Many consider Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao to be the most exciting professional boxer in the world. And now that a certain Las Vegas boxer has retired, he just may be the best in the world.
The four-division world champion from the Philippines returns to the ring Saturday in an attempt to wrest a world title away from WBC lightweight champion David Diaz (34-1-1, 17 KOs) at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The fight will be shown on HBO pay-per-view.
“It’s going to be a great fight,” Pacquiao said. “The style of David Diaz is very accurate to my own style.”
But does Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s retirement put the world at Pacquiao’s feet?
“This is not an easy fight,” Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach said. “Diaz is a strong guy.”
Roach has trained many boxers — from heavyweights such as James “Lights Out” Toney to bantamweights such as Roger Gonzalez — and knows that when a boxer moves up a weight division, the chances of losing increase.
“These guys punch a lot harder,” Roach said of the 135-pound lightweight division. “Plus, he’s a southpaw.”
Pacquiao (46-3-2, 35 KOs) is a southpaw, too. But for many left-handers, boxing another lefty can be very perplexing.
Not for Pacquiao.
“I fight with a lot of southpaws in my country,” Pacquiao said. “I don’t have a problem fighting southpaws.”
Because he’s often considered the most exciting fighter in the world, Pacquiao’s name gets tossed around like a Frisbee.
Sometimes promoters just throw his name out hoping it will stick and they can land him on a lucrative fight card.
Top Rank’s Bob Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, said his most recent bout — against Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez — set a pay-per-view record for boxers below welterweight at 400,000 buys.
“Manny Pacquiao is a bonafide attraction,” said Tony Walker, who administers HBO’s pay-per-views. “He’s beaten some of the best fighters in the world.”
The road to stardom began at age 17 for Pacquiao. He weighed a scant 112 pounds and only had one knockout in his first five pro fights.
Two years after his pro debut, he captured the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation regional flyweight title. That set him up to fight for the WBC flyweight world title against Thailand’s Chatchai Sasakul on Dec. 4, 1998. He knocked out the champ in eight rounds.
Pacquiao soon left the Philippines and landed on American shores hungry to learn from American trainers. The pieces fell into place when he met Roach.
Under Roach’s guidance, Pacman began refining his potent punching skills and establishing defensive tactics. At first the lessons didn’t take. But after nearly losing a fight to Juan Manuel Marquez in 2004, while knocking down the Mexican featherweight three times, the Filipino slugger began to emphasize his defense.
Now many consider Pacquiao a complete fighter. But don’t expect a defensive fight against the aggressive Diaz.
“It’s going to be more action than the Juan Manuel Marquez and (Marco Antonio) Barrera fights,” said Pacquiao, who seems excited about facing a boxer who is not defensive-minded, “because he’s a good fighter and he wants to go toe-to-toe.”
Diaz grabbed the WBC interim lightweight title by surviving nine rounds of pummeling from California’s Jose Armando Santa Cruz, who was leading on all three judges’ score cards to that point. Then Diaz rallied and stopped his opponent at 2:26 of the 10th round.
It was a shocking end for the 12,000 spectators, who thought the fight was all but over for Diaz.
“I believe in myself,” Diaz said.
Diaz next fought Mexican great Erik Morales and survived a knockdown to win by unanimous decision. Now he’ll face a boxer who is widely proclaimed the best in the world.
“Manny Pacquiao is one of the best in the world. I know a lot of haters don’t believe in me,” Diaz said. “But I believe in myself.”
Expect about 12,000 frenzied fans to attend the Pacquiao-Diaz bout. Since Pacquiao began winning the flyweight, super bantamweight and junior featherweight titles, fans in the Philippines, Filipinos living in America and just plain old boxing fans have saved up their money for tickets to watch the dynamic Pacman.
“People who know boxing know this will be the fight of the year,” Arum said. “Manny is a nonstop fighter. He keeps coming and coming and coming.”
Luevano Puts Title on Line
WBO featherweight titleholder Steve Luevano (35-1, 15 KOs) will defend his title against Puerto Rico’s Mario Santiago (19-1, 14 KOs) in the Mandalay Bay’s semi-main event Saturday. It will be Luevano’s third title defense.
Whenever Luevano steps in the ring, fans usually take one look at him and tab him as the loser. But within four rounds, his boxing prowess takes over and the boxer with choirboy looks seems more like a fighting machine than a school chum.
Santiago poses a tough challenge for Luevano because he’s knocked out 14 of his 20 opponents and this is another lefty-on-lefty situation where anything can happen.
Ready for Klitschko?
Nevada heavyweight prospect Tye Fields (41-1, 37 KOs) steps up in class against contender Monte Barrett (33-6, 19 KOs) in a 10-round bout.
Fields, a former college basketball player, has developed into a curiosity. He’s knocked out his past three opponents. But this time the southpaw will be fighting a true contender.
“He’s ready for Wladimir Klitschko,” Arum said.
Barrett had two bad years, but now he’s back on track with consecutive knockout wins over Cliff Couser and Damon Reed.
