An Open Letter to the Pacquiao-Diaz Winner

By Nate Campbell: To David and Manny, Good luck to both of you this Saturday. I know alot of folks are predicting Manny to win this with ease, but I also know it ain’t gonna happen that easily. But that’s neither here nor there. I’m writing this letter because I want the winner of your fight to really consider the history that could be made by fighting the winner of my September 13th fight with Joan Guzman, which of course I am confident will be me :-)

Anyways, the winner of your fight in meeting the winner of my fight has the chance to do something that has only been done once in the history of boxing. A complete unification of the IBF,WBO, WBC, and WBA world titles. The only other person in history to accomplish that feat was Bernard Hopkins. Roy never did it. Oscar never did it. Floyd never did it. Nobody except Bernard ever did it. And that’s not to say we would be better than those guys, or anything like that, but we do have the opportunity to do something that they never did. So lets truly make the effort, for the sake of history, to make a fight between us a reality, before mandatories, or other economic realities prevent the titles from staying together. We all know there is plenty of money to go around, and let’s face it, all of us are financially ok already anyways, so for once, let’s NOT make it about the money, and lets do whats right for boxing. We have a chance to make a complete unification happen. Lets not let money, or our promoters, or anything else get in the way of that.

As much as I love Don and Terry, I have no problem telling both of them that after the Guzman fight, they don’t need to bother sending me any bout agreements that don’t have either David or Manny’s name on it (whoever wins). And both of you could tell Bob the same thing. Don’t forget that these guys are supposed to work for US, not the other way around. And specifically to David, I know a fight with Manny would mean alot more $$ than a fight with you would, but if you win on Saturday, everything I have said here still stands. This chance to make history and unify all four world titles is bigger than you and me. Alot bigger. And even though it might not be for a ton of money, we still would need to fight, and not let this opportunity get away. It’s about history.

It’s about being the second man in the history of boxing to do this. And so to whichever of you guys wins on Saturday, don’t forget what this sport has given you, and understand that sometimes something needs to be given back. Relax a while, enjoy your victory, spend time with your family, and then tell Bob that the only fight you are interested in is the Campbell-Guzman winner. We can always make money, but it’s not too often that we get the chance to make history.

Nate Campbell
IBF / WBO / WBA Lightweight Champion