Any featherweight or junior lightweight in the past couple of years will tell you that when you feel the hurricane coming, it’s best to get out of the way. It’s been told that the mythical Hurricane Pacquiao is as devastating as they come ? plowing away at anything that gets in his way. Some say that there have been a handful of survivors of its wrath, even going as far to say that they have conquered it themselves, but in the end, the hurricane destroys and leaves all at its mercy.
Yes, this hurricane is the real deal and Manny Pacquiao makes sure in each and every outing that his fury is not something you want to challenge head on. The Pac-Man has been anything but merciful to his opponents since becoming a junior featherweight champion. Pacquiao has run through some of the division’s best more notably at 126 and 130 pounds, beating the likes of Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez ? arguably the best trio of Mexican fighters of the last decade. Although Manny began his career as a 106-pounder, his venture into the junior featherweight division was a blessing to boxing fans. Having built up an immense fan base since then, Manny has been able to overwhelm his opponents with sheer force, using his blazing speed and punishing punching power to dominate his division. Sure, he’s had some issues with Juan Manuel Marquez, but who hasn’t” And he did lose a decision to Erik Morales, but subsequently knocked him out twice in a row. If that’s not revenge, I don’t know what is.
After dominating the junior lightweight division, Pacquiao now has his sites set on a new challenge. That challenge begins on June 28th when he steps into the ring with WBC lightweight titlist David Diaz at 135 pounds. The big questions that have been asked are if Manny can carry his punching power and handspeed up to lightweight. Will he also be able to take a punch from a 135-pounder? What we all have to keep in mind is that Manny usually walks around north of 140 pounds. So Manny doesn’t have any problems being a heavier guy and in fact, getting an extra 5 pounds will probably help him in the long run. I’ve seen Pacquiao look dry and almost ill at recent weigh-ins as he struggles to make the 130-pound limit. I recall seeing him in Las Vegas for his most recent fight against Juan Manuel Marquez and thinking, man Pacquiao looks like he’s ready to faint. He looked skinny, pale and tired and the first thing I thought was that he shouldn’t be fighting at that weight anymore. Looks like his camp was thinking the same thing.
Having just seen Manny as recent as May 31st at a public workout in Berkeley, CA, the Pac-Man looked strong and confident. I spoke with his trainer Freddie Roach who told me that Manny will be much more comfortable at lightweight and it’ll give him one less meal to skip. Roach did admit however that with the increase in weight, Manny would be slightly less quick than we’ve seen him in lower divisions but that it was something they were willing to give up to have a healthier and stronger Pacquiao.
Should Pacquiao get by David Diaz later this month, he’ll have no shortage of excellent fights in front of him. He could look to unify the titles with Nate Campbell or go straight for the Ring Magazine lightweight championship against Joel Casamayor. Should he choose to defend the WBC belt, there’s plenty of worthy challengers such as Juan Diaz who would give Pacquiao an exciting fight given their offensive styles. Juan Manuel Marquez remains idle as of now but he could find himself jumping up to the lightweight division himself, clamoring for a third fight with the Filipino slugger. As Freddie Roach mentioned to me in Berkeley, a mouthwatering fight with junior welterweight champ Ricky Hatton is also in their plans and that could give Manny not only a shot at a world title in a fourth weight class but an opponent who’s just as fierce as he is. Of course that may be looking ahead a bit too much as Pacquiao still has to get through David Diaz before we start talking unification bouts or the junior welterweight division, but Manny looks like an unstoppable force right now that can only be halted by under preparing and taking an opponent likely. But if it’s any indication by recent performances, Manny will likely come into his June 28th bout in tremendous shape, with the weight of his Filipino countrymen on his shoulders and a smile on his face; and that is what the eye of the hurricane looks like.
Pacquiao vs. Diaz will be presented by Top Rank on Saturday, June 28th at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and will be televised live on HBO PPV starting at 9 pm ET / 6 pm PT.
