LAS VEGAS ? A bigger place in history awaits Manny Pacquiao when he carries the hopes of a nation grieving over a maritime disaster and takes on World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight champion David Diaz Saturday night (Sunday noon in Manila) at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino here.
He said he?d take the fight to Diaz.
?Siguro attack agad (I think I?ll attack him early),? said Pacquiao on the eve of the fight, scheduled for 12 rounds.
For the first time in his pro career that began in 1995, Pacquiao, considered the most popular Filipino athlete ever, will fight as a lightweight, a hotly contested division where a number of Filipino boxers, including the legendary Gabriel ?Flash? Elorde, have failed to win the title for the country.
Pacquiao, still the reigning WBC super-featherweight champion following his 12-round decision over Juan Manuel Marquez only last March, decided to move up in weight for his own convenience. Now standing in the way of his bid for a fourth world crown is the 32-year-old Diaz.
If he wins, Pacquiao will be given by the WBC some time to decide which title to keep and which one to relinquish.
Pacquiao has also won the world flyweight and super-bantamweight titles, and beating Diaz will make him the first Asian fighter to win four world titles in different weight classes. Then he also becomes the first Filipino to win the lightweight crown in any of boxing?s top governing bodies.
?That is my biggest motivation. History is at stake here,? Pacquiao, at 29 some three years younger than his adversary, said in training.
Pacquiao and Diaz came face-to-face in Friday?s official weigh-in at the Events Center, and both fighters met the 135 lb lightweight limit. The Filipino superstar came in at 134.5 lbs to the delight of his fans while Diaz, a natural super-lightweight, tipped the scales at exactly 135 lbs.
The next time they stand close to each other, Pacquiao and Diaz will trade blows and try to knock each other out. The odds, however, would suggest that Pacquiao should come out as the winner. He is a -500 favorite ($500 only wins $100) against the +350 Diaz ($100 wins $350).
But despite the overwhelming odds that have kept some fans away from the betting stations, Pacquiao believes that he?ll be in for a tough fight, a fight which he said could be as tough as the ones he had against Mexican superstars Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and Marquez.
Pacquiao has beaten all these three Mexican warriors ? both Morales and Barrera twice, and Marquez once after a controversial draw in 2004. Diaz, a Mexican who represented the US in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, is out for vengeance, saying, ?Pacquiao has been beating up my countrymen.?
Diaz?s heart and will to win should make this fight a tough and interesting one, and Pacquiao knows it.
?To me this is one of the toughest fights I?ll ever have to go through,? he said after the weigh-in. ?I think this can be as tough as my first fight against Morales (which he lost in 2005). It was a real slugfest. I always think of Diaz as a fighter who always comes charging in.?
Pacquiao trained close to two months for this fight, starting it off with a few days in his hometown in General Santos City before moving to Los Angeles on May 12 for six more weeks of rigid training. Diaz trained longer for this one, opening up his camp in Chicago on April 19.
Pacquiao said while he feels he?s in top shape now, there?s no room for over-confidence.
?I cannot be too confident and I must bear in mind that this is a tough fight,? said Pacquiao who kept on saying that he is dedicating this fight to his countrymen who have fallen victims to a recent typhoon, including the close to 800 people who died in a sea tragedy.
?I dedicate this fight to all of you ? the families of the typhoon victims. Once I get home from this fight, I will find ways how I can be of help to you,? he said.
Diaz won the world 135 lb title when he knocked out Jose Armando Santa Cruz two years ago. Then he defended the title against Morales the following year, and is hoping to keep it under his belt after the final bell sounds at the 12,000-seat Events Center of Mandalay Bay.
?I never thought I?d win this title. And now that it?s with me I won?t let it go,? he said.
After the weigh-in, the wide-bodied Diaz looked calm, and ready to fight.
?I?m just calm and we?re gonna go easy. Yeah, the fight?s tomorrow. Right now I just have to relax, go to the room, share a couple of jokes and just relax. No pressure,? he said.
Elorde was the world super-featherweight champion when he twice tried but failed to win the 135-pound crown then held by Carlos Ortiz. Elorde was knocked out twice by Ortiz ? the first at the Rizal Memorial in 1964 and second at Madison Square Garden in New York in 1966.
Other Pinoy boxers who failed in their bids for the world lightweight title were Bert Somodio (outpointed by Joe Brown in Manila in 1961), Dindo Canoy (decisioned by Orzubek Nazarov in Iwaki City, Japan, in 1995) and Randy Suico (stopped by Juan Diaz in Las Vegas in 2006).
