Manny the Machine By Steve Kim (June 30, 2008) Photo © German Villasenor Send this page to friend Give us your feedback In what was a mesmerizing display of speed, quickness and power, Manny Pacquiao would make history by becoming the first Asian boxer to win major world titles in four weight classes by systematically destroying the game David Diaz in nine rounds at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas this past Saturday night. In the lead-up to this bout, a billy goat was brought out by promoter Bob Arum and paraded around as a symbol for 'the Curse of the Billy Goat' to come to an end. Legend has it that until this mystical spell is lifted, Diaz's beloved Cubbies will never win a World Series. Diaz, who came into this bout a heavy underdog, was thought to symbolize the reversing of this voodoo that has haunted 'the Windy City' and its partisans. But on this night, anything short of Steve Bartman getting in the way of Pacquiao's blazing punches wasn't going to save the rugged Diaz from the shelling he received. A steady torrent of lead right hooks, sharp uppercuts and hard left hands would bloody and bruise Diaz from the onset. It had Diaz asking, "Did anyone get the number of that truck?" in addition to some humorous droppings of F-bombs in appreciation of 'the Pac Man' afterwards. Everyone knew why Diaz was selected to face Pacquiao in his 135-pound debut - he was perceived to be limited, but he also came armed with a WBC strap. And for the $850,000 paycheck he received, he played his role perfectly. In Diaz-Pacquiao he was cast as Jake LaMotta, a rough, rugged sort who never stopped coming at any cost. And while his handlers believed that they could win this fight by taking the naturally smaller man into deep waters and come-from-behind (like they did against Jose Armando Santa Cruz in 2006) as the cuts mounted and his visage became a crimson tide that smeared both men’s trunks, this fight began to look more and more like a fight that, ironically, took place in Diaz's hometown of Chicago back on February 14th, 1951, where LaMotta took a frightful beating at the hands of the great Sugar Ray Robinson, that was mercifully halted in the 13th round. In the memorable scene from 'Raging Bull', LaMotta, played by Robert DeNiro, took a perverted solace in the fact that Robinson was never able to get him off his feet. That fight is known as the 'Valentine's Day Massacre’. And a massacre was taking place on this June night in Las Vegas. As the rounds piled up, it was clear that a Santa Cruz-like miracle simply wasn't in the cards. Pacquiao simply hits harder, faster and more often than Santa Cruz and had compiled much more damage. And the expected slow down from Pacquiao in the middle rounds never came; in fact, Pacquiao seemed to be able to shift gears at will. But if Diaz could just simply hear the last bell at the end of the 12th round, he may lose his belt, but he will have gained a measure of respect. Unfortunately for him, he would be hit with a short left on the button that had him crumpling to the canvas on his knees in the ninth round. Referee Vic Drakulich didn't even see it necessary to administer the count. It was the culmination of perhaps Pacquiao's finest all-around performance. “This is the best Pacquiao ever," said an effusive Arum in the immediate aftermath as he passed press row. "I mean, the last couple of fights his performances weren't up to par because he struggled to make weight and that showed. This time he obviously had no problems making weight and he was strong as an ox - and what stamina! How can you throw so many punches?" His trainer Freddie Roach agreed, saying, "It's the best performance of his life." Any questions that Pacquiao could compete as a full-fledged lightweight were answered on this night, which is amazing, considering that he began his career at 106 pounds, won his first world title as a flyweight and is now a belt-holder as a lightweight. "135 pounds, I'm very comfortable at that weight and I feel a lot stronger than 130 pounds," said Pacquiao, whose last bout in March was a razor-thin split verdict as a jr. lightweight versus Juan Manuel Marquez. And in doing so, he has done what no other Asian fighter has been able to do. "I'm so happy that I made history in the Philippines, especially the first Asian who captured four belts," which doesn't include his 2003 win over Marco Antonio Barrera, a fighter who was then the recognized king at featherweight. It's not clear just how strong a puncher Pacquiao is at this weight. He hit Diaz with a multitude of punches in every round, but this was certainly his best technical outing ever. In the past, Pacquiao had a habit of overthrowing his left crosses and spinning out of control and pulling back defensively with his hands down. With Diaz, he was much sounder fundamentally. "It was the footwork," said Roach. "We did stand in front of him, but every time we landed a combination, we stepped back and made the guy miss. He's a little too slow for Manny." Which is a vast understatement; this was akin to a Porsche versus a pick-up truck. And that's precisely why we should all temper our enthusiasm over this performance just a little bit. After all, Pacquiao, as Chris Rock once stated so eloquently - did what he was supposed to do. There was a reason oddsmakers made him a 4-1 favorite beforehand with a guy who struggled mightily last summer against a faded version of Erik Morales. The bottom line is that men like Nate Campbell, Joan Guzman, Juan Diaz, Michael Katsidis, Joel Casamayor and his old nemesis, Marquez, will ask questions of Pacquiao at 135 that he didn't have to answer on Saturday night. So while he may have put to rest the pound-for-pound debate for now (" Oh, I gotta believe it, what a performance tonight," said Arum), and he may have the WBC portion of the lightweight crown, he still has some work to do to prove he's the best 135-pounder on the planet. "For me, I don't want to compare my ability to the other fighters. I'm just a fighter who does my job and to make people happy and to give a good show every fight," said Pacquiao. "Now that we're lightweight champion, I'm sure guys are going to be wanting to fight Manny Pacquiao; we'll see," added Roach. NEXT? The Pacquiao-Diaz attendance was announced at around 8,300, which is the smallest for a Pacquiao fight in Las Vegas in years. It didn't help that Diaz was thought of as having very little chance of pulling the upset and the undercard - which turned out to be much better than anticipated - didn't look too enticing on paper. And of course, there's Arum's favorite whipping boy. "First of all, we gotta wait out George Bush because he's wrecked the economy," said the staunch Democrat when asked about the rather tepid attendance. He does have a point though. In this economy, with the rising cost of fuel and food, many people simply don't have the discretionary income to throw around they once did. Indeed, times are tough for everybody. But Arum has to take some of the blame here. He has also fallen into the trap of continually putting his promotions in stale casino atmospheres instead of bringing the fights to the public like he did last year when Pacquiao fought in front of over 14,000 people in San Antonio, Texas. Since then, Pacquiao's last three fights have been in Las Vegas. You just wonder how Pacquiao-Diaz would have played in Chicago or San Francisco, where there is a natural promotional pull. Also, as was mentioned in Doug Fischer’s Friday Mail Bag, it's been quite awhile since Pacquiao appeared on HBO and not pay-per-view. There was some talk of taking Pacquiao's next bout to Macau. But Arum says, "We can not do Macau with Manny because in order to get it back to the United States in prime time we gotta go at 10 o'clock on Sunday morning. And the high-rollers are sleeping." His next bout could come in October. "We're going to do it either in Texas or in Nevada and we're looking at a really great opponent that will have all you guys cheering," said the veteran promoter. Word is that it will be WBA jr. lightweight belt-holder Edwin Valero, the raw, heavy-handed banger from Venezuela. "The other lightweight champions are busy, but he's going to fight somebody that I think every guy who follows boxing is going to say, 'God, I can't wait to see the fight.'" Arum mentioned that he hoped to make a bout with Ricky Hatton in 2009. But before all that, let's hope that down the line, regardless of whatever promotional battles may exist between Top Rank and Golden Boy, lets all pray that the lightweight division sees fights between Pacquiao and the winners of Diaz-Katsidis (September 6th), Campbell-Guzman and Marquez-Casamayor (September 13th) in the near future. It would be unconscionable if some of these fights never took place. NOT FIRM OR FAIR OK, it's clear that referee Joe Cortez needs to be put out to pasture. The guy has simply lost it as a world-class arbiter in the ring. How Francisco Lorenzo somehow became the 'winner' in his bout with Humberto Soto is one of the worst miscarriages of justice I have ever witnessed. If Cortez was officiating game six of this past NBA Finals, he probably would've found a way to give that game to the Lakers. It looked like he was on the verge of halting what was becoming a very one-sided beating, and then, seconds after a bloody and beaten Lorenzo hit the canvas for a second time, instead of just counting him out - which nobody would've have argued with one iota, he instead calls Soto for a phantom foul and ultimately gets him disqualified after a protracted delay in the ring. It's just one in a recent line of questionable performances by Cortez, who was once an admired official. Now, he's that old guy who is eroding the credibility of the Nevada State Athletic Commission (who unfortunately, can never admit a mistake and instead seems to be enablers on many occasions) and the sport itself. Somewhere out there, Luis Santana is having a very good chuckle. FINAL FLURRIES WBO featherweight titlist Steven Luevano better be careful or he might lose his reputation as a guy who can't be in entertaining fights. His scrap with the tough Mario Santiago was the best fight on the card. For the record, I had Luevano by two points - but could easily see a draw or close Santiago win....I think Luevano-Santiago II should take place on 'Boxing After Dark'....Geez, all those wasted dates on 'Versus' and look what happened to Tye Fields?....I hear Arum is thinking about a doubleheader with Fernando Montiel facing Cristian Mijares and Jorge Arce taking on Nonito Donaire sometime in the fall.....Demetrius Hopkins officially inked his promotional deal with Top Rank......There is a chance that young lightweight prospect Anthony Peterson could be opening up the August 2nd HBO telecast, that features Zab Judah-Joshua Clottey, against Jose Reyes....Here's what Eric Brown, assistant to Roach, has to say about Pacquiao, "Before he was playing checkers; now, he's playing chess."..... For Questions or Comments E-Mail Steve Kim at k9kim@maxboxing.com Today's Boxing Press Discuss this Topic - Go to the forums