Friday, June 27, 2008 Manny's quest for greatness By Charles Raymond A. Maxey
ALMOST five years ago, little-known Manny Pacquiao moved up in weight to fight Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera in a featherweight showdown he wasn't expected to win.
Written off by many, including the so-called boxing experts, Pacquiao climbed the ring in faraway San Antonio, Texas a heavy underdog.
Pacquiao dished out a performance to remember, using his speed and power to stop Barrera in the 11th round before a mostly unbelieving Mexican crowd at the Alamodome in November of 2003 and stun the boxing world.
Today, it's the same story all over again for the Filipino boxer as he moves up in weight to go up against a revered fighter.
The only difference now is that the hard-punching Pacquiao is already a household name not only in America but the world over, and will be entering the ring the heavy favorite.
And, fighting at 135 pounds, Pacquiao is aiming at no less than boxing history when he challenges David Diaz of Mexico for the latter's World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
The 12-round championship bout is scheduled at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas where Pacquiao attempts to become the first Asian fighter to win four titles in different weight classes.
Actually, Pacquiao is gunning for his fifth crown in different weight classes. When he beat Barrera the first time, the Mexican was earlier stripped of his WBC title prior to their fight.
Carrying the weight of the entire nation, Pacquiao is heavily-favored to beat Diaz and achieve such honor. And he has an added motivation to boot.
Saddened by news that his country was hit by a killer typhoon, Pacquiao is dedicating his fight to the victims of the calamity.
"I want to thank God for his blessings. I have nothing to say. I will do my best on Saturday and I am dedicating this fight to all of the people that were devastated in the recent typhoon in the Philippines," Fightnews.com quoted Pacquiao as saying in a press conference Wednesday in Las Vegas.
Diaz, who seemed to relish his underdog tag, confident of keeping his crown though against the man who is regarded today as boxing's pound-for-pound king.
The champion vowed to win badly mainly because he wants to stop the slaughter of Mexican fighters at the hands of the Filipino.
"I am dedicating this fight to Mexico and to my father whom I love very much. I want to give this fight to Mexico because Manny has been beating up a lot of Mexicans," Diaz said. (With AP)
