This Saturday is the WBC Lightweight fight between David Diaz and Manny Pacquiao. Despite how all this has played out in the media, David Diaz is the WBC Champion and Manny Pacquiao is the challenger. Yes Pacquiao is the star of the two and Diaz is the underdog. I have read many articles that portray this fight as an easy night for Pacquiao. Well I am not so sure about that. Do I think Pacquiao will win yes, but I would not be totally surprised if he lost. Pacquiao is moving up in weight from 130 to 135. Diaz has been at 135 for awhile. Diaz has fought the bigger guys thoughout his career. Naturally Diaz is the bigger and stronger guy in the ring. Pacquiao is the quicker of the two and probably will tag Diaz quite a bit. Not one to hide or avoid punches, Diaz will be in front of Pacquiao all night long. However, who has the power advantage is the question. Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, says Pacquiao has more power at the higher weight, but will it be enough to stop the bigger Diaz? Will Diaz have the harder punches, possibly enough to stop Pacquiao? Lets be honest, Pacquiao gets hit quite a bit himself which is one of the reasons we love to watch him fight. He frequently is off balance and appears to be on the verge of being knocked down only to knock the other fighter down. This fight has a lot of underlining drama. You keep hearing about all the possible fights Pacquiao will have once he wins. Fights such as a third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, another move up in weight to 140 to fight Ricky Hatton, and then possibly Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz, or Nate Campbell. With the topic of future fights all in the media, David Diaz is passed over. Diaz is no punk by any means. He only has one loss and that was 3 years ago. Diaz has never been the star and that could be his motivation. When Juan Diaz and Julio Diaz each had titles at the same time as David, David was referred to as the other Diaz because no one was familiar with him. However now he is the only Diaz with a title. Now with a career high payday in front of him and the biggest name in boxing today, David Diaz is ready to shine. I feel this fight will be a slug em out war. I think it will go the distance with Pacquiao probably edging Diaz out with a decision. However, I can see Diaz, who is said to be slow, stunning Pacquiao a few times. If Diaz has learned any defensive tactics, he could give Pacquiao some problems. It is widely believed Pacquiao will be using Diaz as a punching bag. Nothing would throw Pacquiao's plan away like a few extra head movements or hands that don't drop. Diaz will need to cut the ring off on Pacquiao. Get Pacquiao in the corner and throw his weight on him. Diaz is the bigger man naturally, so he needs to use his strength to his advantage. Pacquiao is going to use his speed because that is probably his biggest advantage. Diaz is not very quick, so he will get hit frequently. Despite the oddsmakers, this fight is closer to a toss-up than the blowout it is being perceived to be. I am a huge Pacquiao fan, but for some reason the underdog, Diaz, seems to be weighing on my mind. I would not call Diaz winning an upset since he is the WBC Champion. However it would shock many. If Pacquiao wins, it will be another feather in his hat. Not exactly sure how this fight will go, so I will be watching this Saturday at 7:30pm CST on HBOPPV to find out how the fight goes down. Hope you catch it too.
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