Veteran boxing analyst Ronnie Nathanielsz on Saturday said he believes Pinoy boxing champion Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao would bring home the lightweight championship of the world title during his match with Mexican fighter David Diaz on Sunday morning (Manila time) in Las Vegas, Nevada.
"He will win. I don’t see any way he can be beaten. He is too fast, he is too strong and he is too smart for David Diaz as a boxer," Nathanielsz said on ANC’s Dateline.
While Pacquiao's camp boasts that they can finish the fight in 9 out of 12 rounds, Diaz vows to put up a good fight in defending the title.
Nathanielsz said that he thinks the bout will go 12 rounds since Diaz is a "very strong, determined young man and has trained very hard. He is hard to knockout, hard to put away."
Diaz, he said, is a world champion and has beaten some of the best fighters in his weigh division.
"Pacquiao is up against a guy who is strong, very durable and is in great condition and will come at him for 12 rounds. He will not stop. That's his style David Diaz. That's why he will be a difficult opponent in that respect," he said.
Classic match
Excitement is running high for the battle between Diaz and Pacquiao in a clash aptly dubbed "Lethal Combination" at the Mandalay Bay Arena in Las Vegas.
Boxing analysts and afficionados believe the fight is going to be a classic match in boxing and one of the best fights of the year.
However, Nathanielsz said that Diaz will not be able to beat Pacquiao that easily since the Filipino boxing champ has beaten "every Mexican legend in town."
"And if you look at them side by side in terms of their natural abilities Pacquiao is a far more exciting fighter than Diaz. Diaz is a plodder. He just come at you, he will lean on Pacquiao and try and hope for the best. I talked to him a few days ago and he told me my plan is to fight to go the distance. If the fight goes the distance that's my best chance," said Nathanielsz.
The boxing analyst said Pacquiao has been training his footwork and also working on a variety of punches.
"He has been accentuating his footwork because he has to move in a different way. He is also working on a variety of punches--the hook, the uppercut because normally, Pacquiao's most devastating weapon is the left straight. That's the one that kills," he said adding, "But now he is working on the hook because he is fighting a different kind opponent. So he has had to make some changes in strategy and in fight plan in training."
Pacquiao all set
In a phone patch from Las Vegas, ABS-CBN correspondent Dyan Castillejo meanwhile reported that the Filipino fighter is in great shape and all set for Saturday evening’s (Las Vegas, USA time) fight.
Castillejo said that majority of the crowd who attended the weigh-in hosted by Michael Buffer were Filipinos. A lot of Filipinos have arrived in Las Vegas from the Philippines and from other US states to support Pacquiao.
"Manny was very appreciative of the overwhelming support of his kababayans and Diaz, he was very cool even if Pacquaio got most of the cheers even from some Mexicans," Castillejo said.
It was Pacquiao who first went up to the scale and was reportedly half a pound below the limit at 134.5 lbs. while Diaz came at exactly at 135 lbs.
"The fighters got together for a very long time. They posed to the audience, showed off their physique which was the fruit of the very hard training," she said.
She added that even the Mandalay Bay Hotel is all set for the Mexican-Filipino match with souvenirs for the fight such as caps, jackets and even Philippine flags are up for sale in the lobby.
Both fighters’ names and posters are also found all over the hotel, she added.
Tickets for the 11,000-capacity arena are now close to 9,500 and are expected to increase on the last day.
Castillejo said that Pacquiao, who had gone from 130 to 135 lbs, had hinted that he may want to go up to 140 lbs next fight.
"His plan is to fight Ricky Hutton who is a 140 pound champion in November. That's his plan. He and his handlers look ahead. Bob Arum looks ahead, what fight is best suited for Pacquiao next," Nathanielsz said.
However, Nathanielsz has this to say in the event Diaz wins.
"We will weep for a week. We will have another tragedy. The ferry sinking was bad enough, the floods are even worse. Pacquiao losing? I don’t know how many people have already jumped the tallest building."
"He will win. I don’t see any way he can be beaten. He is too fast, he is too strong and he is too smart for David Diaz as a boxer," Nathanielsz said on ANC’s Dateline.
While Pacquiao's camp boasts that they can finish the fight in 9 out of 12 rounds, Diaz vows to put up a good fight in defending the title.
Nathanielsz said that he thinks the bout will go 12 rounds since Diaz is a "very strong, determined young man and has trained very hard. He is hard to knockout, hard to put away."
Diaz, he said, is a world champion and has beaten some of the best fighters in his weigh division.
"Pacquiao is up against a guy who is strong, very durable and is in great condition and will come at him for 12 rounds. He will not stop. That's his style David Diaz. That's why he will be a difficult opponent in that respect," he said.
Classic match
Excitement is running high for the battle between Diaz and Pacquiao in a clash aptly dubbed "Lethal Combination" at the Mandalay Bay Arena in Las Vegas.
Boxing analysts and afficionados believe the fight is going to be a classic match in boxing and one of the best fights of the year.
However, Nathanielsz said that Diaz will not be able to beat Pacquiao that easily since the Filipino boxing champ has beaten "every Mexican legend in town."
"And if you look at them side by side in terms of their natural abilities Pacquiao is a far more exciting fighter than Diaz. Diaz is a plodder. He just come at you, he will lean on Pacquiao and try and hope for the best. I talked to him a few days ago and he told me my plan is to fight to go the distance. If the fight goes the distance that's my best chance," said Nathanielsz.
The boxing analyst said Pacquiao has been training his footwork and also working on a variety of punches.
"He has been accentuating his footwork because he has to move in a different way. He is also working on a variety of punches--the hook, the uppercut because normally, Pacquiao's most devastating weapon is the left straight. That's the one that kills," he said adding, "But now he is working on the hook because he is fighting a different kind opponent. So he has had to make some changes in strategy and in fight plan in training."
Pacquiao all set
In a phone patch from Las Vegas, ABS-CBN correspondent Dyan Castillejo meanwhile reported that the Filipino fighter is in great shape and all set for Saturday evening’s (Las Vegas, USA time) fight.
Castillejo said that majority of the crowd who attended the weigh-in hosted by Michael Buffer were Filipinos. A lot of Filipinos have arrived in Las Vegas from the Philippines and from other US states to support Pacquiao.
"Manny was very appreciative of the overwhelming support of his kababayans and Diaz, he was very cool even if Pacquaio got most of the cheers even from some Mexicans," Castillejo said.
It was Pacquiao who first went up to the scale and was reportedly half a pound below the limit at 134.5 lbs. while Diaz came at exactly at 135 lbs.
"The fighters got together for a very long time. They posed to the audience, showed off their physique which was the fruit of the very hard training," she said.
She added that even the Mandalay Bay Hotel is all set for the Mexican-Filipino match with souvenirs for the fight such as caps, jackets and even Philippine flags are up for sale in the lobby.
Both fighters’ names and posters are also found all over the hotel, she added.
Tickets for the 11,000-capacity arena are now close to 9,500 and are expected to increase on the last day.
Castillejo said that Pacquiao, who had gone from 130 to 135 lbs, had hinted that he may want to go up to 140 lbs next fight.
"His plan is to fight Ricky Hutton who is a 140 pound champion in November. That's his plan. He and his handlers look ahead. Bob Arum looks ahead, what fight is best suited for Pacquiao next," Nathanielsz said.
However, Nathanielsz has this to say in the event Diaz wins.
"We will weep for a week. We will have another tragedy. The ferry sinking was bad enough, the floods are even worse. Pacquiao losing? I don’t know how many people have already jumped the tallest building."
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