Pacquiao Enters the Lightweight Picture in Style

By Mario Ortega Jr. & Michael Swann (ringside)

In front of the 8,362 in attendance at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night, pound-for-pound kingpin Manny Pacquiao (47-3-2, 36 KOs) entered the ranks of the lightweight division with a big splash, completely dismantling tremendously courageous, but outclassed David Diaz (34-2-1, 17 KOs) of Chicago, Illinois. In the process, Pacquiao claims the WBC Lightweight title and enters a division with plenty of interesting possible opponents.

From the outset, Pacquiao, 134 ½, of General Santos City, Philippines, kept Diaz off balance with his power, speed and footwork. Diaz, 135, proved to be brave and sturdy, but was completely out of his league against the world’s best fighter. By the second round, Pacquiao was picking Diaz apart from every angle. Diaz appeared to be seriously stunned by a right hook in the fourth, but continued to valiantly come forward. By the end of the round, Diaz was cut on the bridge of his nose and over his right eye. Pacquiao continued to find the holes in Diaz’ guard has the bout progressed. Entering the ninth, Diaz’ face was a bloody mess, but his will was still in tact. Still coming forward, Diaz came across with a left, but was met with the left of Pacquiao. The blow dropped Diaz face first to the canvas. Referee Vic Drakulich immediately called a halt to the bout at 2:24 of the ninth.

Diaz was gracious in defeat following the bout. “No excuses, it was his speed, all his speed,” said Diaz. The ex-champion remains positive on his boxing future, “One day we will get it back.” Pacquiao, who scored one of the most brutal, big fight knockouts of recent memory, felt great at the new weight class. “I feel much stronger at 135 pounds,” said Pacquiao. Following the knockout, Pacquiao was worried about the condition of Diaz. “My first concern was for Diaz,” said Pacquiao. “I hoped he was alright. I tried to pick him up. I was kind of surprised it wasn’t stopped sooner.”

With the victory, Pacquiao adds his name to clouded list of first class lightweight champions and contenders. The division already includes WBA/IBF/WBO Lightweight Champion Nate Campbell, who already had called out the winner, The Ring Lightweight Champion Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz, Michael Katsidis, Jose Armando Santa Cruz and many others. Arum should have no problem finding a suitable opponent for Pacquiao’s first title defense.

In the co-feature, WBC #1 Humberto Soto (43-7-2, 27 KOs) of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico was in complete control of WBC #2 Francisco Lorenzo (33-4, 14 KOs) of San Cristobal, Dominican Republic before suffering a highly questionable disqualification defeat. After clearly winning the first three rounds, Soto, 130, dropped Lorenzo, 130, twice in the fourth. After the second knockdown, Soto caught Lorenzo with a glancing blow while his opponent was down. Referee Joe Cortez immediately called a timeout due to the foul which seemed unintentional and inconsequential. Lorenzo remained on the canvas for several minutes and after some discussion with the commission, Cortez called off the fight in favor of Lorenzo.

With the controversial win, the previously little known Lorenzo becomes the unlikely Interim WBC Super Featherweight Champion. Pacquiao currently holds the full title, but would never take a fight with Lorenzo. Thus, unless he drops the belt right away, Lorenzo will likely be elevated to full champion status.

Seemingly fading former title challenger Monte Barrett (34-6, 20 KOs) of Queens, New York likely put an end to the run of Top Rank heavyweight project Tye Fields (40-2, 36 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada, quickly putting him down and out in the first round of a scheduled ten. Fields, 265, came out aggressively, backing Barrett against the ropes. Barrett, 220, quickly turned things around, landing a right as he came off the ropes. Barrett followed with another right and continued his assault until Fields went down. Fields struggled to a knee and referee Kenny Bayless waved off the fight at 57 seconds of the opening stanza. After the bout promoter Bob Arum commented on Barrett’s big win over the once carefully matched Fields. “There came a time when Tye had to step up with a major leaguer, and Monte Barrett was such the major leaguer,” said Arum.

Steven Luevano (35-1-1, 15 KOs) of La Puente, California was met with a tougher test than most expected, as he defended his WBO Featherweight title against WBO #10 Mario Santiago (19-1-1, 14 KOs) of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Both had their moments in the first and traded knockdowns in the second. A short right brought Luevano, 126, to a knee. He quickly returned to his feet and brought down Santiago, 125, with a straight left.

The back and forth action continued through most of the rest of the bout. Luevano seemed to have a slight edge until the fifth, when he left himself open to a vicious uppercut. Santiago carried the momentum through the next couple of rounds, and hurt Luevano early in the tenth. After throwing a ton of punches midway through the tenth, Santiago seemed to run out of steam and never gained a second wind. Luevano boxed well the remaining two rounds, as Santiago mostly moved and held. Judges Duane Ford and Dave Moretti disagreed with that assessment, scoring both the eleventh and twelfth rounds for Santiago, forcing a majority draw.

In the end, Luevano retained his title with a 117-111 edge on one card, 115-113 for Santiago on another and an even 114-114 on the third. After the bout, Santiago was disappointed in the decision. “I was the stronger guy,” said Santiago. “I felt I won the fight. I can’t believe the judges took it from me.” In any event, it was an exciting fight that could be cause for a rematch.

Rising prospect Jesus Rojas (12-0, 10 KOs) of Caguas, Puerto Rico scored a sixth-round technical knockout of game and experienced vet Alex Baba (25-13-1, 19 KOs) of Doraville, Georgia. Rojas, 122, dropped Baba in the first and kept the pressure on the rest of the fight. Baba, 122, stood tough and did occasionally caught Rojas with a solid shot of his own. By the sixth, Baba had absorbed a great amount of punishment and appeared to be breaking down when referee Jay Nady stepped in at 1:18 of the round.

Dennis Laurente (29-3-4, 15 KOs) of Palompon, Leyte, Philippines dropped Steve Quinonez (29-13-1, 9 KOs) of Palm Springs, California twice in the fourth en route to a knockout victory. Laurente, 139, continued to maul Quinonez, 140, to end the round. Quinonez failed to leave his stool to begin round five, ending the scheduled eight-round lightweight fight. Quinonez twisted his left ankle on the second knockdown, which prompted his corner to stop the bout.

Luis Cruz (6-0, 4 KOs), 126, of Las Piedras, Puerto Rico completely dismantled Miguel Albares (5-5-1, 1 KO), 126, of Houston, Texas, finally stopping him in the third round of a scheduled six-round featherweight bout. From the opening bell, Cruz took the fight to Albares, bloodying his nose just minutes in. In the third round a two-punch combination put Albares down, who showed no signs he would return to his feet. After Albares spit out his mouthpiece, referee Jay Nady waved off the bout at 1:39.

Khadaphi Proctor (2-2-1), 140, of Hesperia, California scored a mild upset over Carlos Tangaro (2-1), 139, of Coachella, California via majority decision in a four-round light welterweight contest. Scores read 38-38 and 39-37 twice for Proctor.

Notes:
At the press conference, Arum announces the attendance tonight was a bit lower than for Pacquiao’s previous fight. Arum places the blame for the drop on higher gas prices caused by the Presidential regime of George Bush.

Arum believes the Lorenzo-Soto bout should have been ruled a no-contest, but will not file a protest with the commission. He does hope to put together a rematch.

It was announced that David Diaz would be taken directly to the hospital and not be present at the post-fight press conference, but he showed up anyway.

With Ricky Hatton tied up with a Paul Malignaggi bout, Arum announced Pacquiao will stay at lightweight to make a defense of his WBC Lightweight title in November. Hatton is a possibility, but no sooner than next year.