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WHILE
the camp of Manny Pacquiao continues to talk about other
possible major fights in the near future, David Diaz
prefers not to look ahead and, instead, focus on the
task at hand.
“First,
we got to win against Manny before we consider any other
fight. Probably you won’t believe me, but I’m the type
of guy who just doesn’t look ahead,” said Diaz in a
recent local radio interview.
Pacquiao
trainer Freddie Roach recently told the BusinessMirror
that their promoters are seriously talking about putting
the Filipino sensation across the ring against British
superstar Ricky Hatton.
 Hatton
is coming off a 12-round decision over Mexican
challenger Juan Lazcano last weekend in
Manchester, England, in a fight card attended by more than 55,000 fans.
The
Hatton-Pacquiao fight could happen only if Pacquiao gets
past Diaz on June 28 at the
Mandalay
Bay Events Center
in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Potential foe Oscar de la Hoya, the top superstar in all
of boxing, has declared that Hatton is not on his radar
because the British superstar will be too small,
physically, for him.
“I’m a
naturally bigger guy in a different weight class so I
would rule it out. Ricky’s doing a tremendous job at 140
lb where he feels comfortable,” de la Hoya told Setanta
Sports. “Where he can do a lot of great things, I would
rule it out. Ricky’s fighting at 140. That’s where he
feels most comfortable and that’s where he belongs. I
wouldn’t advise him to go up to 147. Those few pounds
make a big difference.”
A
Hatton-Pacquiao brawl, initially thought as far-fetched
by pundits, is slowly becoming a possibility after
Hatton’s American promoter Golden Boy Promotions
reportedly wants to pair the British superstar against
the top lightweight champions.
When
told about him taking the place of Pacquiao in the
Hatton gravy train, Diaz, the current World Boxing
Council lightweight champion, insisted on his focus
regarding his upcoming title defense.
“We
can’t proceed if we do not take care of what’s in front.
I’d rather concentrate on Manny,” said Diaz in a Monday
morning interview with Sports Radio’s Sports Chat.
Diaz is
confident that no amount of trash talking is needed to
promote his 12-round encounter with Pacquiao.
“We are
guys of little words and more action. And that’s better
for the people and, I think, they respect and appreciate
that. We have mutual respect for each other and just
wanna go out there and treat everybody to a great
fight,” said Diaz.
During
their first face-off early this month in a press
conference at the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles, Pacquiao seemed to be slightly taller than Diaz, which, according to
the defending champion, is something that could be to
his advantage.
“I
really don’t know but he might be. He might be an inch
or two taller than [myself], which is great for me
because I’m used to fighting taller guys, anyway,” said
Diaz. |
