant having the blood of ?La Raza? painted on his left face in the 6th, he kept his tenacity at pace. But, it was increasingly evident that the law of diminishing return gave him the clue of a seemingly hopeless case. Punishing power shots kept landing, as if from nowhere. But, as Pacquiao stream-rolled his foe into submission in the ninth, a crushing left to Diaz? chin sent the brave heart face-first to the mat, failing to defy gravity. He was the same Diaz who was sent to the canvas by Eric Morales during their fight last year, which he survived and sprang even more mightily and kept his belt, who never moved and never made an effort to get back up and into the match he knew he could not win. His left eye swelling turned purple and his white trunk in the front side into patchy crimson red. Diaz showed a huge heart but delivered no answer to Pacquiao?s swarming style. The Anatomy of the Critical Power Shots Surgical power shots, which carried so much authority, reduced Diaz into a rookie sparring partner. Blade-like uppercut caught his nasal bridge leaving a cut in the second round, then another in the right upper orbital and a blow to the left eye which began to swell. Just in the middle of the 5th, profuse bleeding was evident from the right upper orbital area precipitated by unrelenting onslaught with power shots, so amazing to behold. Pacquiao landed not one, nor two, nor three with his series of combos but five to seven shots to the body and upstairs, peppering Diaz to his last especially in the 2nd and 8th, which gave Pacquiao 10 versus 8 for Diaz in both rounds. It was like Pacquiao displaced the viciousness of the recent typhoon in the Philippines upon Diaz without merciful restraint. The Stronger Side of the Legend: Without merciful restraint? Probably not true. Pacman brought dignity and genuine sportsmanship into sport of boxing. In fact, it was the same fighter who approached the referee in the sixth during its time-out and tried to persuade Vic Draculich if he can stop the fight because of the size of the cut in the lower edge of the right eyebrow, which was about 5 centimeters in length and profusely bleeding. It was the same Pacquiao who bent his knees and who grabbed the right hand of the fallen son of the Aztecs in the hope of conveying about how he felt sorry for him. While Pacquiao marveled at his talent in boxing, he felt at such moment the dehumanizing extreme and gruesome prospect of this said sport. Pacquiao, indeed, is a man whose nature invokes a kind and forgiving spirit and a mind unafraid to travel even though the trail may not be marked. And only this can Pacman truly define his game of life. Post-fight Press Conference Notes A heavily guarded one, the press conference proceeded with the Las Vegas Police strategically keeping their watch tight on the ground floor of the Mandalay Events Center, which access was exclusive to Mandalay Bay personnel, VIP?s and credentialed journalists. But, it was lots of fun. There I witnessed the excellent conversationalist, Harvard Lawyer Bob Arum, the Godfather of Top Rank, officiating the press conference. At the outset, Mr. Arum made a statement as to why this event generated only 8,362 attendees compared to one with Juan Manuel Marquez which yielded 9,100. The reason, according to Mr. Arum, is the exorbitant prices of gasoline which he put the blame to George W. Bush. (Modesty aside, he did not imply endorsement for any current presidential candidates). Meanwhile, Mr. Arum expressed his disappointment about the decision by the Nevada Boxing Commission over Sotto-Lorenzo bout, which declared Lorenzo as the new Interim WBC Superfeatherweight Champion. It was prompted by the blows to the head delivered by Soto despite the fact that Lorenzo was already considered down. However, the World Boxing Council, which is the sanctioning body of the Soto-Lorenzo, has ruled that it will not recognized that Lorenzo won the fight. Therefore, it objected the Nevada Commission?s decision and proceeded to declare their match as NO CONTEST. Thus, Mr. Arum demanded an immediate rematch. No date was set yet to this effect. On the other hand, Mr. Arum expressed so much interest in the style of Dennis Laurente (29-3-4, 14 KOs) of Palompon, Southern Leyte, Philippines, who won by TKO in 3rd round over Steve Quinones (29-13-1, 9 KOs). Another bout that drew so much interest was between WBO Featherweight Champion Steven Luevano (36-1, 15 KOs) and challenger Mario Santiago (19-1, 14 KOs). It was a close one and went on a see-saw all throughout their fight with both fighters knocked down in round 2. Their styles allowed heavy exchanges in almost every round. Another fighter who delivered a stunning performance was Monte Barrett(34-6, 19 KOs) of the Heavyweight Division. He knocked out Tony Fields (40-2, 36 KOs) in the 1st round. Then, former WBC Lightweight Champion David Diaz came to the stage upbeat and somewhat jubilant. Diaz intimated in jest: ?If you know the license plate of the truck, please let me know.? He anticipated fairly the potential reaction by the audience about extent of damage of his face from Pacquiao?s power shots and dealt the audience with the skill of a toastmaster. Bearing with winning personality, he was nevertheless so appreciative about the support he got from his fans and from Bob Arum who paid him $ 850,000 for the fight. Diaz exhibited a good sense of humor and a wholesome composure. He admired about Pacquiao?s awesome speed but not so much about the power of the latter. In fact, ?He is so f__kin? fast. But, I have a great fun even though I lost. Someday we will get it back again. God bless you,? said Diaz, who maintained the same humble personality even in the weeks before fight. Finally, the new WBC Lightweight Champion Manny Pacquiao came. ?I am so happy because I won by knockout. I am so lucky,? said Pacquiao, feeling elated upon knowing the presence of Boston Celtics during the fight of which he claimed himself as one of the fans. Asked if he expected a win by knockout tonight, he said: ?I don?t expect that I could win by knockout. I do not expect I could win this 4th world title. Because of you, guys, I won the fight.? Pacquiao, who just moved to 135 pounds for this fight, ?felt so comfortable, stronger.? He said he thinks he would rather ?stay in the 135- pound division or consider moving up to 140 pounds?. The new legendary hero expressed no preference as to who he will fight next. ?I am just a fighter. It is up to Bob Arum, my promoter, to choose an opponent to match with me,? said Pacquiao who now demonstrated good proficiency in the English language. ?But, I will be ready to fight this November.? The press conference ended with an invitation by Pacquiao to join him in the Knock Out Party at the Mix Restaurant on the 64th floor of Mandalay Bay overlooking the brilliant display of lights in the vivacious Sin City of the world. Top photo: Fans of Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines hold signs before his title fight against WBC lightweight champion David Diaz of the U.S. at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 28, 2008. (Steve Marcus/Reuters). About the Author: Granville Ampong is an LA-based journalist regularly writing for Manila-US Times. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Granville Ampong.  |
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