For months, Manny Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach have told the media that the lightweight division would only be a pit-stop on the way to bigger and better things.

Even before Pacquiao won the WBC 135-pound title from David Diaz last June, the Filipino icon said he wouldn't stay at lightweight. On Tuesday, Pacquiao finally made it official by abdicating the WBC lightweight title.

The vacant WBC title will be up for grabs to the winner of the April 4 lightweight bout between the WBC's No. 1 contender Edwin Valero and No. 2 contender Antonio Pitalua.

Valero-Pitalua, which is the headliner for a Golden Boy Promotions pay-per-view show from Austin, Texas, was originally a 12-round bout for the WBC's “interim” title.

“The WBC sent a letter approving the Valero-Pitalua match for the full lightweight title,” Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer confirmed on Wednesday.

Pacquiao's last bout, an eight-round drubbing of Oscar De La Hoya, took place at welterweight (147 pounds). His next bout, a May 2 showdown with RING junior weltwerweight champ Ricky Hatton, will take place at 140 pounds.