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THE camp
of world lightweight champion David Diaz has promised to
do better than what Manny Pacquiao could offer in their
12-round title fight next month.
Thursday
morning (Manila time), Pacquiao and Diaz met
face-to-face in their Chicago stop to promote their
face-off, dubbed “Lethal Combination,” on June 28 at the
Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Diaz’s
manager Jim Strickland made the vow in a report by
Chicago Sports.
 “Manny
is a tremendous fighter with fast hands. What we’re
training for is if he hits us with a three-punch
combination, we’re going to hit him back with a
four-punch combination. If he hits us hard, we’re going
to hit him harder,” said Strickland.
Diaz
also guaranteed a classic match-up but, at the same
time, assured he will keep his World Boxing Council (WBC)
135-lb crown.
“I will
beat Manny at his own game—power for power,” said Diaz,
who has a 34-1-1 record, with 14 knockouts.
Pacquiao
gave his own thoughts about the fight and dedicated the
bout to his countrymen.
“This
will be my hardest-fought battle—it has been three years
since I have changed weight divisions, and I will be
doing it against the lightweight world champion,”
Pacquiao said. “I am fighting for history—five world
titles in five different weight classes—and I am
fighting for my people of the Philippines.”
Also
appearing in the same downtown pep rally in Chicago was
fight promoter Bob Arum, who said the title fight will
last the distance.
“I don’t
think David has the power to knock Manny out and I don’t
think Manny, fighting a bigger stronger guy with a
rock-solid chin, can knock David out,” Arum said. “Each
of them wins by overwhelming his opponent. David throws
a voluminous amount of punches and he seems to have a
tremendous reservoir of energy. In Manny, he’s fighting
a guy who never stops throwing punches and is fast as
the devil.”
The
29-year-old Pacquiao (46-3-2, 35 knockouts) won the WBC
super-featherweight crown via a split verdict over
bitter Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez on March 15,
also in Las Vegas. The win made Pacquiao the first
three-division world champion from Asia. He also held
titles in the flyweight and super-bantamweight
divisions.
The
31-year-old Diaz, also a southpaw like Pacquiao,
snatched the WBC interim lightweight crown against the
favored Mexican Jose Armando Sta. Cruz via 10th round
TKO August of 2006 in Las Vegas.
Diaz
cemented his claim to the regular title when he beat
another highly-favored Mexican, the legendary Erik
Morales whom he decisioned inside 12 rounds August of
last year in Rosemont, Illinois.
Diaz’
last bout was beneath the Marquez-Pacquiao rematch where
the Chicago native won a 10-round verdict against
Mexican Ramon Montano. |
