WARNING TO THE PUBLIC: ?LETHAL COMBINATION? COULD RESULT TO LETHAL DESTRUCTION
By Alex P. Vidal
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 27 May 2008
When two lightweight bombs are detonated in a ?Lethal Combination? card at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on June 28, it will also be a lethal destruction.
Manny Pacquiao, challenger to David Diaz?s World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight throne, is now itching to add the Chicago-based sharpshooter to his list of 35 knockout victims after failing to satisfy his KO hungry fans in his last two fights, hammering out only points victories over Marco Antonio Barrera for WBC international superfeatherweight championship (unanimous decision) and Juan Manuel Marquez for WBC superfeatherweight crown (split decision).
Each time they see him climb the square-jungle, Pacquiao knows what his bloodthirsty fans always want for him: a knockout win. No ifs. No buts.
A points victory over Diaz would still be acceptable since Pacquiao (46-3, 35 KO) would become the first Filipino, and Asian for that matter, to bring home four world crowns in four different weight divisions; but his reputation as ring executioner and master of blood-sport might wane.
A swashbuckling stoppage win, however, will catapult the 29-year-old boxer-cum-actor from Gen. Santos City into No. 1 spot in the galaxy of superstars in boxing?s elite list for all-time greats in this era, greater than the flamboyant Floyd Mayweather, the current sentimental heartthrob.
And this is what his career badly needs on June 28. By hook or by crook, Pacquiao will go for a must win.
?Masaya ako dahil nakapagbibigay ako ng inspirasyon sa maraming tao. Masaya ako dahil nagdudulot ako ng pag-asa at kaligayahan sa ilang tao. Masaya ako na nakikilala ko ang marami sa aking fans at nakakamayan sila gaya ng maraming tao na sumasalubong sa akin sa mga parade kapag umuuwi ako sa Pilipinas pagakatapos ng isang laban. Masaya ako na sa maliit na pamamaraan, may mga malalaking bagay na nangyayari sa bawat buhay ng tao (I?m happy that I bring happiness, inspiration and hope to the people. I?m happy that people shake my hand and wave at me in the parade after my fight. I?m happy that big things are happening in the lives of many people),? Pacquiao wrote in his recent Philboxing.com column entitled ?Himala ng tiwala?
Mexican-American Diaz (34-7, 17 KO), however, cannot afford to blow away a once-in-a-life-time chance to hit two ?paydirts? with one stone?1. To be recognized as the most prestigious and legitimate lightweight champion in the world today; and 2.To be hailed by anti-Pacquiao forces (especially the Mexicans) as hero for halting the winning binge of the most popular non-American in history to invade the US market.
Diaz, at 31, himself knows that father time has beckoned and there is no turning back from the avalanche of privileges and pelf that he stands to reap once he will put away Pacquiao.
Like Pacquiao, Diaz lost a big number of autograph seekers for his failure to put to sleep his last two previous opponents and settled only for points win. Fans forgave him for letting Erik Morales finish the fight with his faculties intact in their WBC lightweight shootout on August 4, 2007; but when he toyed with Ramon Montano and eked out only with a majority decision win last March 15, serious doubts have been cast on his capacity to absorb Pacquiao?s lethal combinations. Certainly there will be a lethal destruction.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Alex P. Vidal.
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