Pacman makes history, gets 4th crown

LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao made history by becoming the first Asian fighter to win four world titles in different classes as he defeated World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight champion David Diaz Saturday (Sunday in Manila) at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino here. 

He also became the first Filipino to win the lightweight crown in any of boxing’s top governing bodies. 

For the first time in his pro career that began in 1995, Pacquiao, considered the most popular Filipino athlete ever, fought as a lightweight, a hotly contested division where a number of Filipino boxers, including the legendary Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, had failed to win the title for the country. 

Pacquiao, still the reigning WBC super-featherweight champion following his 12-round decision over Juan Manuel Marquez only last March, decided to move up in weight for his own convenience. Standing in the way of his bid for a fourth world crown was the 32-year-old Diaz. 

Pacquiao is given by the WBC some time to decide which title to keep and which one to relinquish. 

Pacquiao has also won the world flyweight and super-bantamweight titles, and beating Diaz made him the first Asian fighter to win four world titles in different weight classes. 

“That is my biggest motivation. History is at stake here,” Pacquiao, at 29 some three years younger than his adversary, said in training. 

Pacquiao and Diaz came face-to-face in Friday’s official weigh-in at the Events Center, and both fighters met the 135 lb lightweight limit. The Filipino superstar came in at 134.5 lbs to the delight of his fans while Diaz, a natural super-lightweight, tipped the scales at exactly 135 lbs. 

Pacquiao believed that he’d be in for a tough fight, a fight which he said could be as tough as the ones he had against Mexican superstars Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and Marquez. 

Pacquiao has beaten all these three Mexican warriors – both Morales and Barrera twice, and Marquez once after a controversial draw in 2004. Diaz, a Mexican who represented the US in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, was out for vengeance, saying, “Pacquiao has been beating up my countrymen.” 

Pacquiao knocked out Diaz in the 9th of a scheduled 12-round fight.