Pacquiao proves pound-for-pound best
Pacquiao annihilates WBC lightweight champ Diaz to claim 4th title in as many divisions

Ringside by Victor Perea and Francisco Salazar
Photography by Chris Cozzone
- FightWireImages.com

“Dangerous” David Diaz is no pushover.

But against Manny Pacquiao, he was.

Winner of 34 professional boxing matches, the Chi-town southpaw has paid his dues and earned his respect. A world champion who won the interim belt in a hard-fought, come-from-behind victory, then claimed the undisputed WBC lightweight title by defeating the legendary Erik Morales, a date in the ring with Diaz is no walk in the park.

But Saturday night inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, the Philippine sensation known as “Pacman” thoroughly and unquestionably dispatched the aforementioned Diaz in spectacular fashion.

Known to give up early rounds on the judges scorecards, Pacquiao broke that pattern by coming out with his foot on the gas as the crowd of 8,362 filled the arena with chants of “Manny-Manny!”

Diaz covered up for most of the opening round, allowing Pacquiao to get off and begin to leave an imprint that would last the entire bout. Pacquiao continued to throw and land combinations during the first round as Diaz missed his counters, always appearing a step behind as Pacquiao won the round.

The second round started with fireworks as both fighters traded to begin with Pacquiao landing many more shots while Diaz’s few punches landed with authority. Pacquiao threw and landed his signature straight left, Diaz covered up and took more punches from the one time flyweight fighter. Before Diaz could begin to counter, Pacquiao slipped away and fired back landing combinations in quick succession. With the round growing one sided that arena stood on their feet as Diaz began to see a mouse grow on his right eye along with a small cut and Pacquiao continued to land as the second round, scored by two judges 10-8 for Pacquiao came to an end.

Pacquiao threw combinations while Diaz settled with single jabs, single hook counters, seldom two punches in a row. Pacquiao landed several hard right hooks to the face of Diaz whenever the champion would throws a left jab. Clearly unable to get off fast enough Diaz, bleeding and beginning to bruise, was digging himself a deeper whole as Pacquiao was using his speed to break away.

Diaz entered the fourth round with an accelerated pace, after the cut to his right eye brow was examined by the ringside physician and cleared to continue. Pacquiao smothered Diaz with punches not allowing him to do anything more than cover up and take the beating. Growing more bloody and beaten by the second, Diaz stayed game and battled back, although his best efforts were without reward. On target, Pacquiao combinations continued to feed the ravenous crowd as the swelling on Diaz’ right eye grew and his cut grew deeper.

Diaz showed heart in the fifth, getting off a couple body shots as Pacquiao did his trademark dance with both hands in the air showing fans he’s unhurt. Pacquiao stretched the gap between the two fighters even more in the fifth, landing with pinpoint marksmanship.

Up to this point the bout had been no contest. Although far from capacity, the arena made the floor rumble. Two and three punches landed at a time by Pacquiao doing incredible damage to Diaz who bled from the bridge of his nose and a large gash over his right brow.

Blood continued to flow from Diaz’s right brow away from his eye and down the side of his face. Pacquiao slowed significantly in the sixth round, heeding the advice of his corner to slow down and relax. Although taking his foot off the gas peddle, Pacquiao still battered Diaz in the middle of the ring. Referee Vic Drakulich again called time to have cut examined; again the cut was checked ok by the doctor and the beating continued.

Entering the seventh surely aware of being down six rounds knowing he needed a knockdown to get back in the fight, Diaz began swinging for the fences—and missed every one of them. Pacquiao was clearly proving all doubters wrong at this point, making the world champion Diaz look bad—real bad.

Pacquiao was relentless in his attack, battering Diaz with multiple combinations and making the swelling and bleeding get worse with every punch. It began to seem as the fight would not make it to the scheduled 12 rounds.

Looking like he fought ten men in an alley, Diaz stayed game and in front of his faster, stronger adversary during the ninth round. Pacquiao dug deeper and deeper, landing cleaner and harder blows as the fight wore on. Diaz wobbly, bruised and beaten, traded with Pacquiao and paid every time.

A phenomenal left hand from Pacquiao slipped in between the two fighters, landing powerfully on the swollen, bloody face of Diaz. Immediately Diaz fell face first to the canvas in a knockout movie producers would be hard pressed to reproduce.

At 2:24 of the ninth round, Pacquiao claimed a world title in a fourth different division, proving the doubters wrong and truly cementing his legacy and reputation as the worlds best pound-for-pound fighter.

“I feel much much stronger and more powerful at 135,” said a victorious Pacquiao after the bout. “Diaz is a nice person and he did not give up but I did not I kept fighting and I fought good. I am happy.”

Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach agreed:

“I think Manny is at his absolute best at 135 and he showed that tonight. The game plan was not to stand or trade Diaz is too dangerous to do that. The plan was to go in and out.”

That game plan worked perfectly as Pacquiao appeared to landed numerous punches before Diaz could even raise his glove. According to CompuBox statistics Pacquiao, now 47-3-2 (36), landed 230 of 788 punches thrown, 29% as well as landed a total of180 power punches, the last of which ended the contest is spectacular fashion. In his dominance, Pacquiao won every single round on all three scorecards, with the scores at the end of the 8^th reading 80-71 twice and 80-72 in his favor.

Diaz, 34-2-1 (17), stated he will rest for a few month before going back to the gym and preparing a come back, always a gentlemen Diaz was gracious in defeat.

“He was faster than I expected,” he said. “I could deal with his power—it’s his speed I couldn’t deal with. I want to thank Manny and all the people of the Philippines. You win and you lose . . . tonight we lost but we’ll be back.”

Questions of a possible move to 140 lbs to face Ricky Hatton or a third fight against Marquez at lightweight were avoided by Pacquiao.

“I am the fighter,” he said at the post-fight press conference. “That is what I do. That is the job of my trainer and my promoter I don’t pick who I fight.” --Victor Perea

Soto DQ'd in interim bout with Lorenzo

Established super featherweight Humberto Soto appeared to be on his way to an easy victory, using a healthy reach and height advantage to control the fight against his opponent Francisco Lorenzo of the Dominican Republic.

From the beginning, Soto controlled the action, picking off Lorenzo from outside and setting up punches with his jab, then battering Lorenzo on the inside with on target body shots. The shorter Lorenzo reached far in attempts to land his right hand, jumping forward quickly and backing out just as fast.

A left uppercut finally caught up with Lorenzo midway through the 4^th sending him to the canvas. Upon beating the count and continuing, Soto pounced on Lorenzo and began delivering what seamed to be the final punches as referee Joe Cortez stepped in between the two fighters as if to wave of the contest.

Instead Cortez appeared to change his mind and the fight continued. After a break, a clearly finished and bloody Lorenzo standing with his back against his corner, was met by Soto and immediately fell to both knees without taking a punch. Soto standing above him threw a left hand before Cortez stepped in, landing atop the head of Lorenzo while still on two knees. It appeared the fight had ended but Cortez called time.

The crowd expressed their disappointment as a heavily bleeding Lorenzo went from two knees to sitting on his rump, to lying flat on his back for several minutes as doctor examined his cut. During the debacle, Lorenzo eventually sat up, legs out, in his corner while a frustrated Soto stood in the corner waiting.

Referee Joe Cortez went ringside speaking with members of the Nevada State Athletic Commission Tony Lato and Keith Kizer. After approximately five minutes Cortez returned center ring along with ring announcer Michael Buffer and the frustrated crowd appeared relieved that the bout was finally over. That was, until the decision was announced.

Buffer announced that due to Lorenzo being hit in the back of the head, an illegal blow, and not being able to continue, he was declared the winner by disqualification. The crowd erupted in frustration as Soto hung his head and suddenly Lorenzo who could not stand for five minutes walked around the ring with his hands in the air. Time was officially 2:43 of the fourth round.

After the contest, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission Kizer stated that Lorenzo had, “Messed up nose, bad cut and possible concussion due to the punch to the back of the head. The punch to the back of the head is the sole reason this fight was stopped.” Citing the rule that if a fighter cannot continue a fight due to an illegal blow the fighter wins by DQ.

Soto, 43-7-2, stated he will seek an immediate rematch against Lorenzo, 33-4, from the WBC. Statistically, Soto dominated landing 30% of 258 punches thrown while Lorenzo landed only 21% of 191 punches thrown. --Victor Perea

Barrett makes “Big Sky” fall hard, fast

Originally from Montana, the 265-pound Fields has fought out of Las Vegas, going only 96 total rounds in 42 fights with a staggering 25 first round knockouts, none of them against a noteworthy opponent.

His opponent, Monte Barrett, was supposed to be a welcome mat to the big-time.

Barrett, 0-2 in world title bouts, had lost three of his last five fights heading into last night’s contest, and had fought five times since 2005. 

After a few lumbering swings from the friendly Fields, Barrett sporting a low-hawk, immediately hit Fields with a right hook full of legitimate power, rocking his behemoth adversary. With Fields wobbling at the knees Barrett unloaded a second right hook square to the head of Field.

Another left-right and a final right sent Fields flat to the floor.

Barrett began to celebrate as referee Kenny Bayless counted while Fields made it to his feet but was in no condition to go another second with Barrett.

With the :57 second KO Barrett 34-6 (20 KOs) may still have a shot at another big ticket bout in the unheralded heavyweight division.

Fields 40-2 (36) dropped his first bout since his only other loss in 2001.

According to CompuBox Barrett threw and landed all six power punches thrown, Barrett landed 2 of 16 punches in the very short contest. --Victor Perea

Luevano draws with Santiago

WBO Featherweight champion Steven Luevano retained his title with a 12 round split-decision draw against Mario Santiago.

Santiago was stepping up in class against Luevano, as his last fight was a first round knockout victory over Edel Ruiz. Luevano was making his third title defense.

Both fighters began the bout at a brisk pace with Luevano started well in the first round by countering effectively as Santiago pressed the action.

Both fighters scored knockdowns in the second round. Santiago dropped Luevano with a left hand to the top of the head. Luevano got up and battled back, earning a knockdown with a counter left hand to the head of Santiago.

The action picked up with both fighters having their moments. Santiago continuously pressed forward, landing to the head. Luevano successfully countered well, landing counter left crosses across the face of Santiago.

Luevano was controlling the action in the fifth round when Santiago stunned Luevano with a left hand to the head. Luevano hung on and even fought back to close the round.

Santiago controlled the middle rounds as he came forward. Santiago’s aggressiveness worked in his favor as he had Luevano backing up at times.

The action began to slow down with Luevano dictating the pace, boxing from the outside and using angles to counter against Santiago.

In the 10th round, Santiago charged out from the opening bell, throwing hard shots against Luevano. It looked as though Luevano would be in trouble, but he was able to weather the storm and effectively countered. Santiago began to lose steam, but held on until the end of the round.

Luevano came on strong in the final two rounds. Luevano pressed the action, at times forcing Santiago to back up. Santiago would, at times, look at the referee Tony Weeks, complaining to about supposed fouls against him.

Although they were tired, both fighters went at each other until the final bell sounded.

One judge scored the bout 117-111 for Luevano, the next judge scored it 115-113, while the third judge had it even at 114-114. Fightnews.com scored the bout 115-113 for Luevano.

Afterwards, both fighters had conflicting opinions on the final verdict by the thee judges.

“He was an awkward fighter,” assessed Luevano, who had dominated Terdsak Jandaeng in his last bout in March. “He fought to control the first half of the fight. He tried to take me out early. However, I felt that I was the stronger fighter in the second half of the fight.”

Asked about the judges’ decision, Luevano responded, “Well, I am still the champion. I feel that my record should have a “W” rather than a “D.”

Santiago was visibly upset with the decision. “I was the stronger fighter in there. I felt that I won the fight. I can’t believe that the judges took it away from me.”

Luevano threw 641 total punches, connecting with 125 of them, while Santiago threw 835 total punches, connecting with 124.

Luevano, from La Puente, CA, goes to 35-1-1, 15 KO’s. Santiago, from Ponce, Puerto Rico, goes to 19-1-1, 14 KO’s. --Francisco Salazar

Rojas stays unbeaten, batters 37-year-old Ali Baba

With twenty-eight knockouts between the two Super Bantamweights, Jesus Rojas and Alex Ali Baba were certain to delight fans who showed up early for the non televised bouts. Ali Baba from Ghana mixed it up early against Puerto Rico’s Rojas finding limited success against the fighter 16 years younger than he.

The young Rojas showed promise with sharp on target punches from the beginning. Besides accurate Rojas’ punches had merit when they landed, earning himself a flash knock down with a left hook in the opening round. Rojas continued his dominance throughout the rest of the bout working Ali Baba from the outside as well as when they traded on the inside. The game Ali Baba hung tough and gave all he had to the undefeated Rojas but to no avail. Rojas battered Ali Baba until 1:18 of the sixth round when a powerful left hook followed by a slew of strikes forced referee Jay Nady to step in and save Ali Baba from further punishment.

Laurante stops Quinones

Lightweight Dennis Laurante scored a fourth round stoppage victory over Steve Quinones when Quinones was unable to continue due to an ankle  injury.

Laurante controlled the first round as he was busier and landed more punches. However, Quinones controlled the action over the next two rounds. Quinones successfully countered effectively to the head and body, using good lateral movement to slip punches by Laurante and counter well.

Just when it seemed as though that Quinones was winning the fourth round, Laurante landed a counter right hand to the head of Quinones, dropping him to the canvas.

Quinones got up and bravely fought back. Quinones then went down to the canvas after Laurante threw a left hand to the head. Referee Kenny  Bayless ruled a knockdown, although it looked as though Quinones slipped on the canvas.

After the round ended, Quinones corner notified Bayless that Quinones was unable to continue due to an ankle injury, more than likely suffered during one of the knockdowns.

Laurante, from Palompon, Philippines, improves to 29-3-4, 14 KOs. Quinones, from Palm Springs, CA, falls to 31-13-1, 10 KO’s. --Francisco Salazar

Cruz dominates Albares

Featherweight Luis Cruz punished Miguel Albares before earning a third round stoppage victory in a six-round scheduled bout.

Cruz had a sizeable reach and height advantage over Albares. Cruz could not miss against the smaller Albares who would charge his way in, with an attempt to land.

After Albares caught Cruz with a left hook to the head, Cruz fired back a right hand to the head to open the first round. Any offense that Albares would attempt to mount was met with a combination of hard jabs and counter right hands to the head.

By the end of the first round, Albares’ nose was bloodied from the amount of punishment he was receiving.

Cruz continued to rain an arsenal of punches down on Albares, who slowly began to slow down as Cruz began to press the action.

The end came in the third as Cruz landed a counter right hand to the head of Albares that dropped him to the canvas. Albares beat the count, but referee Jay Nady waved the fight over at 1:39 when it looked as though Albares was in no shape to continue.

Cruz, from Las Pierdas, Puerto Rico, improves to 6-0, 4 KOs. Albares, from Houston, TX, falls to 5-5-1, 2 KOs.--Francisco Salazar

Slow start dooms Tangrago

The opening bout of the evening featured a four-round super lightweight attraction between Hesperia, California’s Khadaphi Proctor and Carlos Tangrago. Cochella’s Tangrago entered the bout unbeaten in two professional fights.

The taller Proctor came out determined to open the bout while Tangrago stayed calm and weathered the storm. Proctor landed the cleaner punches while Tangrago waited to counter with a heavy shot. 

Proctor hustled the first two rounds to victory while Tangrago unwisely kept his hands near his waist and failed to make the most of the short bout. Tangrago seemed to wake up to answer the third stanza punishing his opponent throughout with big right hooks while Proctor aimed and missed uppercuts. Continued machine gun attacks to the midsection of Proctor earned coupled with his on target right hands earned Tangrago a clear round in his favor. However Tangrago failed to carry over the momentum into the fourth and final round and allowed Proctor to rest while trading body shots on the inside.

In the end the judges awarded Proctor (2-2-1) a majority decision via scores of 39-37, 39-37 and 38-38 giving Tangrago (2-1) the first loss of his very young career. Fightnews scored the contest 38-38, a draw. --Victor Perea