Pacquiao Loudly States His Case as Boxing’s Best

Without a doubt, the fight of the week was the WBC lightweight championship of the world between Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao (47-3-2, 35 KO’s) and champion David Diaz (34-2-1, 17 KO’s). Pacquiao, boxing’s mythical pound-for-pound champion, was moving up from super featherweight (130 lbs) to fight as a lightweight (135 lbs) for the first time. The Filipino has jumped up an incredible eight weight divisions from the minimumweight division (105 lbs) since beginning his career. In choosing Diaz, Pacquiao knew exactly what he was in for, a fight with a tough but relatively limited opponent who could help showcase Pacquiao’s considerable talents.

There is an old adage in boxing – speed kills – and speed (along with precise punching) proved to be the gulf between a good fighter (Diaz) and a truly great one (Pacquiao). Before the bout, there were an abundance of questions; would Pacquiao’s punches have the same effect on his larger opponent? Could he cope with his opponent’s strength and punching power? After all, Diaz had fought as high as 147 pounds, and is naturally the bigger man. Would this latest move prove to be his downfall? Was he pushing the limit? Inquiring minds wanted to know.

The Filipino made it clear right from the start of the bout he was the boss, controlling the ring, pressing forward aggressively, and landing hard hooks and crosses to the face of his opponent. Diaz fought gamely but his offense never took hold and by the end of the fourth round, the Chicago native’s face was a bloody mess.

Round after round, Pacquiao dominated the action, at one point landing a left cross so cleanly the punch produced a loud sound that was a cross between a bone cracking (his jaw) and a baseball bat hitting a home run. Before the bout, Diaz was heard saying, “This is going to be fun.”

It didn’t sound particularly fun though. By round nine, Diaz was losing steam but still attacking. After one combination, Diaz shuffled out of range. He immediately moved forward to throw a punch but Pacquiao beat him to the bunch, landing a picture-perfect left to the point of the chin. Diaz dropped face first to the canvas, out cold. With the victory, Pacquiao became the first Filipino ever to win a world championship in the lightweight division.

Immediately after the bout, promoter Bob Arum informed those in attendance, “There is a possibility we could fight Ricky Hatton next year, That remains to be seen though.”

Yodsanan Shines, Saddam Blasts Sollano

Pattaya, Thailand: It was action-packed, and give and take while it lasted, but in the end, former WBA super featherweight champion Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai of Thailand proved too strong for Jimrex Jaca, stopping the Filipino in round six of the scheduled twelve-round contest.

Sor Nonthachai, nicknamed “The Thai Tyson,” lived up to his name, scoring with thunderous blows that noticeably affected the smaller man. Jaca bravely stood in with Sor Nanthachai, trading punches and connecting sporadically in rounds one through three, but Sor Nanthachai refused to let Jaca gain control of the bout, keeping him off balance with a mixture of stiff jabs and overhand lefts.

Jaca had his best round in the fourth, but Sor Nanthachai quickly squelched the attack, landing with crunching right hooks to the temple that rapidly depleted the power of the Filipino. In round five, Jaca, his face swollen and bloodied, threw left hook after left hook but the Thai marched forward and matched his punches tit-for-tat.

Sor Nanthachai picked up the pace in the next round until scoring with a hard right that knocked his opponent backwards. Sensing Jaca was hurt, he moved quickly to the Filipino, pressing him against the ropes and unloading with a barrage of punches. Jaca attempted to move out of danger but Sor Nanthachai knew the end was near. He let go another volley of punches, scoring with right hand after right hand until Jaca slumped over slightly and turned his body away from the attack, no longer capable of responding. The stoppage came at 1:36 of round six.

Sor Nanthachai tentatively plans to fight next in the United States on ESPN. The win brings Sor Nanthachai’s record to 56-3-1 with 45 KOs). Jaca drops to 28-5-3 with 13 stoppages.

On the undercard, Thailand’s Saddam Kietyongyuth displayed devastating speed and power in demonstrating why he is one of Thailand’s top prospects, stopping JR Sollano of the Philippines in round one of a scheduled twelve-round fight.

Sollano began the round popping out his jab, moving side-to-side; Kietyongyuth advanced, throwing jabs and overhand rights. Slightly over a minute into the round, the two traded punches in the center of the ring, with Kietyongyuth landing a left hook that landed on the point of the chin. Seconds later, Sollano turned away, suffering a delayed reaction from the effect of the punch, and dropped to the canvas. He took a nine count before springing up at the count of nine to beat the count.

Kietyongyuth moved in quickly, again throwing the jab, right cross combination. Again the two traded punches and once more Kietyongyuth’s punch found the mark first. Seconds later though, Sollano scored with a left hook of his own, knocking the Thai off balance and giving the partisan crowd a momentary scare. Kietyongyuth jumped back into the fray and immediately landed a massive left hook that put Sollano down and out. The referee did not bother to count.

The show was promoted by Asia Box Promotions.

P4P Top Dog?

First – please feel free to leave comments!

The big fight this weekend is without a doubt Pacquaio – Diaz. If you ask me straight up who will win – Pacquiao. Diaz is tough and comes to fight but I think Pacquiao is in a different league altogether. Diaz may not realize just how good the Filipino fight is but that’s probably a good thing. It should be a good fight because Diaz is going to bring his A game and is coming to win. Pacquiao should have no problem with the style of Diaz, in fact, their styles should compliment each other’s. Pacquiao is the sharper puncher, and the faster of the two fighters and in the end, this is what will be the downfall of Diaz.

Diaz should be able to hang tough for the first half of the fight but by the eighth round, the pressure of Pacquiao will start to have an effect. I don’t see Diaz knocking out Pacquiao – although anything is possible – so if he’s to win, he’ll have to eek out a close decision. I just don’t see that happening. Pacquiao will be too strong in the later rounds. I look for the FIlipino to hurt the rapidly deteriorating Diaz and after a barrage of punches, prompt the referee to step in to stop the fight. If Diaz is able to weather the storm, Pacquiao will have done enough to earn a lopsided unanimous decision.

Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll head to Pattaya for the Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai-Jimrex Jaca bout. I’m looking forward to the bout; Yodsanan should be too big, too strong, and too skilled for Jaca – Sor Nanthachai via KO8. Sor Nanthachai wants a title shot and I just don’t see Jaca being the guy to stand in the way of him getting it.

Apparently win or lose, Jaca’s next fight will be against Saddam Kietyongyuth. Saddam will have to get past JR Sollano but he’s in a different class than the Filipino and he should make short work of him.

Pacquiao recently took over the top spot P4P and this fight should show why. I just don’t see who can give him a run for his money at this time, other than Marquez, and he’s not going to give Marquez another shot. Marquez came all the way to the Philippines to challenge Pacquiao and it didn’t seem to do any good – Pacquiao knows he’s a dangerous fighter and he’ll also provide him with a life or death battle. No fighter needs that every single fight. Pacquiao’s shown he’s willing to fight anyone and since he’s already fought Marquez twice, he doesn’t really have much to prove by fighting Marquez again.

Yodsanan “Thai Tyson” Sor Nanthachai Ready for Jaca, Title Shot

Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai, Kru Sithyodtong, Daniel Potter, and Saddam Kietyongyuth

It’s been three long years since Thailand’s Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai (55-3-1, 44 KOs) lost his WBA super featherweight title to Vicente Mosquera (24-2-1, 12 KOs) in Madison Square Garden. In all-out slugfest that saw Sor Nanthachai hit the deck three times and Mosquera once. Sor Nanthachai, also known as Yodsanan 3K Battery and Yodsanan Sithyodtong, proved he had a granite chin, while Mosquera proved he deserved to be at the top of the heap.

Mosquera went on to hold the title for just over a year before suffering a tenth round knockout at the hands of Edwin Valero. He has been inactive since then. Sor Nanthachai has racked up eleven straight victories since the loss to Mosquera, and on Friday, in Pattaya, Thailand, he’ll face his toughest opponent in years when he goes up against Jimrex Jaca (28-4-3, 13 KOs) of the Philippines in a lightweight battle.

Currently ranked 8th by the WBA in the super lightweight division and 12th by the WBC and IBF at lightweight, Sor Nanthachai, 33, is ready to make another run at a world title.

Jaca, best remembered for his bloody nine-round battle with Juan Manuel Marquez, should present a stiff test for the Thai. Although Jaca hasn’t been the same fighter since losing to the Mexican – in his four subsequent bouts to the Marquez contest he’s scored one victory, one defeat, and two draws – he’ll act as a measuring stick to see where Sor Nanthachai stands in the lightweight and super lightweight divisions.

When asked if there were one champion he would prefer to fight, Sor Nanthachai replied flatly, “I don’t care who I fight or whether it’s at 135lbs or 140lbs. I’ll fight anyone; I just want a title shot.”

Also on the card, superb prospect Saddam Kietyongyuth (14-0, 10 KOs) faces JR Sollano (13-7, 9 KOs) of the Philippines for the vacant ABCO title. In his last bout, on the undercard of Chris John-Roinet Caballero, Kietyongyuth engaged in an all-out war with Indonesia’s Alex Bajawa (36-3-2, 11 KOs) before finally knocking out the veteran in the fifth round. Kietyongyuth hopes to land a bout with Australian-based Filipino fighter Ranee Ganoy.

This event is the first staged by fledgling promoter Asia Box Promotions.

Poonsawat Batters Butar Butar

WBA #1 and PABA super bantamweight Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym made short work of Jason Butar Butar, cruising for two rounds before turning up the heat and stopping the Indonesian in round three of their scheduled eleven round bout.

Both fighters started the fight cautiously, flicking out jabs, and probing for openings. In the last thirty seconds of the round, Poonsawat picked up the pace and began driving in the jab-straight right combination to steal the round.

Butar Butar took a defensive posture in the following round, backpedaling and only occasionally letting loose with his punches. Midway through the round, Poonsawat scored with a stiff right that clearly had an effect on Butar Butar, stopping him in his tracks. Now wary of the Thai’s power, Butar Butar covered up, completely disregarding his offense. Poonsawat fired off punch after punch without receiving a response, nearly ending the fight before the Indonesian was saved by the bell.

in the final stanza, Kratingdaenggym, sensing his opponent’s unwillingness to engage and inability to hurt him, moved forward aggressively while slamming hard shot after hard shot into the ribs of Butar Butar. The Indonesian collapsed and was down for the count. The time of the stoppage, 1:36 of round three.

After the bout, Kratingdaenggym said he’s ready to take the title from Celestino Caballero. The bout is tentatively scheduled to take place in Thailand sometime in October.

Also on he card, Jesus Singwangcha, now the chief sparring partner of Poonswat, went six, hard, give and take rounds with Nung-Ubon Sor Tanapinyo, coming out the victor to win his eighth bout in-a-row. Singwangcha, formerly Jesus Muzaka, has improved greatly since changing management and sparring with Kratingdaenggym.