PACQUIAO VS. DIAZ
LETHAL COMBINATION

PACQUIAO VS. DIAZ
LETHAL COMBINATION
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Distributed by Canadastar Boxing Inc.
To Canadian Commercial Establishments
On Closed Circuit-Pay Per View

MANNY PACQUIAO
PROFILE AND BIO

- As at 13 February 2008-

At the age of 29, Manny is a 13-year pro - he made his debut at 16. He has been fighting at the top levels of competition and given some of the most exciting performances in recent years.

A three-division world champion, Manny Pacquiao won the WBC flyweight world title two weeks before his 20th birthday in December, 1998, and won the IBF jr. featherweight world title at 22 in 2001.

He won the WBC super featherweight world title in his last fight in March with a 12 round decision victory in the rematch against defending champion Juan Manuel Marquez. It was one of the most highly-anticipated fights of the year, and one of the most exciting. After the fight, Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com [excerpts]: After the tremendous action fight they waged in their disputed 2004 draw, nobody should be at all surprised that when Pacquiao and Marquez finally met in a rematch, they produced another enthralling, bloody and dramatic fight for the ages. We’ll certainly be talking about it at the end of the year when it comes time to pick the fight of the year.

It could have gone either way - they are so perfectly matched that virtually every round was close other than the third round, in which Pacquiao nailed Marquez with a left hand and knocked him down. The 12th round was also a big Marquez round. The disturbing thing was to hear the crybaby Marquez camp whining and complaining endlessly about the decision as though it was scandalous. They should be absolutely ashamed of themselves. It’s one thing to proclaim victory and express disappointment in a close decision loss. It’s another to imply that some kind of shadowy element had it in for you and that the judging was somehow not on the up and up.

There are fights in which certain scores are mind-blowing and you really have to question the competency of the judges. This was not one of them. It was merely a razor-close fight that was awesome to watch because it had many close rounds. Marquez really has only himself to blame for the defeat. If he didn’t get knocked down, the fight would have been a draw and he would have kept his title. Sure, many ringside media had it for Marquez, but only by a point or two, and even those who had him winning didn’t complain about the official decision.
Rank pay-per-view card."

KEY FIGHTS

2008

WON WBC SF WORLD TITLE - in his last fight on 3-15-08 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a 12 round split decision in the rematch against defending champion Juan Manuel Marquez (48-3-1): it was a fast-paced, exciting fight and the momentum shifted back and forth; Manny swept the 1st round on all three scorecards, but Marquez came back, staggered him with a right hand-left hook combination in the 2nd, and swept the round; Manny scored a knockdown with left hand that dropped Marquez flat on his back late in the 3rd round, rocked Marquez again later in the round and won the round 10-8 on all three scorecards, then swept the 4th round on all three scorecards, as well; Marquez rallied and swept the 5th, 7th, and 8th rounds, but was nicked over his right eye in the 5th, and cut badly over the same eye by a clash of heads in the 7th; Manny was also cut badly over his right eye; Manny staggered Marquez with a left hand early in the 10th round, then rocked him against with series of punches moments later and swept the round, but Marquez finished the fight very strongly – he swept the 11th round and won the 12th on two scorecards; scored 115-112, 114-113 Pacquiao, 115-112 Marquez...

2007

5TH WBC INTERNATIONAL SF TITLE DEFENSE - on 10-6-07 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a 12 round unanimous decision in the rematch against 33 year-old former three-time WBO jr. featherweight, IBF jr. lightweight and WBC super featherweight world champion Marco Antonio Barrera (63-5): the bout headlined at Mandalay Bay and drew a crowd of 10,112, and Manny dominated the fight; Barrera had his moments – he rocked Manny with a right hand in the 3rd round and scored with a hard left hook and left uupercut in the 5th, but Manny pressed forward and consistently outworked him; Manny staggered Barrera and cut him under his right eye in the 11th round, and Barrera was penalized one point for punching on a break later in the round after he staggered Manny with a right hand; scored 118-109, 118-109, 115-112; after the fight, Manny said, ““It was a good fight, and it was different from the first fight. He’s a good, smart boxer. I’m satisfied with the result. I knew he would have to box me this time around. I thought the people were happy with that fight. I’m trying to make people happy, to give a good fight. I hope that people liked this fight tonight. We did our best. I was careful in this fight. He’s still a good fighter. I was just lucky in the first fight that it happened like that.”...

4TH WBC INTERNATIONAL SF TITLE DEFENSE - in his last fight on 4-14-07 in San Antonio, TX, he knocked out Jorge Solis (32-0-2): The early rounds were tactical and close, and both were effective at times; Manny was cut over his left eye by a clash of heads in the 6th round, but rocked Solis later in the round; Manny stepped up his pace in the 7th round, then scored two knockdowns in the 8th – both with left hands – and he was counted out at 1:16; after the fight, Manny said, “In the early rounds I took it easy, but when I got a cut I was throwing more combinations and pretty soon I knocked him out.”...

2006

3RD WBC INTERNATIONAL SF TITLE DEFENSE - in his last fight on 11-18-06 in Las Vegas, NV, he knocked out former WBC super bantamweight, two-time featherweight, and super featherweight world champion Erik Morales (48-4): the fight headlined at the Thomas & Mack Center and drew an announced crowd of 18,276; Morales gave a tremendous effort, but Manny gave a sensational performance, dominated the fight, and quickly overpowered him; Manny rocked Morales with a right hook in the 1st round and scored a knockdown with a straight left hand in the 2nd; Manny staggered Morales, then scored a knockdown with a series of punches in the 3rd round – Morales came back with a furious attack and rocked Manny, but Manny scored another knockdown and Morales was counted out at 2:57;

2ND WBC INTERNATIONAL SF TITLE DEFENSE - on 7-2-06 in Manila, PHIL, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against former WBC super bantamweight world champion Oscar Larios (56-4-1): the fight headlined at the historic Araneta Coliseum, the site of the “Thrilla in Manila” in 1975; Larios had some early success and staggered Manny in the 3rd round, but Manny came back and cut Larios over the left eye later in the round; several rounds were close, but Manny had the edge in most and and gave Larios a severe beating; Manny scored one knockdown in the 7th round and another in the 12th, and won by scores of 120-106, 118-108, 117-111; after the fight, Manny said, “Their plan was for me to finish the match early, but my plan was that I would not rush, as long as I’m ahead on points. Sometimes if you rush, you may have a problem, because he can squeeze in a punch.”...

1ST WBC INTERNATIONAL SF TITLE DEFENSE - on 1-21-06 in Las Vegas he TKO’d defending champion Erik Morales (48-3): the rematch headlined at the Thomas & Mack Center, and drew announced crowd of 14,618; it was an exciting fight, and both gave tremendous efforts; the early rounds were close, but Morales rallied and swept rounds three through five on all three scorecards and after five rounds, led by scores of 49-46, 48-47, 48-47; but Manny came on strongly in the 6th - he consistently landed the harder punches and swept rounds six through nine on all three scorecards; Manny scored two knockdowns in the 10th - the first with a straight left hand, the second after a series of punches - and the referee stopped the fight without a count at 2:33; after nine rounds, Manny led by scores of 86-85, 87-84, 87-84; after the fight, Manny said, “The first fight was tough for me to go to the body because I had the bloody eye. The big difference is that I could see, I could see his punches coming. I saw I hurt him every time I hit him in the body. I wasn’t expecting to knock him out. I was lucky that I was to get to his body and his head.”..; Dan Rafael of ESPN.com reported, “Pacquiao...put on a spectacular performance in a sensational action fight.”...

2005

September: Won Vacant WBC International Super Featherweight Title against Hector Velazquez by a 12-round unanimous decision.

March: Lost Vacant WBC International and Vacant IBA Super Featherweight Titles against Erik Morales by a 12-round unanimous decision.

2004

December: Won by TKO IBF featherweight eliminator for the number 2 spot against Fahsan Thawatchai. Pacquiao scored one knockdown in the 2nd round, another in the 3rd, and two in the 4th. The referee stopped the fight without a count at 1:26 in the 4th.

May: : Fought to a 12-round draw in IBF/WBA Featherweight World Title Challenge against defending champion, Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao scored three knockdowns in the 1st round. In spite of Marquez's badly injured and bleeding nose during most of the fight, he showed tremendous heart and determination and gradually recovered and boxed effectively for much of the fight. He rocked Manny and cut him over the right eye in the fifth and staggered him in the sixth. The momentum went back and forth in an exciting second half of the fight. Pacquiao landed the harder punches but Marquez kept a busier pace.

2003

November: Won by TKO against former three-time WBO junior featherweight world champion, Marco Antonio Barrera. Barrera was considered by many observers to be the world's best featherweight and was a 4-1 favorite to win, but Manny gave a sensational performance. Replays showed that he was tripped when a punch was thrown in the first round resulting in a knockdown. Pacquiao dominated the rest of the fight scoring a knockdown in the third round, and then rocked Barrera with several punches later in the round. He relentlessy pressured Barrera and landed the harder punches and wearing him down. Barrera's left eye was swollen in the 4th round and he was cut over the same eye by a clash of heads in the seventh. Barrera was also penalized one point for punching on the break in the ninth. Pacquiao scored another knockdown in the eleventh round; Barrera got up, but Manny rocked him with a series of punches and Barrera's corner stopped the fight at 2:56.

July: Won 4th IBF Junior Featherweight World Title Defense by TKO against undefeated Emmanuel Lucero in a spectacular one-punch knockout. Lucero was an awkward opponent who pressed forward, dipped almost to the canvas at times and lunged at Manny with wide punches. Manny landed a single left hand in the 3rd round that sent Lucero staggering across the ring, out on his feet and the referee stopped the figh.

March: Won by TKO against Serik Eshmagametov. Manny scored a knockdown in the 1st round, but Eshmagametov rallied and scored a knockdown in the fourth. Manny came back strongly and scored two knockdowns in the 5th round. The referee stopped the fight at 1:52.

2002

October: Won 3rd IBF Junior Featherweight World Title Defense by TKO against Fahproakob Sithkwenim. Pacquiao scored four knockdowns in the first round and the referee stopped the fight.

June: Won 2nd IBF Junior Featherweight World Title Defense by TKO against Jorge Julio in a co-featured bout under the Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson main event. Manny scored two knockdowns early in the 2nd round and bloodied Julio's nose. Julio got up both times, but Manny rocked him again and the referee stopped the fight.

October: Fought to a technical draw in 1st IBF Junior Featherweight World Title defense against WBO world champion Agapito Sanchez. In a dirty fight with continuous mauling and repeated fouls, Manny was cut over the right eye in the second round by a clash of heads and later on the left ear. Sanchez was penalized one point in the third for pushing the laces of his gloves against Manny's cut and another point in the fourth for low blows. The fight went to the scorecards when the referee stopped the fight on Manny's cut eye in the sixth round.

October: Won 2nd WBC International Junior Featherweight Defense by TKO against previously undefeated British Commonwealth Champion, Nadel Hussein. The aggressive Hussein scored a knockdown in the 4th round but was also penalized one point. Manny came back in the fifth round and cut Hussein over and under his left eye. The fight was eventually stopped on the cuts in the tenth round.

September: Lost WBC Flyweight World title against Medgoen Singsurat when he did not make weight at the weighin. Manny was knocked down in the third and was counted out and sigsurat won the vacant title.

April: Won 1st WBC Flyweight World Title Defense by 3rd round TKO against Gabriel Mira.