Manny Pacquiao Stops David Diaz

On David Diaz:

Manny Steward called him a throwback fighter, similar to Jake LaMotta. I agree, I also saw shades of Rocky Graziano, especially during the post fight interview. There's no pound for pound rating for hearts and guts, but if there were Diaz would be at the top of the list. Diaz is my kind of fighter, always trying, always coming forward, always believing he can win this fight, always throwing his punches. As Jim Lampley so aptly put it, "It was a merciful knockout". Diaz would still be punching otherwise. There is no quit in David Diaz!

On Manny Pacquiao:

He answered all the questions and then some. Pacquiao is a human dynamo, a force of nature, he was magnificent.. It doesn't make one bit of difference if Floyd Mayweather Jr. retires or not, Pacquiao has been the pound for pound champ for quite a while. If you don't think so, then you haven't been paying attention. I'll go one step further and say that Junior better stay retired because Manny just might invade the welterweights in the near future. Wouldn't surprise me.

On the Referee:

Vic Drakulich did what he was supposed to do. He gave David Diaz every benefit of the doubt that he could have. For the most part he let them fight their fight, as a good referee should.

On The Fight:
Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino Las Vegas, Nevada

Diaz started off confidently enough and was relaxed and clearly he wasn't intimidated by Pacquiao. In the second round it quickly became clear that Manny's speed and boxing ability was too much for Diaz. With a cut on his nose, and later in the fight, a cut over his left eye, it soon became a desperate situation for Diaz. The fight was as much about the courage of one man as it it was about the skill and total dominance of the other. Each round became a repetition of the last, only more so. On one hand it was painful to watch a man get so thoroughly beaten, on the other hand you just couldn't help but admire his belief that he could still win the fight. The fight was stopped at 2:24 of the ninth round by a Pacquiao straight left. It ended the only way it could, the only way it should for a warrior like Diaz. Pacquiao won the fight and Diaz' WBC Lightweight title. Boxing is alive and well, and thriving. Rumors of it's demise are premature.

Manny Pacquiao vs David Diaz

By Randy De La O

David Diaz and Manny Pacquiao are fighting tomorrow night, Saturday June 28,2008, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas in what appears to be, on the surface, an uphill battle for Diaz. Looking at Diaz' record, he hasn't come close to fighting any one near the quality or status of Pacquiao, who has been a force of nature. His reign reminds me of Julio Cesar Chavez in the eighties and early nineties, combined with a young, fiery Roberto Duran. Pacquiao has literally fought the best fighters in his weight class. He's ducked no one. The names include Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez and Jorge Solis to name a few. The fight will be shown on HBO PPV

Diaz on the other hand has fought in relative obscurity but he did gain some attention when he beat Erik Morales in August of 2007, winning a unanimous decision 12 round decision. He didn't beat a prime Morales but he did win.

Is Pacquiao ripe for the picking, and will Diaz be ready and able to step up? Pacquiao has been through some wars and at some point something has to give. It depends as much on what Pacquiao doesn't do, as it does on what Diaz can do. Sometimes it's the fighter that is overlooked and not expected to win, as was the case with Mike Tyson and Buster Douglas. Added to that, Pacquiao will be moving up in weight to in attempting to take Diaz' WBC Lightweight title. Will he retain his power? His speed and stamina? Is he looking past Diaz to a possible super fight with Ricky Hatton? Can he take the punch of a natural lightweight like Diaz? Diaz, though not a big knockout puncher does have 17 KO's in the book. Will Pacquiao be moving up one weight class too many as Alexis Arguello did when he attempted to wrest the WBA Junior Welterweight title from Aaron Pryor in 1982? None of those questions can be answered until tomorrow night. The way I see it, Diaz has a helluva shot.