INQUIRER Sports

World Boxing Council president Jose Sulaiman, impressed by Manny Pacquiao?s demolition of David Diaz in Las Vegas, said the Filipino boxing icon is the ?best boxer in the world.?

?To me Manny Pacquiao showed himself to be the best boxer of any division in the world today,? said Sulaiman, according to Philboxing.com

The WBC chief was at special ringside at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and handed the WBC lightweight championship belt to the newly crowned champion after his ninth round knockout win over the game Diaz.

Sulaiman, who had predicted Pacquiao would win, said ?I?ve never seen him so perfect in throwing all of his punches. He was so intelligent to come in at exactly the right moment, completely dominating his rival with a speed which was the same when he was a featherweight. Manny is the best of the best.?

Pacquiao indeed showed his best form against Diaz, whom he turned into a bloody mess to capture the WBC lightweight crown and become the first Asian fighter to win four titles in different weight divisions.

Pacquiao, 29, also won the WBC flyweight, International Boxing Federation (IBF) Super Bantamweight, and the WBC super featherweight crowns.

Sulaiman said he felt, as Pacquiao actually did, that the fight should have been stopped by referee Vic Drackulich at the end of the sixth round.

But he was quick to praise dethroned champion for his courage and fighting spirit, saying ?what a fighter. He has a big heart, as very few possess.?

Sulaiman, meanwhile, scoffed at a possible third fight between former super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez and Pacquiao, who won the 130 pound title from the Mexican in a close split decision win last March 15 also at the Mandalay Bay.

He also downplayed the possibility of a Pacquiao-Marquez trilogy, stating that ?Marquez decided to go to the minor leagues and fight for a different title.?