PHILBOXING, PACLAND WISH MANNY BEST OF LUCK
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 29 Jun 2008
A few hours from now, Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao will embark on his quest to rewrite history atop the ring at the Events Center of the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas against WBC lightweight champion David Diaz of Chicago. PhilBoxing.com and Pacland, whose existence on the Internet were ushered in by the tremendous achievement of the man from General Santos, wish Manny Pacquiao the best of luck and may you again bring pride and honor to your beloved country, the Philippines.
Manny, the significance of your win tonight in Las Vegas is really ground-breaking and may not be repeated in another hundred years. Let's enumerate.
1. You will become the first Filipino to win a belt at lightweight division, surpassing even the great Garbriel 'Flash' Elorde who failed twice in his attempt to do so.
2. You will become the first Asian to win titles in four weight divisions joining the company of only seven other boxers in history who have achieved such a feat: Thomas Hearns, Pernell Whitaker, Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roy Jones, Jr., Oscar de la Hoya and Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
3. You will become the only fighter to win titles from flyweight (112 lbs) to lightweight (135 lbs) where you left a trail of destruction against a very tough opposition that fell by the wayside because of your tremendous power and energy including future hall-of-famers Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez.
Add to that, because you also won lineal (Ring Magazine) titles at flyweight, featherweight and super featherweight -- being the only fighter in history to have won a Ring Magazine title more than once -- you are really in an enviable position that most practicioners in the world's toughest sport can only dream of.
But here is the icing to the cake Manny, a win tonight will put you in a position to achieve even more laurels and rewrite even more history. You may go for a fifth world title by fighting Ricky Hatton of the United Kingdom at light welterweight (140 lbs.) or you may want to unify the lightweight division by fighting Nate Campbell or go for another Ring Magazine title by fighting Joel Casamayor.
But that is thinking well in advance. What is important is the fight at hand, which will explode very soon -- within a couple of hours soon. So again, Manny, here is wishing you the best of luck on your fight tonight.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dong Secuya.
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