SULAIMAN: PACQUIAO IS THE BEST OF THE BEST
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 02 Jul 2008
Don Jose Sulaiman.
World Boxing Council president Don Jose Sulaiman says Filipino ring idol and national treasure Manny Pacquiao is the "best boxer in the world."
Well-known boxing writer and TV reporter James Blears told Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today that Sulaiman who was at special ringside at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and handed the green and gold WBC lightweight championship belt to the newly crowned champion after his ninth round demolition of a game David Diaz said "To me Manny Pacquiao showed himself to be the best boxer of any division in the world today."
The WBC president who had predicted Pacquiao would win said "I've never seen him so perfect in throwing all of his punches. He was so intelligent to come in at exactly the right moment, completely dominating his rival with a speed which was the same when he was a featherweight. Manny is the best of the best."
Don Jose said he felt, as Pacquiao actually did, that the fight should have been stopped by referee Vic Drackulich at the end of the sixth round. But he was quick to praise Diaz for his magnificent courage and fighting spirit, saying "what a fighter. My God he has a big heart, as very few possess."
Sulaiman scoffed at a possible third fight between former super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez and Pacquiao who won the 130 pound title from the Mexican in a close split decision win last March 15 also at the Mandalay Bay. Don Jose downplayed the possibility of a Pacquiao-Marquez trilogy stating that "Marquez decided to go to the minor leagues and fight for a different title."
The WBC president was referring to Marquez' title fight against WBO lightweight champion Joel Casamayor scheduled for September 13 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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