“I wanted to help him, I tried to sit him down or help him on his feet.”
This was what newly-minted World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight king Manny Pacquiao tried to do after knocking down a badly-beaten David Diaz Sunday (in Manila).
In a phone interview via TV Patrol World, Pacquiao said he pitied the sight of Diaz, who was already a bloody mess by the end of the fight.
“His face was bloody, even his body. I pitied him. I wanted to help him, sit him down or help him on his feet. But the doctor said to allow him to lie on the canvass. So I went to my corner and prayed,” Pacquiao said in Filipino.
After Diaz got up, the new champion hugged the vanquished fighter and wished him well as the Filipino crowd at the Mandalay Bay and Resort Casino in Las Vegas loudly celebrated his victory.
More comfy at 135
Pacquiao said he is more comfortable fighting at 135 pounds (lightweight division) compared when he was still super featherweight.
“At 130 pounds, my body was pressured, so I was a bit weaker,” he said.
Sports analysts were earlier concerned about the effects of the added pounds to Pacquiao?s speed and punching power. His victory, however, erased these doubts.
“I followed my coach?s instructions. He told me not to go ?toe-to-toe?, and that I should learn how to toy with my opponent, do some in-and-out boxing. I followed those instructions and we controlled the fight,” said Pacquiao.
When anchorman Ted Failon tried confirming if Pacquiao indeed earned $5 million in fighting Diaz, the boxing star laughed and said: “I?ll whisper it to you when we meet.”
Home on July 4
Pacquiao, meanwhile, said he will return to Manila on July 4.
“We?ll be leaving the US on July 2, which means we will be there on July 4,” he said.
He also promised to visit some of the victims of Typhoon Frank.
“When I get there, I will visit them, our kababayans who were hit by the storm. I?m already thinking of ways on how to help them,” he said.
