Pacquiao to challenge for WBC lightweight title

Pacquiao, the current WBC super featherweight champion, will be moving up to 135 pounds and challenge for Diaz’s WBC lightweight title.

Pacquiao (46-3-2, 34 knockouts) earned a 12-round split decision over Marquez at Mandalay Bay last month. Both fighters were left bloodied and battered, and an immediate demand surfaced from Marquez’s camp for a third fight. However, Top Rank president Bob Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, would not deviate from the long-term plan to fight Diaz, who is 34-4-1 with 17 KOs.

“Manny was having difficulty keeping his weight at 130 pounds,” Arum said Thursday. “I didn’t want him to struggle at 130.

“I also think the styles will make for a great fight. Diaz isn’t flashy, but he has an iron chin, and he never gives up. It’s a tough fight for Manny.”

As for that rubber match with Marquez in the fall, Arum said it’s possible.

“I talked to (Golden Boy Promotions CEO) Richard Schaefer this morning and told him that Marquez needs to keep busy,” Arum said. “If Manny beats Diaz, there’s all sorts of options. He can look at Nate Campbell. He can look at (Joel) Casamayor. He can look at Marquez.

“Richard asked me about Marquez fighting Casamayor, and I’d love to see that fight with the winner fighting Pacquiao in the fall.”

Freddie Roach, who trains Pacquiao, said he expects Pacquiao to arrive in Los Angeles in the next couple of weeks from the Philippines to begin training for Diaz.

“Manny’s playing basketball back home,” said Roach, who is in Las Vegas training Bernard Hopkins for his light heavyweight title fight with Joe Calzaghe Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center. “But he’s going to do all his training in L.A.

“He told me he’s ready to go.”

The Pacquiao-Diaz fight will be shown on a pay-per-view basis on HBO, and tickets, priced from $100 to $600, go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Mandalay Bay box office and through Ticketmaster.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.