June 12, 2008 — boxing fans, especially the fans of Manny "PacMan" Pacquiao, better mark their calendars, as Pacquiao is set to move up in weight and mix it up for the World Boxing Council (WBC) title against David Diaz, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada. The upcoming fight, promoted by Top Rank in association with MP Promotions, will see a newly-crowned WBC Super Featherweight Champion and WBC Lightweight Champion battle it out for 12 rounds of boxing with the Lightweight Title at stake.
Given the nicknames, "Republica Enemy No. 1", "The Mexicutioner", "PacMan", Pacquiao (46-3-2, 34 KOs), hailing from General Santos City, Philippines, was named 2006 Fighter of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America and The Ring Magazine. He defeated the best boxers that Mexico offered including Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar Larios, Emanuel Lucero, Hector Velasquez and Jorge Solis. Winning 11, drawing 1, and losing 1 from his last 13 fights since 2003 including, two knockout victories against Mexican icon and three-division champion Morales, a dominating 12-round unanimous decision against Larios, victories over Barrera and Solis. Pacquiao’s split decision victory 12 rounds against Marquez early this year made Pacquiao a four-division world champion and avenged a disputed draw from their 2004 fight.
Diaz (34-1-1, 17 KOs), hailing from Chicago, will be making his second title defense. He was able to defend it after a hard-fought unanimous decision over the three-division world champion and future Hall of Famer, Morales. Diaz, trailing on the scorecards during the early rounds, remained cool and rallied before the hometown Chicago crowd to capture the decision. He won the decision by scores of 114-113, 115-113 and 115-112. With the victory, Diaz placed himself among the best lightweights in the sport of boxing. With 12 years of experience as a professional boxer, member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team, Diaz is more than prepared for a pound-for-pound bout against the sports most exciting fighter.
Source: East Side Boxing
