By:Langskie May 05-2009

 Manny Pacquiao, of the Philippines, knocks down Lightweight Champ David Diaz during the 9th round of their lightweight boxing match in Las Vegas. Langskie

LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao put on an explosive performance for the whole world to see when he brutally knocked out Ricky Hatton inside two rounds Saturday at the MGM Grand, and left no doubt about his status as the greatest boxer on the planet today.

Pacquiao, getting heavier and yet faster and stronger, was more than a ferocious animal in the ring. He knocked Hatton down twice in the opening round, and finally finished the Briton off with barely a second remaining in the second round of their one-sided brawl.

“He’s a monster,” said promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank at ringside. “He’s the greatest fighter ever.”

“I hope you enjoyed the show. It’s nothing personal because I’m only doing my job,” Pacquiao said at the post-fight press conference.

Asked to comment how it felt throwing that winning punch, he said, “The last punch was a left hook, and I believe he will not be able to get up after that. I didn’t think he would get up.”

The Filipino southpaw weighed in at 138 lbs Friday, and Hatton at exactly 140 lbs. But up on the ring, the Filipino icon looked more solid with his body as he checked in at 148 lbs against the heavier and slower Hatton at 152 lbs.

Pacquiao landed the first good punch of the bout dubbed “Battle of the East and West,” a right hook, and after taking a solid blow to the hip and a few hits during a clinch, he landed a right hook to the face that sent the erstwhile champion down at the center of the ring with 55 seconds left in the round.

In a way, the early knockdown came as a surprise to the 16,262 fans in attendance, even to Pacquiao supporters who hoped to see a knockout but probably not as quick as this one. Hatton got up and Pacquiao went for the kill, and down went the Briton again.

It was a left straight that sent Hatton reeling back and down in front of his own corner. Confused, he managed to get up at the count of eight, and just shortly after, the bell rang. At this point, everybody felt that the end of the fight was to come in the next round.

It did.

With nine seconds left in the second round, Pacquiao let loose a powerful left that was more of a hook based on his stance. It was a million-dollar punch, so strong it sounded like Hatton’s jaw cracked.

For the third and last time, the man who vowed to stop Pacquiao went down unconscious like a fallen log.

Referee Kenny Bayless was quick to attend to the fallen ex-champion, and though he did not bother to count, it took him a few seconds before signaling the end of the bout with only a second left in the round.

“I didn’t have to count,” Bayless said.

Hatton lay on the floor like he was sound asleep.

For a while it seemed that Pacquiao didn’t know what to do, whether to celebrate or come to the aid of his foe.

He seemed to have smiled, exposing his mouthpiece, then walked back to his corner.

In the flick of an eye everybody was there ready to celebrate with him.

Pacquiao knelt in prayer in a neutral corner, as Hatton’s handlers, together with ring physicians, attended to the knockout victim from Manchester. It took a couple of minutes before he was able to get up. With so many people in the ring, it was hard to see if the fighters ever shook hands.

A foe like no other

From his dressing room, the Manchester brawler, who was reduced to a pitiful sight, was brought to the Valley Hospital for precautions. He was accompanied by his family, including his parents, Ray and Carol, and his 5-foot-10 fiancee, Jennifer Dooley.

Dooley cried hard at ringside, and had to be consoled by a friend, as Hatton lay on the canvas.

Oscar de la Hoya, president of Golden Boy Promotions and Hatton’s promoter, went with them.

“We’re concerned with Ricky’s health. He looks okay but we just want to make sure. We’re just worried about him we wanted to make sure he’s okay,” said Hatton’s lawyer Garreth Williams, explaining his client’s absence at the post-fight press conference.

Arum said he came up to Hatton, and told the 30-year-old Mancunian not to get “discouraged.”

The ageless promoter added that there are still big fights to be fought, and there remains a chance for him to win a world title again.

Hatton’s trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr., said sometimes, “when a boxer gets knocked out like that it’s hard to recover.”  

The cocky trainer showed up at the post-fight press-con but neither confirmed nor denied that he was parting ways with Hatton. It was reported the other day they had personal differences allegedly because of the trainer being late for some training sessions.

Pacquiao, who was introduced by ring announcer Michael Buffer as the best fighter in the world, was welcomed as the “new” International Boxing Organization junior welterweight (140 lb) champion of the world, raising his world titles in different weight classes to six as most people say.

Pacquiao had won the WBC flyweight (112 lbs), the IBF super-bantamweight (122 lbs), WBC super-featherweight (130 lbs) and WBC lightweight (135 lbs) championships. Together with Ring Magazine’s featherweight (126 lbs) crown he joined De la Hoya as the only six-division champs.

Pacquiao fought in three weight classes last year, winning each battle against Juan Manuel Marquez at 130 lbs, David Diaz at 135 lbs, and De la Hoya at 147 lbs.

The Filipino ring icon said he feels very comfortable at 140 lbs, and Saturday’s win should serve as a stern warning to all pretenders.

Ring experts said the punch that knocked Hatton out could have knocked out any other fighter in the higher divisions, even the Mayweathers, the Mosleys, the Cottos or the Margaritos.

It was surely heard around the world, and Pacquiao’s popularity was even magnified a hundred times by it.

Roach said he knew “Hatton was a sucker” for the right hook.

“We knew how to prepare for that so it was easy for us. This was no surprise. Hatton pumps his hands before he throws a punch. He is a sucker for the right hook and this is what we worked on. He cocks back before he throws his punches. He fights the same way over and over. I studied tapes of all his fights for the last two months and I know him as well as I know my own fighter.”

True enough, based on slo-mo replays, Hatton pumped his gloves before getting caught by Pacquiao’s telling blow in the second round.

In the press conference, Pacquiao invited everyone to join his post-fight party at Mandalay Bay’s The Beach (poolside).

He said he was going to sing a few songs and even brought his own band from Manila. Up on the room on the 29th floor of the hotel, Pacquiao’s voice could be heard belting out his favorite songs.

The party was over by 2 a.m.

A moment of glory

Hatton walked into the arena ahead of Pacquiao. He was in his trademark black get-up, looking serious, chewing gum, and barely surrounded. In his dressing room, he was welcomed by Shane Mosley.

Pacquiao, moments after, arrived and made his way to his own dressing room. As usual, he smiled as he walked, and had his lovely wife, Jinkee, to his left, followed by a bunch of friends. It was the first time he showed up for a fight wearing a beard and moustache.

The MGM Grand was bursting with people, some of them dressed like they’re going to the Oscars, still a few hours before the fight.

People were still bidding for tickets, looking for spare ones, and those with a face value of $1,000 were being bought for as much as $6,000.

Three bouts before the main event, the arena was almost filled to the rafters, and British fans started warming up with chants of “Go! Ri-cky Hat-ton!” filling the air. Unconfirmed reports said 25,000 British fans flew all the way to Vegas for this fight.

According to Lee Samuels of Top Rank, some 18,000 fans packed the venue although there were 16,262 tickets sold, and he reported sales of 10,000 more on the closed circuit television in the different hotels around the official venue.

Footage of Friday’s official weigh-in pumped up the crowd as the seconds and closest supporters of both fighters almost filled the ring, waiting for their grand entrance.

Philippine flags, big and small, were all over the place, but still it was the British fans who lorded it over with their Wembley-like chants that were done as if they practiced them for a week.

As Martin Nievera did his own bouncy version of Lupang Hinirang, Pacquiao was shown over the giant screens getting a final rubdown from trainer Buboy Fernandez.

In his red-white-and-blue robe, Pacquiao looked like a Philippine flag was draped all over him, while Hatton came out in his colorful, beaded robe with lace on the edges.

Lights went out and thousands of cameras clicked away as footage of Hatton’s biggest wins were shown, as well as Pacquiao’s.

Being the champion, it was surprising for Hatton to climb the ring first. He walked slowly, stone-faced, his IBO belt hoisted behind him and the British flag waving.

Pacquiao was led up the ring by his new ally, former world wrestling heavyweight champion Batista, a half-Filipino. First thing he did was kneel before a neutral corner for a moment of prayer.

Then it was showtime as Michael Buffer hollered, “Let’s get ready to rumble.”

But there was none. Because Pacquiao made it a personal show. 

According to computer statistics, Pacman landed 73 of 127 punches in just under six minutes, including 34 of 53 power punches in the second hand.

Hatton connected only 18 of 78.

MANNY "Pacman" PACQUIAO

49-3-2 | 38 KOs
Bio | Record

Posted 13:30:00 03/01/2009

It will be a battle of knockout kings when newly-crowned WBC lightweight champion Manny "`D Destroyer" Pacquiao climbs-up to junior-welterweight division to face the current IBF Welterweight King Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton (44-1 with 32 KOs). 

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, has told Philboxing.com that he is close to finalizing a deal on Tuesday that would pit Pacquiao against the heavy-hitting Hatton possibly in Las Vegas not in England.

In the same interview, Arum said he was “pretty close to making a deal with Arum, when asked as to Pacquiao's next opponent, told the media in an interview moments after Pacquiao's win over Oscar Dela Hoya.

Pacquiao (47-3-2, 36 KO's) became the first Asian fighter to win four world titles in four different divisions, and is now considered as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

LANGSKIE's Analysis: Hatton can't stand against Manny's speed & power. Manny will win by KO within 10th round or less. 

 

April 30, 2009 (by:Langskie)

They took away the death penalty, then brought it back, before three years ago abolishing it once and for all.

But still, two decades removed from the autocratic and brutal regime of Ferdinand Marcos, the Filipino authorities face a serious crime epidemic.

Drugs, gangs, murders, vigilante death squads and warring religious factions combine to provide a scourge to society in the Philippines that never stops.

Except when Manny Pacquiao fights.

Sunday is the Lord’s Day in the Philippines, a predominantly Roman Catholic country of 90 million people.

Yet even the day of worship can not normally slow down the spate of killings, shootings, stabbings and other miscreant turns that often transform the streets of major cities into battlefields.

This Sunday, though – Saturday night in the United States – it all stops. For one day, just one day, the Philippines becomes perhaps the world’s largest crime-free zone.

The reason is Pacquiao.

To boxing fans the 30-year-old superstar is the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter. To his own people, he represents so much more.

The broadcast of his fight with Ricky Hatton at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas will stop a nation, and any malevolent thought, in its tracks.

Events in Sin City will temporarily take the sin out of a country regarded as the most dangerous in the Asia-Pacific region. While Pacquiao fights, the most unsavory elements of Filipino society unofficially declare a temporary truce.

Crime rates were virtually zero for Pacquiao’s last two victories, over Oscar De La Hoya and David Diaz, a welcome respite from an unwanted reality.

“There were no registered reports [of crime] for the period covered during the duration of Pacquiao-Diaz fight,” said Manila police director Geary Barias. “It makes a huge difference when Manny is in action.”

Even separatists and known terrorist groups have ventured to the cities from their hillside hideaways in order to watch Pacquiao.

“The guns are silent in the street every time I fight,” said Pacquiao, who always appears mildly bewildered by the ever-increasing attention he receives. “There is no fighting, no crime. I would fight every day just for my people, if the guns will stay silent.

“These are the thoughts I carry to the ring and they are powerful thoughts. I am not trying to win this fight alone.”

The Philippines has never known an athlete like Pacquiao, and the small and understated man with the heart of a lion and astonishing fistic force has taken on mythological status.

It is highly likely Pacquiao will seek a career in Filipino politics once his career is over; he has already lost one bid to be selected for a congressional seat.

For now, the politicians are happy to use him as a tool to further their own standing.

In the capital city of Manila, the decision to broadcast the fight free of charge at several public sports venues is a move that has boosted the standing of Mayor Alfredo Lim.

Lim is a political rival of Pacquiao’s trusted advisor and ‘second father’ Joselito Atienza, and the five-weight world champion once turned down the chance to parade through the streets of Manila following a victory due to the animosity between Lim and Atienza.

Pacquiao’s fans would far rather he focused on the pugilistic rather than the political, in any case. In the minds of Filipinos he is the ultimate source of pride and a national treasure.

Estimates suggest that up to 30 percent of the Philippines population lives below the poverty threshold and Manny Pacquiao’s upbringing in Bukidnon, a place best known for its rice and corn industries, was no different.

As a child, he worked in a bakery and sold cigarettes on the street to scrape together some money to help his family.

This humble upbringing is a key reason why he is able to resonate so significantly with the public that adores him, as is his legendary generosity.

Those on hard times regularly beat a path to the Pacquiao home in General Santos City. When the champ is home few visitors leave disappointed, or empty-handed.

Promoter Bob Arum and trainer Freddie Roach fret that Pacquiao is generous to a fault and will end up broke, but he refuses to change.

Roach, the master technician and preparer of fighters, had to shut his Los Angeles-based Wildcard Gym in the afternoons so the Pacquiao training camp could proceed undisturbed by onlookers keen to get a glimpse of a modern-day legend.

“Manny is a very open person and he feels a responsibility to the people who come to see him,” Roach said. “That is part of what makes him a good person, but it is not the best thing when you are getting ready for a fight.”

Pacquiao has not lost since he was outpointed by Erik Morales four years ago and his status has grown immeasurably since then.

It is hard to imagine the scale of Filipino mourning that would take place if Hatton emerges as the victor on Saturday night.

While Pacquiao is a clear favorite, the Englishman has never lost at 140 pounds and repeatedly asserted that too much has been read into Pacquiao’s pounding of De La Hoya last December.

Hatton’s invading army of supporters will outnumber the Filipino contingent on fight night, but it can be argued that it is Pacquiao who will feel the weight of public expectation more acutely.

However, pressure has rarely blunted his abilities in the past and the man who belongs to his people insists he is ready to deliver another thrilling chapter to his rags-to-riches story.

“My people make special plans to see me fight and give me the best support and respect any boxer could have,” Pacquiao said.

“But it is not pressure, it is inspiration.”

        GOLDEN BOY             VS             D` DESTROYER

DATE	OPPONENT	LOCATION	WINNER
December 06, 2008  June 28,  2008	Oscar Dela Hoya                 David Diaz	Las Vegas, NV  Las Vegas, NV	Pacquiao TKO 8  Pacquiao TKO 9
March 15, 2008	Juan Manuel Marquez	Las Vegas, NV	Pacquiao W 12
2007-10-06	Marco Antonio Barrera	Las Vegas, NV	Pacquiao W 12
2007-04-14	Jorge Solis	San Antonio, Texas	Pacquiao KO 8
2006-11-18	Erik Morales	Las Vegas, NV	Pacquiao KO 3
2006-07-02	Oscar Larios	Metro Manila, Philippines	Pacquiao W 12
2006-01-21	Erik Morales	Las Vegas, NV	Pacquiao TKO 10
2005-09-10	Hector Velazquez	Los Angeles, CA	Pacquiao TKO 6
2005-03-19	Erik Morales	Las Vegas, NV	Morales W12
2004-12-11	Fahsan Battery	Rizal, Philippines	Pacquiao TKO 4
2004-05-08	Juan Manuel Marquez	Las Vegas, NV	Draw
2003-11-15	Marco Antonio Barrera	San Antonio, TX	Pacquiao TKO 11
2003-07-26	Emmanuel Lucero	Los Angeles, CA	Pacquiao TKO 3
2003-03-15	Serikzhan Yeshmangbetov	Metro Manila, Philippines	Pacquiao TKO 5
2002-10-26	Fahprakorb Rakkiatgym	Davao Del Sur, Philippines	Pacquiao KO 1
2002-06-08	Jorge Eliecer Julio	Memphis, TN	Pacquiao TKO 2
2001-11-10	Agapito Sanchez	San Francisco, CA	Draw
2001-06-23	Lehlohonolo Ledwaba	Las Vegas, NV	Pacquiao TKO 6
2001-04-28	Wethya Sakmuangklang	Cotabato, Philippines	Pacquiao TKO 6
2001-02-24	Tetsutora Senrima	Manila, Philippines	Pacquiao TKO 5
2000-10-14	Nedal Hussein	Rizal, Philippines	Pacquiao TKO 10
2000-06-28	Seung-Kon Chae	Manila, Philippines	Pacquiao TKO 1
2000-03-04	Arnel Barotillo	North Cotabato, Philippines	Pacquiao KO 4
1999-12-18	Reynante Jamili	Manila, Philippines	Pacquiao TKO 2
1999-09-17	Medgoen Singsurat	Nakhon, Thailand	Singsurat KO 3
1999-04-24	Gabriel Mira	Manila, Philippines	Pacquiao TKO 4
1999-02-20	Todd Makelin	Kidapawan City, Philippines	Pacquiao TKO 3
1998-12-04	Chatchai Sasakul	Phuttamonthon, Thailand	Pacquiao KO 8
1998-05-18	Shin Terao	Tokyo, Japan	Pacquiao TKO 1
1997-12-06	Panomdej Ohyuthanakorn	Koronadal City, Philippines	Pacquiao KO 1
1997-09-13	Melvin Magramo	Cebu, Philippines	Pacquiao W10
1997-06-26	Chokchai Chockvivat	Manila, Philippines	Pacquiao KO 5
1997-05-30	Ariel Austria	Almendras, Philippines	Pacquiao TKO 6
1997-04-24	Wook Ki Lee	Manila, Philippines	Pacquiao KO 1
1997-03-08	Mike Luna	Manila, Philippines	Pacquiao KO 1
1996-12-28	Sung-Yul Lee	Manila, Philippines	Pacquiao TKO 2
1996-07-27	Ippo Gala	Manila, Philippines	Pacquiao TKO 2
1996-06-15	Bert Batiller	General Santos City, Philippines	Pacquiao TKO 4
1996-05-20	John Medina	Manila, Philippines	Pacquiao TKO 4
1996-04-27	Marlon Carillo	Manila, Philippines	Pacquiao W10
1996-02-09	Rustico Torrecampo	Manila, Philippines	Torrecampo KO 3
1996-01-13	Lito Torrejos	Manila, Philippines	Pacquiao TKO 5
1995-12-09	Rolando Toyogon	Manila, Philippines	Pacquiao W10
1995-11-11	Rudolfo Fernandez	Manila, Philippines	Pacquiao TKO 3
1995-10-21	Renato Mendones	Palawan, Philippines	Pacquiao TKO 2
1995-10-07	Lolito Laroa	Manila, Philippines	Pacquiao W8
1995-09-16	Armando Rocil	Manila, Philippines	Pacquiao KO 3
1995-08-03	Flash Simbajon	Manila, Philippines	Pacquiao W6
1995-07-01	Dele Decierto	Manila, Philippines	Pacquiao TKO 2
1995-05-01	Rocky Palma	Cavite, Philippines	Pacquiao W6
1995-03-18	Pinoy Montejo	Mindoro Occidental, Philippines	Pacquiao W4
1995-01-22	Edmund Enting Ignacio	Mindoro Occidental, Philippines	Pacquiao W4

             A STUNNING UPSET: PACQUIAO KO's DeLa Hoya at 8

December 6, 2008

LAS VEGAS - Oscar De La Hoya came into the ring wearing old-school brown colored gloves. By the time he left the ring, he just looked old.

In one of the most stunning and completely dominating upsets in boxing history, Manny Pacquiao won "The Dream Match" by TKO victory Saturday night when De La Hoya's corner threw in the towel after the eighth round.

A crowd of 15,001 fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and a worldwide HBO Pay-Per-View television audience witnessed what was described by HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg as "one of the greatest performances by a prize fighter I've seen in 31 years in this business."

Pacquiao, who began his career as a 106-pounder and had never before fought above 135 pounds, defied the big-man beats the smaller-man logic by winning his celebrated welterweight debut against the sport's most popular fighter.

Showing why he's considered boxing's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, Pacquiao repeatedly struck with lightning-quick and precision hand speed to pummel De La Hoya to the face and body almost at will, and stayed fast and light on his feet to dance and dart away from taking a big punch, always circling to De La Hoya's right to avoid his vaunted left hook.

Most predictions gave the WBC lightweight champion, who has also won world titles at three smaller weight classes, no chance to beat De La Hoya, a ten-time world champion who has fought as high as 160 pounds. The Golden Boy, who was moving down in weight, was expected to steamroll Pacquiao, who moved up two weight classes for the 147-pound showdown.

It was clear from the start that the theater of the unexpected was changing another boxing script.

"They said this was a mismatch and it was a mismatch,'' Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said, taking a jab at all the wrong prognosticators, many whom thought the bout should never have been made in the first place because of De La Hoya's size advantage.

The stunning part was that Pacquiao not only won but also dictated virtually every round of the scheduled 12-round fight.

"In the first round, Oscar was very hesitant and I knew we could win the fight and most likely by a stoppage,'' said a jubilant Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer who said coming into the fight that De La Hoya no longer has what it takes to win the big fight.

The latest scuff mark on his once shining career was enough for the 35-year-old Golden Boy to consider calling it a career as a fighter. Certainly De La Hoya's marquee value was diminished after continuing a trend of losing his biggest fights -- Felix Trinidad, twice against Shane Mosley, Bernard Hopkins, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and now Pacquiao.

"Freddie, you're right,'' De La Hoya told Roach after walking over to Pacquiao's corner. "I don't have it any more."

With his face swollen and his left eye nearly closed, De La Hoya was on his stool when his trainer Nacho Beristain told referee Tony Weeks that the fight was over.

"I stopped the fight because I didn't want him to leave his greatness in the ring,'' Beristain said. "Oscar was in good condition but he couldn't control Manny's southpaw stance or style."

"He was the better man tonight and he deserves all the credit,''Asked if he going to retire as a fighter, De La Hoya, speaking over boos from the partisan crowd that he had just let down, said " My heart is still in in it, that's for sure. But you have to be smart and make sure you think about your future plans."

For Pacquiao, the victory over the East Los Angeles-born, Mexican-American icon was the biggest achievement in his long career. He said he wou said De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs). "He's a great fighter. I'm not shocked because at this stage when you face someone like Pacquiao you know you're going to have a fight."

On Friday, De La Hoya weighed in at 145 pounds, three pounds more than Pacquiao's official weight of 142, but the bigger man actually came into the ring lighter than Pacquiao, who weighed 148 1/2 pounds Saturday night to De La Hoya's 147.

"I trained really hard in the gym,'' De La Hoya said. "But I told a lot of people it's a lot different in the gym than when you actually get in the ring. My style is to go forward, but he was boxing on his toes all night and waiting for me to make my mistakes. I didn't have the strength to stop him. I felt really flat..."

ld be fighting for the pride of the Philippines and he did his nation proud.

"I knew right away I could win this fight,'' Pacquiao (48-3-2, 35 KOs) said. "I controlled the fight. I was able to defend against his jab. "I said speed would be the key and it was. This is a great victory for me and a great victory for my country."

 PACQUIAO"D Destroyer" WINS ON 9TH ROUND TKO

By: Langskie© KD-BOYZ™

Manny Pacquiao's move up from super featherweight coincided with his ascension to another career peak Saturday night.

Fans at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and a HBO Pay-Per-View audience saw Pacquiao display his sensational hand speed, skillful movement and punishing power to dethrone David Diaz for the WBC lightweight title.

Looking just as fast and strong as always in his first fight at 135 pounds, Pacquiao piled up points with pinpoint punching precision to stop Diaz at 2:24 of the ninth round and become the first fighter from the Phillipines to win world titles in four different weight classes.

Against Diaz, who was defending for the first time since beating Mexican legend Erik Morales in his first title defense, Pacquiao, a former world champion at flyweight (112), featherweight (122) and super featherweight (130), proved to be in a class of his own.

"Speed and power is what we trained for in this fight,'' said Pacquiao, who lifted his record to 47-3-1 with his 36th KO. "I'm very comfortable at 135 pounds. I feel strong."

Pacquiao's speed and ability to land punches from all angles overwhelmed his Chicago-bred opponent. He followed a right jab with a vicious left hook that sent Diaz to the canvas for the only time in the fight. Referee Vic Drakulich saw no reason to count, halting the bout as Diaz laid face down.

"I think Diaz is toughest opponent I've had,'' Pacquiao said. "I was very surprised that he caught a lot of punches and didn't get knocked down in the early rounds."

Pacquiao is a southpaw and normally relies on the left hand for his power shots. But he was able to use his right hand for punishment more effectively than usual against the southpaw Diaz.

"It's hard to fight a southpaw, that's why I wasn't very confident about this fight,'' Pacquiao said. "I was lucky tonight to win by knockout."

With knots on his face and cuts over his right eye and on the bridge of his nose, Diaz looked like he had run into a buzzsaw, which he said wasn't far from the truth.

"He was just too (bleeping) fast," said the former 1996 U.S. Olympian whose record fell to 34-2-1, 17 KOs. "I've seen him on tape, but I said I could deal with that speed. The power was what I was concerned about. But he was too (bleeping) fast. I thought Freddie (Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach) was in there hitting me too."

Diaz showed a solid defense and tried to be aggressive but he was just too slow to get off and establish any momentum. The cuts didn't help. Diaz said seeing his own blood for most of the fight didn't bother him, but he joked that it caused him to wonder.

"I thought he had a knife in there with him,'' he said. "I thought he cut me with a blade. But he was just fast. I could deal with his power. I got beat by his speed."

With Floyd Mayweather Jr. having recently retired, Pacquiao moved to the top of the list as arguably the sport's No. 1 pound-for-pound champion. He's also the fighter with whom other fighters most want to battle for a big payday now that Oscar De La Hoya is winding down his career.

Pacquiao, who has a victory and a draw against Juan Manuel Marquez, said he'll leave his next opponent up to his promoter, Top Rank's Bob Arum, and expects to fight again in November.

 performance left Soto bloodied and battered but went all for naught after referee Joe Cortez ruled he hit Lorenzo in the back of the head while he was down.

In a scheduled 10-round heavyweight non-title bout, New York's Monte Barrett (34-6) posted his 20th knockout in quick fashion, using a right hand to send Las Vegas' Ty Fields (40-2) reeling and stopping him at :57 seconds of the first round.

NOTE: Pacquiao "The Destroyer" is the only Filipino Boxing Legend and only Asian Boxing Fighter who gained 4 titlWhomever he fights, Pacquiao has gained another believer in Diaz, who vowed he'll be back.

"I'm not going to say he isn't (the sports top champion). He beat me,'' Diaz said. "My hats off to him. His speed was just too much for me. But I went in there and gave it my all. To go in there (nine rounds) with a guy like Manny Pacquiao, I think I'm doing pretty good."

In two title bouts on Diaz-Pacquiao undercard, Los Angeles' native Steven Luevano (35-1-1, 15 KOs) retained the WBO featherweight championship by fighting to a 12-round draw against Puerto Rico's Mario Santiago (19-1-1, 14 KOs), and Dominican native Francisco Lorenzo (33-4, 14 KOs) escaped with a controversial victory on a fourth-round disqualification of Mexico's Humberto Soto (44-7-2, 28 KOs) for the WBC interim super featherweight title. Soto's dominatinges in 4 divisions which is even the Legendary Gabriel "Flash" Elorde failed to take the Championship Belt in the Lightweight Division.

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ABU DHABI UAE by:LANGSKIE™ 

On June 28, Pacquiao will try to add his fourth world title to a resume that has left him universally rated the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, now that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has -- at least for the moment -- left the stage. Yet as accomplished as Pacquiao has become, all men have their limits. The question is: Has Pacquiao finally reached his?

When Pacquiao slips into the ring to challenge WBC lightweight champion David Diaz, he will be facing a 135-pound opponent who began his career weighing 142 and has worked down from there. In other words, when these two first became professionals there were 36 pounds between them.

In the end, none of that may make a difference, but it's an issue that will have to be dealt with by Pacquiao regardless of what the scales actually say at the Mandalay Bay Events Center two days before they square off. By that point both will weigh about the same, but will they feel the same?

To be frank, not even Pacquiao's trainer, the venerable Freddie Roach, claims to know. He can believe, as he does, that he has the better fighter, but to know for sure the full effect of such a climb in weight is something else entirely.

"Manny was having a lot of trouble making 130 lately," Roach said. "He was starving himself to do it and that made him a little weak. Then he'd overeat after the weigh-in to compensate. He gained 15, 16 pounds after the weigh-in before the last (Juan Manuel) Marquez fight. That kind of extra weight makes you sluggish.

"With each fight he was feeling more and more like he'd been starving himself so he'd put more weight back on after the weigh in. That became more and more of a problem. We need to avoid that this time, but all I can do is talk to him about what to do after the weigh-in.

"He doesn't have a great diet. Manny can't eat a meal without white rice. He doesn't feel good if he isn't eating starchy white rice, but I'm not so concerned about what he'll weigh at the weigh-in. I'm concerned about what he weighs in the ring that night." Roach has been preparing Pacquiao for this title challenge in the harsh way he always does. He has prepared him to do what he likes to do best - which is pursue, pester and pound on the opponents who try to stand in front of him.

This has not changed as his body has expanded. He has been a power puncher and an aggressor all his career and he does not intend to alter that approach when he challenges for the lightweight title. But who knows what will happen once he hits a true 135 pound man?

"There are a lot of unanswered questions with that," Roach said of Pacquiao's move up from 130, the weight at which he just won the WBC super featherweight title from Marquez by split decision 3 1/2 months ago. "I think he can handle it, but we won't know until the fight if he can take the power of a 135-pound guy.

"I believe his punch and speed will be there but we can only guess right now. It could be like (Ricky) Hatton when he moved to welterweight. He didn't have the same power or strength.

"There's not much you can do to test that out in the gym, so it's really hard to say until fight time. But you can make an educated guess."

Roach's guess is that Pacquiao (46-3-2, 35 KO) will show why he is now considered the best prize fighter in the world. Diaz expects no less. But, he is here to argue that this time, being the best may not be enough.

"I've been wanting a big fight like this for a long time," Diaz (34-1-1, 17 KO) said. "I feel pretty good about this fight. Pacquiao is a top fighter in his prime, but when I look at him I see a guy I can hit real easy. I see a guy I can beat. I honestly feel that.

"What Pacquiao does is make you fight his type of fight. In my case that's fine because his type of fight is my type of fight: Pressure. That's my best offense and my best defense.

"He's an all-out type fighter. He throws in volume, so I have to match that. Punching power-wise, I don't know who's stronger, but my determination will be the difference. This fight means more to me than it does to him."

That, like the weight issue, is no sure thing. Certainly for the former Olympian who has for so long been written off as the B side of every big fight he's been involved in - and mostly won - this is the biggest night of his life. But Pacquiao's toughness, both mental and physical, is far less in question than what the consequences of this latest jump up in weight may prove to be.

In a sense, the weight issue is also significant for the champion, a hard guy from Chicago who Roach feels has never gotten the respect he's earned. If he can find a way to upset Pacquiao, that problem will be a thing of the past. But to do it, Roach knows Diaz has to make his edge in strength an issue, so he and Pacquiao may need to find an unexpected way to counter it.

"I get so mad when people say Diaz isn't anything," Roach growled from behind his desk at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, CA. "He went to the Olympic Games. He won a world title. Those things don't happen by accident.

"He's a much bigger guy physically than Manny. Not taller but naturally bigger. He'll be stronger on the inside. So the key to victory for Manny is his footwork."

His footwork? Footwork is one of the last things one thinks about when the subject is Manny Pacquiao. Fast hands, you think about that. A powerful left hand and a dangerous right, those might be on your mind. Unbridled aggression is surely a topic of conversation, as is his relentless stalking. But footwork as the key for the best fighter in the world against a heavy underdog like David Diaz?

"People don't connect Manny to footwork because he has one-punch knockout power," Roach explained. "We could stand and bang with Diaz but why do it? In the last Marquez fight there were two rounds where Manny was really on his toes and he was tattooing Marquez. That's when Manny is at his best - moving in and out. That's really his biggest asset.

"Diaz is a strong guy, but he's kind of a plodder. Manny can be elusive against him. He'll exchange at some points, but he doesn't have to trade with him all night and I don't want him to.

"Usually when my guy hits someone they go, but we don't know yet what happens when he hits a natural lightweight. I remember when I had (former two-time welterweight champion) Marlon Starling and he moved up to fight Michael Nunn. He was just too small. So we'll see."

A lifelong welterweight, Starling moved up to challenge for the middleweight title, a shift of 13 pounds, and he lost a majority decision by a wide margin on two of the three judges' cards. Starling could never make Nunn take a backwards step, so he immediately moved back to welterweight for one last fight with Maurice Blocker but again lost a majority decision and retired.

How much the wear and tear of dealing with a naturally bigger man wore Starling down will never be known, but he clearly was not strong enough to deal with Nunn at 160. Could the same happen to Manny Pacquiao?

David Diaz hopes so. "Look, this is a tough fight," Diaz conceded. "I know Pacquiao can fight. But I don't know any fighter who doesn't want to be in this type of fight.

"This is the biggest fight of my life. Bigger than when I won the title. Even bigger than beating a legend like (Erik) Morales because Pacquiao is a guy in his prime. He's a guy who's been beating up people in different weight classes. Now I have a title he wants and he’s trying to put me on the mat. It's one of those fights where you got to prove yourself to yourself.

"That's really all I care about. Proving to myself what I can do in boxing. Becoming champion at one time was something I didn't think I'd achieve. I thought maybe I was just another pro. Now I know I can be more than that. I'm not content with what I have." Neither is Pacquiao, who arrived at Roach's gym for seven weeks of training weighing 142 pounds. That is four pounds less than he weighed when he stepped into the ring to face Marquez, having slapped on 16 pounds in the 48 hours between the weigh-in and the first bell.

"It's a great opportunity for Manny, but we don't know yet what he'll feel like at that weight," Roach said. "He could win, and we might still decide to go back to 130 (as Hatton did after fighting Luis Collazo and then Mayweather at 147). You don't know until you do it."

The oddsmakers are considering his latest jump in weight as a factor, but they dismiss it in the end the same way they have for so long dismissed David Diaz himself, an underdog champion who has heard doubters so often he no longer accepts their word as gospel.

"It's the way it's been for a long time," Diaz said as he prepares to face the best little fighter in the world. "By now you'd think some people would give me a little bit of a chance, but that's all right. The only thing that really matters is when your hand is raised.

That's what matters, to be sure, but if the lightweight champion on June 29 is the same guy it was on June 28, it will likely be because of the scales, and what they said about a former flyweight named Manny Pacquiao.

The Destroyer will get this belt and The Destroyer will be crown as the New Lightwieght King in the world...

By:Langskie© KD-BOYZ™