Manny Pacquiao Stops David Diaz

On David Diaz:

Manny Steward called him a throwback fighter, similar to Jake LaMotta. I agree, I also saw shades of Rocky Graziano, especially during the post fight interview. There's no pound for pound rating for hearts and guts, but if there were Diaz would be at the top of the list. Diaz is my kind of fighter, always trying, always coming forward, always believing he can win this fight, always throwing his punches. As Jim Lampley so aptly put it, "It was a merciful knockout". Diaz would still be punching otherwise. There is no quit in David Diaz!

On Manny Pacquiao:

He answered all the questions and then some. Pacquiao is a human dynamo, a force of nature, he was magnificent.. It doesn't make one bit of difference if Floyd Mayweather Jr. retires or not, Pacquiao has been the pound for pound champ for quite a while. If you don't think so, then you haven't been paying attention. I'll go one step further and say that Junior better stay retired because Manny just might invade the welterweights in the near future. Wouldn't surprise me.

On the Referee:

Vic Drakulich did what he was supposed to do. He gave David Diaz every benefit of the doubt that he could have. For the most part he let them fight their fight, as a good referee should.

On The Fight:
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Diaz started off confidently enough and was relaxed and clearly he wasn't intimidated by Pacquiao. In the second round it quickly became clear that Manny's speed and boxing ability was too much for Diaz. With a cut on his nose, and later in the fight, a cut over his left eye, it soon became a desperate situation for Diaz. The fight was as much about the courage of one man as it it was about the skill and total dominance of the other. Each round became a repetition of the last, only more so. On one hand it was painful to watch a man get so thoroughly beaten, on the other hand you just couldn't help but admire his belief that he could still win the fight. The fight was stopped at 2:24 of the ninth round by a Pacquiao straight left. It ended the only way it could, the only way it should for a warrior like Diaz. Pacquiao won the fight and Diaz' WBC Lightweight title. Boxing is alive and well, and thriving. Rumors of it's demise are premature.