Pacquiao knocks out Diaz for lightweight title
LAS VEGAS – Speed has been Manny Pacquiao’s specialty ever since he was a scrawny 106-pound teenage brawler. When he stepped in the ring weighing 135 pounds on Saturday night, even his trainer wondered whether Pacquiao would lose some of his splendid speed with all that extra bulk.
That theory evaporated with one look at David Diaz’s lacerated, bloody face, even before it hit the canvas in the ninth round. Not only did Pacquiao keep his pace while winning the WBC lightweight title with a ninth-round knockout, he got stronger along the way.
What a frightening thought for the rest of the talented lightweight division.
“I feel much, much stronger and more powerful at 135,” said Pacquiao, the first Asian boxer to win title belts at four weights. “This is where I plan to stay. I did real well. I was really surprised it wasn’t stopped sooner.”
After winning a recognized championship fight at his fifth weight – including a nontitle victory over 126-pound king Marco Antonio Barrera in 2003 – Pacquiao (47-3-2, 35 KOs) definitely has the credentials to qualify as boxing’s mythical pound-for-pound champion.
His lightweight debut at the Mandalay Bay Events Center was every bit as action-packed as his long history of brawls at lower weights – and like most of Pac-Man’s victims, Diaz (34-2-1) just couldn’t keep that ferocious pace.
“It was his speed,” said Diaz, the game but overmatched champion.
Three months ago, Juan Manuel Marquez stretched Pacquiao to the limit before losing a split decision in the same ring in perhaps the year’s best bout so far. Pacquiao took much less punishment this time while winning every round on every judge’s scorecard, but Diaz was remarkably tenacious in the face of nonstop attacks – until Pacquiao sneaked home a left hand that dropped Diaz to the canvas.
Diaz, the likable but unlikely champion from Chicago, knew he faced long odds – 4-to-1 at fight time – in his second title defense. The former U.S. Olympian hung in despite severe cuts and weary legs that wobbled with each of Pacquiao’s big punches.
“His punches are just too fast,” Diaz told his corner after the sixth round.
Pacquiao tugged on Diaz’s arm in compassion before leaping onto the ropes in celebration.
Some think Pacquiao’s next move could be to bulk up five more pounds for a wildly lucrative fight with England’s most popular plugger, Ricky Hatton. Pacquiao seems more likely to stick around to fight other lightweights – perhaps 130-pound champion Edwin Valero or Humberto Soto, who lost disqualification Saturday in an undercard bout.