Already a former champion in three weight divisions, Filipino Superstar, Manny Pacquiao, has his sights set on history and a title in his fourth different weight class when he faces current WBC Lightweight Champion, David Diaz, on June 28th, at the Mandalay Bay resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Manny Pacquiao is coming off his spectacular win over Juan Manuel Marquez last March in their long awaited rematch that took four years to come together. Manny came away with a 12 round split decision victory over the gritty Marquez and as usual these ?little big men of boxing? helped us forget the heavyweight division for a couple hours. The victory garnered the WBC Super Featherweight Title for Manny.
As Pac-Man gets ready to make the leap to the lightweight division, it?s hard not be impressed with his career to date. This great champion made his professional debut by winning a four round decision at 106 pounds on January 22nd, 1995, against a guy named Edmund Enting Ignacio. He would win his first title in December of 1998, when he took on then champ, Chatchai Sasakui in a scheduled 12 round fight. Manny would come away with the WBC Flyweight Title after stopping Sasakui in eight rounds.
In June on 2001, Pacquiao would snatch up the IBF Super Bantamweight crown against Lehlohonolo Ledwaba by way of a 6th round TKO. Manny would defend that title five times before making a jump in weight that would lead to him becoming a boxing superstar.
Manny Pacquiao would open all of our eyes with his destruction of Mexican legend, Marco Antonio Barrera at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. In a surprisingly one-sided affair against the Mexican warrior, he came away with an 11th round TKO victory a star was born that night and continues to grow today.
Then on May 8th, 2004, which was the first time that this here scribe covered a live bout in Las Vegas, Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manual Marquez staged their epic first bout. It looked as if it would be a short night as the powerful Pac-Man put Marquez down three times in the first round. Unbelievably, Marquez would recover and actually win the majority of the remaining rounds. The fight was declared a draw, but I couldn?t help but think on that night we had two winners.
As we fast forward back to current day, it has been obvious for quite sometime that Manny can no longer make the 130 pound weight limit of the super featherweight division and a lightweight jump makes perfect sense. In reality, Pac-Man has nothing more to prove in the lower weight classes. He has fought legend after legend and ducked nobody. He fought great champion Erik Morales and beat Morales two out of three times, with the third bout being a one sided beating of the great ?El Terrible.? He also fought Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez two times each and came away with three victories and a draw. Not a bad resume for a fighter to say the least. It is safe to say that he has accomplished all that he could and more at the lower weights.
As he makes his move to lightweight, the question begs to be asked: Are there big fights there for Manny at 135? With all due respect to David Diaz, I don?t think he is the type of name that will give Manny the attention he deserves. Don?t get me wrong, David Diaz is a good fighter and deserves respect as such, but he won?t sell those tickets at the Box office or get the Pay-Per View phones a ringing. Diaz will present some trouble for Pacquiao with his Southpaw style, but in the end I feel Manny will be able come away with the win.
What else is out there for him in the lightweight division? The obvious answer would be a third bout with Juan Manuel Marquez at 135. Both guys want the fight, but as Pacquiao?s trainer Freddie Roach has said: ?Manny has fought his last fight at 130.? ?We would love to fight Marquez a third time, but Manny just cannot make the weight any longer? ?We want Manny to fight the best and Marquez deserves a rematch.? Roach said.
?It won?t take four years this time,? said the confident Roach.
Bob Arum, who handles Marquez is eager to make the third bout. ?I want to let it bake for awhile.?
Listening to both sides, it is quite apparent that if Juan Manuel Marquez is willing make the jump to lightweight, the rubber match is almost guaranteed.
Another big fight at 135 for Manny would be a unification bout with WBO, IBF and WBA Champion, Nate Campbell. If Pacquiao does his part and comes away with the victory over David Diaz and has the WBC belt, this fight would make a lot of sense. Nate Campbell is fun to watch and listen to and this would be a fun promotion.
If you ask Freddie Roach what he wants for Manny, you might not get the answer you?re expecting. ?I want Manny to fight Ricky Hatton at 140,? said Roach.
It might sound crazy now, but think about it, that would be an outstanding action packed bout. Manny must first prove he can conquer the 135 pound class, but if he does win a lightweight title, why not? If he holds a lightweight belt, a fight with Hatton would be an easy sell. As it looks now, Ricky Hatton hasn?t exactly looked like a world beater lately, so I would be hard pressed to think it?s a blowout for Ricky Hatton.
The big key for Pacquiao?s success at the higher weights would be whether or not his legendary power will come with him.
Trainer Freddie Roach sees no problem with it. ?Manny will be even stronger at 135,? and the move to lightweight ?will be better for him.?
Personally, I don?t feel the jump to lightweight will hurt Pacquiao at all. His power will be just fine up there. I honestly have the belief that he won?t miss a beat and in fact will be much stronger because he won?t strain himself to make the 130 pound limit any longer.
With Floyd Mayweather, JR., announcing his alleged retirement from boxing this past week, that leaves a blank space on the top of the mythical pound for pound list and I think we will be placing Manny Pacquiao?s name atop that list in the very near future.
Don?t worry if this whole lightweight division thing doesn?t work out for Manny, I understand that he has quite the action movie career in the Philippines, so he?s got that going for him.
For all the Boxing fans in the world, let?s hope that ?Dirty Manny? doesn?t hit the screen for quite some time.
?Go ahead Manny, make my day!?
