by Keith Terceira
Parties close to Manny Pacquiao informed us several hours ago that Pacquiao was in Manila rather than Baguio doing some religious works.
Freddie Roach last week had reported that camp was to officially start yesterday but the legendary fighter was a no show on day one.
“Manny is Manny, you know. We’ve been together more than a decade. He’s always been like that. But when he starts working out, he’ll make the most out of it even to the extent of killing himself,” Roach stated during a recent interview. “As I trainer, I always allow him to do whatever he wants, but in training, he knows I would do whatever I want. He’s the fighter, he fights. I’m his trainer,” he said. ‘That’s what our relation is all about. That’s why we are successful, perhaps.”
“That’s the reason why I felt glad learning from Manny’s mouth himself that he’s changed. No more gambling, drinking, night owling. Just teaching his fellowmen the Bible,” he added.
Though Pacquiao by all accounts has changed his life for the better he stills needs to focus his attention on the task at hand and begin preparing for a rough fighter that has been handed a chance to dethrone and embrass the Pound-4-pound king.
By Keith Terceira
Juan Manual Marquez earned the WBO crown in a 12 round decision over Ukraine’s Sergey Fedchenko last Saturday in Mexico City. That lopsided victory has him discussing with the media (once again) Manny Pacquiao.
Though the line of challengers for Marquez’s title is long , he has chosen once again to look for that big payday, and possibly sweet revenge for the three outings that have already gone into the record books.
Frankly though, are fight fans interested in seeing the two meet again , so soon after the last controversy.
This boxing fan is much more interested in seeing junior welterweight boxer Mike Alvarado, who was impressive in his narrow victory over Mauricio Herrera , Saturday in Las Vegas. Alvarado is interested as he commented in a recent interview;
“I want Marquez. I’m the one that deserves that fight.”
Brandon Rios as well is mentioned for a shot at Marquez but it remains to be seen if his terrible performance and gifted victory over Richard Abril will force fans to find something more interesting to do on fight night.
On the list of potential opponents for Marquez is Filipino lightweight Mercito “No Mercy” Gesta, an undeated southpaw like Pacquiao, and a victory over Gesta could promote another Mexico versus Philipines grudge match.
Reportedly Mercito has been told by Bob Arum that his next bout will take place, July 14th, at the Cowboys Stadium in Texas. This would be the perfect venue for a Marquez – Gesta event.
“He didn’t say the opponent, but I’m really hoping it’s for a world title,” Gesta said.
By Edwin Espejo
Rep. Manny Pacquiao is not the first, nor will he be the last, athlete to use his popularity in promoting his religious belief – turning to the bible to profess his spiritual transformation.
But others are simply born and raised into it.
Among them is Philippine-born Timothy Richard ‘Tim’ Tebow – current toast of American sports.
Tebow or Timmy, as he is called by fellow Filipino members of the Baptist Church, even has a pre-game ritual named after him which the American press now calls ‘Tebowing.’ Tebowing (with no pun intended to ‘Noynoying’) has been defined as getting down on a knee and start praying (also known as genuflecting), “even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different.”
Now America’s most popular quarterback, Timmy starts every game he played and plays with his famous genuflect on the field.
Timmy extends his religiosity inside the locker room where he reads passages from the Bible. He is however unlike Manny, a recent convert of the Bible. Timmy’s devotion to the Bible extended way back to his father Bob who served as a missionary and an evangelist in the Philippines in 1985. Bob’s evangelical mission took him to many places in the country but he found home in General Santos City and eventually settled for many years in Surallah, South Cotabato.
Timmy however did not grow up in the country as his parents went back to the US when he was three years old (Timmy was born in a Makati hospital).
by Nino Ray Yeh
Look for some Manny Pacquiao vs Timothy Bradley Fight updates? Well we have a couple of news that will interest boxing fans of both parties. A lot of fans are very eager to see Manny Pacquiao in the ring with this undefeated American Timothy Bradley (28-0, 12 KO’s). Will Bradley yield to the Pound for Pound King Pacquiao or will he be standing up to his undefeated rank?
In an interview with Yahoo Sports news, Juan Manuel Marquez said that Timothy Bradley’s key factor in this fight will be his Hand speed. According to him, this is not going to be an easy fight for Manny Pacquiao. Bradley has been labeled as a very fast fighter, comes with his speed is his endurance. As we all know, Pacquiao did not picked Marquez as his next opponent, instead he hand picked personally 28 year-old Timothy Bradley over Marquez. His reason is that he wants to bring out the excitement and interest of fans that he think will aspire from this June 9, 2012 match.
By Roderick Osis
ARRIVING during the weekend, Sarangani representative and eight weight division champion Manny Pacquiao starts the tough four week grind in the Summer Capital for his upcoming bout.
With Freddie Roach already touching down Baguio City as early as Wednesday, Pacquiao together with conditioning coach Alex Ariza and other members of the team has formally opened training camp as he prepares against junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley.
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Pacquiao’s WBO welterweight belt will be on the line come June 9 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Roach arrived in the Philippines last week and has already started training British boxer Amir Khan, who has an upcoming bout of his own on May 19 against Lamont Peterson.
Meanwhile, the Baguio City Police office has earlier assured the People’s champ and his entourage security as soon as they arrive in the Summer Capital who will have their high altitude training for at least four weeks.
This will be the fourth time Pacquiao will train here in Baguio City since opening camp in 2009 where he fought Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto, returned for training for Antonio Margarito in 2010 and prepared for three weeks against arch nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez.
By Osman Rodriguez
Former three division world champion “Sugar” Shane Mosley is probably one of the best experts to give an opinion on the May 5th mega-bout between Miguel Cotto and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mosley fought, and lost, to both boxers. Mosley lost a twelve round unanimous decision to Cotto in November 2007 and nearly three years later, in May 2010, he lost a twelve round unanimous decision to Mayweather.
Next month at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Mayweather (42-0, 26KOs) challenges Cotto (37-2, 30KOs) for the WBA’s 154-pound title. Mosley faces WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in the co-feature.
By Allan Fox
At this point there’s really not much of the Top Rank stable of fighters for WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao to obliterate. He’s already beaten Joshua Clottey, Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito. Pacquiao is facing new Top Rank signee Tim Bradley next month on May 5th, and Pacquiao is expected to win that fight without too many problems.
So where does Pacquiao go next? Bob Arum of Top Rank doesn’t have too much left for Pacquiao in his stable. Does Arum keep Pacquiao in a fight against someone like the towering unbeaten 6-foot welterweight contender Mike Jones or lightweight Brandon Rios or does Arum look to match Pacquiao against an outside fighter like the winner of the June 23rd fight between Andre Berto and Victor Ortiz.
The winner of that fight would make for a good opponent for Pacquiao, because those guys can punch unlike Bradley. They would give Pacquiao some problems while the fight lasts. However, neither of those guys are Top Rank fighters and that could get in the way of the fight being made.
By Frank Warren
IT’S hard to believe last week was the 25th anniversary of Sugar Ray Leonard’s epic with Marvin Hagler.
Just as the public now are demanding to see Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jnr get it on, back in the 1980s they wanted a super-fight and a showdown between Leonard, who was the sport’s golden boy, against the mean and moody Hagler.
And on April 6, 1987 they fought in a specially-built 15,000-seat outdoor stadium at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas with millions watching live on closed-circuit TV.
Hagler, who came into the fight as WBC world middleweight champion, got the slightly bigger payday of 12 million dollars while Leonard earned $11m — massive money then and still big by today’s standards.
Many feared for Leonard’s health as he was coming back from a near three-year lay-off and eye surgery to take on the fearsome southpaw who was unbeaten in 11 years and had defeated Roberto Duran and stopped Tommy Hearns in a thrilling three-round war.
Leonard made one of the most remarkable comebacks in boxing history when he danced and fought his way to 12-round decision to capture Hagler’s title and reserve his place among the greats.
It wasn’t a thriller but Leonard, being the smaller man, fought a clever fight at a distance with constant movement so the heavier-punching Hagler could not do any damage.
Leonard later said: “I was so fast, man! He couldn’t hit me for nothing! When he finally did hit me, it was like, ‘This is it?’”
Leonard would plant his feet every now and then and unload with a flurry of punches to catch the judges’ eyes. Hagler fell behind on the scorecards and despite coming on in the later rounds he couldn’t take him out.
ESPN staff
Floyd Mayweather Snr believes age might already be catching up with his son Floyd Mayweather Jnr – but insists the American remains a bigger box office draw than arch-rival Manny Pacquiao.
Mayweather Jnr is currently preparing for a light middleweight meeting with Miguel Cotto in May as a super-fight against Pacquiao continues to prove impossible to arrange – with the Filipino set to meet Timothy Bradley in June.
With a showdown never agreed between the two stars, the debate about who is the superior boxer has only continued to grow and evolve – but Mayweather Snr believes there can be no doubt about which fighter is the more popular with the fans.
“It’s been proven already that my son can sell more tickets than Pacquiao! It’s been proven that on a couple of different occasions that my son can sell more tickets than Pacquiao,” Mayweather Snr told radio show On The Ropes.
With Mayweather Jnr now 35 years old and Pacquiao just two years younger, time appears to be running out for the dispute to ever be resolved in the ring. Even if it a meeting does belatedly happen, Mayweather Snr fears neither fighter will still be at their peak.
“Age might be catching up with him [Mayweather Jnr] now. I’m pretty sure it’s catching up with him. He’s not Superman,” he said. “He’s not Superman or anything like that. He’s a normal person just like we are and I’m pretty sure that age is going to catch up with all of us anyway, some just faster than others.
“Even though he keeps his body and stuff in good shape, you know I’m pretty sure that’s going to have a big thing to do with it too.”
by Imran Shaukat Khan
Juan Manuel Marquez, three-division world champion and the current WBO and The Ring Lightweight Champion, lost to the eight-division world champion, Manny Pacquiao, back in 2011 in one of the most eagerly awaited fights of the year. It was the third fight between both pugilists but still the Mexican is not satisfied, as he wants to fight Pacquiao for a fourth time.
Nothing is confirmed as of yet but it seems may be the boxing fans will get to see the fourth instalment of Marquez versus Pacquiao since Marquez is still looking for it and the Filipino star will not have much options in front of him after he gets done with Timothy Bradley on June 9.
Marquez, also known as the Mexican Dinamita, will take on Serhiy Fedchenko today in Mexico City Arena in Mexico but while expressing his thoughts with the media he insisted that a rematch with Pacquiao is what he and everyone out there wants to see.
“I considered retiring because everybody knows I want to fight Manny again and that I won the last fight, and I feel very angry about that decision,” Marquez said. “Everybody knows I was looking for the rematch with Manny, but I don’t know what happened. The most important thing is, I like to fight and I will fight on [Saturday] and I am very happy about that. But I don’t know what happened with the rematch.”
Marquez’s all three fights with Pacquiao unfortunately ended up in a storm of controversy, as they were all very close and many thought that Marquez was the better fighter on the night still Pacquiao got away with all of them except the first one, which ended up in a draw.
Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum, in the meantime, was all praises for Marquez since he believes Marquez is a true professional.
ABS-CBNnews.com
MANILA, Philippines – Juan Manuel Marquez believes his nemesis, Manny Pacquiao, will have a difficult time beating Timothy Bradley.
That’s because Bradley is just as quick, if not quicker than Pacquiao, said the Mexican boxing star.
“You know, Bradley is a very difficult fight for Manny Pacquiao,” Marquez said in Yahoo! Sports. “Very difficult. Bradley is a very fast fighter.”
The Filipino superstar thrives on speed and agility, using these attributes to dominate bigger but slower opponents.
But Marquez thinks Pacquiao looks vulnerable when pitted against a fighter with similar speed.
Read more: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/04/14/12/pacquiao-vulnerable-against-quick-fighters-says-marquez
by onthebeak.com
Five-time Trainer of the Year Freddie Roach, coach of Manny Pacquiao, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and Amir Khan, predicts the jab of WBA welterweight world champion Vyacheslav Senchenko will be the difference in his Saturday, April 29 world title defence against challenger Paulie ‘Magic Man’ Malignaggi, airing live on pay per view from Donboss Arena in Donetsk, Ukraine.
Undefeated Senchenko (32-0-0, 21ko), rated number five in the world by The Ring magazine, has been training at Roach’s famed Wild Card Gym in Hollywood. The 2000 Ukraine Olympian captured the WBA title in 2009, winning a 12-round decision from previously undefeated Yuriy Nuzhnenko, and Vyacheslav has successfully defended his world title belt three times: Motoki Sasaki (DEC12), Charlie Jose Navarro (DEC12) and more recently Marco Antonio Avendano (TKO6) last August in his last fight.
“Senchenko is a very, very good boxer with good technique,” Roach recently said from his California boxing club. “He has good height and a good punch. He had a great amateur background. Ukraine has the number one program in the world this year. It has a very good program and Senchenko is very well schooled. His jab is his best weapon and I think that will be the difference in this fight. He has a faster jab than Malignaggi and it should control the fight.
“I think Senchenko’s boxing ability will enable him to out-score Paulie to win a decision. Paulie is very game. He’ll bring the fight and make it exciting. Going to the Ukraine is not like going into hostile territory. The promoter [Yuri Ruban, Union Boxing] over there is very fair. One time I had a fighter from there – I thought he won – but he lost a decision at home. There will be neutral judges and the winner will be the real winner.”
by Waldo Rastel
It seems that we always complain about Jim Lampley when he interjects his feelings into his play-by-play calls. The best example of this phenomenon is when Lampley tried to interject some excitement into a boring Manny Pacquiao fight and just started spouting absolute nonsense. Yet, he is getting his own boxing show on HBO, which will only make me miss BLH radio. Before his show airs, Michael Woods had a chance to ask him a couple questions about the potential Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather megafight.
by (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)
MANILA — The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), led by Vice President Jejomar Binay, is preparing for the swearing in of its latest recruit, Sarangani Representative Manny Pacquiao.
Reports of Pacquiao bolting the majority coalition of congressmen backing President Benigno Aquino III surfaced on Thursday, when the world boxing champion expressed willingness to join Binay’s camp after the two met in an event of the Philippine Sportswriting Association (PSA) last month.
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But for party president Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, it actually took 10 months for them to finally convince Pacquiao to be part of PDP-Laban, which recently formed an alliance with the camp of former President Joseph Estrada for the 2013 midterm elections.
“We already have a meeting of the minds but we have yet to finalize the schedule of the oath-taking. I cannot say yet if it will happen before he takes on Timothy Bradley this June,” Pimentel said, referring to Pacquiao’s upcoming defense of his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao, who lost his first try in politics in 2007, said he is going to run for governor next year, trading positions with incumbent Governor Miguel Rene Dominguez in deference to a political arrangement last July.
Dominguez is constitutionally barred to contest for a fourth consecutive term.
Pacquiao, who runs the Sarangani-based People’s Champ Movement (PCM), will likely hold the position of provincial chairman, Pimentel said, although he “can also be a national officer if he wishes.”
ABS-CBNnews.com
MANILA, Philippines – Mexican champion Juan Manuel Marquez said he refuses to look past his next opponent even as he admitted hoping for a fourth fight against Manny Pacquiao.
Marquez will be fighting Ukrainian boxer Sergey Fedchenko in a super lightweight bout in Mexico City on Saturday.
The gutsy Mexican vowed not to underestimate the unheralded Fedchenko.
“All fights are risky, no matter what,” Marquez said in Yahoo! Sports. “You know what, there is no such thing as a sure thing. I need to do the same things to win a fight like this that I would if I were fighting Pacquiao or [Floyd] Mayweather.”
After his controversial loss to Pacquiao last November, Marquez said he thought he will be given an immediate rematch.
Read more: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/04/13/12/marquez-keeps-focus-next-foe-instead-pacquiao
by Alex Groberman
Don’t look now, but a fourth installment of Manny Pacquiao versus Juan Manuel Marquez appears to be heading our way.
Back in November of 2011, Pacquiao and Marquez participated in one of the most exciting and contentious big-name fights of the year. While many expected Pacquiao to make quick work of his older opponent en route to a knockout finish, the bout actually wound up going the distance – with some feeling as though Marquez had fought the better match. Eventually the judges gave the win to Pacquiao, though, and when that happened, the public outcry for a rematch could be heard all over the world. (Seriously, all over the world. That’s the sort of international appeal this shindig had.)
In the months since then, that outcry has quieted down dramatically. Somewhere between Pacquiao dangling a perspective bout versus Floyd Mayweather Jr. in front of fans and him eventually agreeing to a much less appealing match against Timothy Bradley, everyone forgot about the fight the entire boxing world wanted to see more than any other on the morning of Nov. 13, 2011.
By Dan Rafael | ESPN.com
Juan Manuel Marquez, a three-division champion and a certain future member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, is a proud man.
So after suffering the disappointment of losing a controversial majority decision to welterweight titlist Manny Pacquiao in November, in their third fight, Marquez wanted nothing more than a fourth meeting with his superstar rival.
But Pacquiao and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum had other ideas, which is why Pacquiao will instead defend his belt against junior welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley Jr. on June 9. Marquez was so upset he didn’t immediately get another shot at Pacquiao that he thought about calling it a career.
“I considered retiring because everybody knows I want to fight Manny again and that I won the last fight, and I feel very angry about that decision,” Marquez said. “Everybody knows I was looking for the rematch with Manny, but I don’t know what happened. The most important thing is, I like to fight and I will fight on [Saturday] and I am very happy about that. But I don’t know what happened with the rematch.”
Ultimately, Marquez, a fighter at heart, changed his mind. Rather than retire or pout about Pacquiao’s decision, he decided to fight on. With no big-name opponent available, he nonetheless wanted to stay busy and accepted a fight against little-known Sergey Fedchenko (30-1, 13 KOs) of Ukraine. They will meet for a vacant interim junior welterweight belt on Saturday night (Top Rank PPV, 9 ET, $44.95) in the first sports event to be held at the new Mexico City Arena in Mexico City.
“He is a professional, a true professional,” Arum said of Marquez. “He is a smart man and he knows what it’s all about, and he knows that complaining, once the judges render the decision, doesn’t change the result. So you pick yourself up and continue your career. I sort of suspect that the best is yet to come in Juan Manuel’s career.”
The fight is a homecoming for Marquez (53-6-1, 39 KOs). He is from Mexico City but hasn’t fought there since 1994, his second year as a professional fighter. Opening a new building to boxing in his hometown has helped excite Marquez for a fight against an opponent that few have heard of.
“It’s a great motivation to be at home,” Marquez said. “It’s a great satisfaction and, at the same time, a great responsibility. I have prepared quite well. It is a difficult fight, but I am looking forward to a great fight to show everyone how proud I feel about being Mexican and fighting once again at home.”
In the televised co-feature of the split-site card from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Brandon Rios (29-0-1, 22 KOs), of Oxnard, Calif., will face Miami-based Cuban Richard Abril (17-2-1, 8 KOs) for the vacant lightweight belt Rios was stripped of in December when he failed to make weight for a defense against John Murray.
Read more: http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/7808293/juan-manuel-marquez-stalking-manny-pacquiao
By: Roger Pe
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Martin Scorsese directed hugely acclaimed films like “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull,” “Good Fellas,” “The Departed,” “Shutter Island,” and this year’s Oscar nominated “Hugo.”
Erykah Badu is known for her cerebral music style. Oftentimes, she is called the “Queen of Neo-Soul” music.
Manny Pacquiao is… Who doesn’t know him?
All three icons star in Hennessy’s “What’s Your Wild Rabbit?” ad campaign, the brand’s return to TV advertising after a five-year hiatus.
Launched last month, it is the largest marketing investment by the world’s number one cognac brand in its 247-year history.
According to folklore, rabbits run wild in the French Cognac region. Though the animals are rarely seen, stories have been told that they drive people to chase for success.
Chasing a wild rabbit is about pursuing your dreams, never tiring no matter what the difficulties are, never giving up even when the doors have been seemingly shut and life has almost knocked you down completely.
Many stories have been told about Manny Pacquiao’s humble beginnings, a harsh life of debilitating poverty after his father left his mother for another woman.
Life as a construction worker, janitor, cigarette vendor, bakery helper, bread peddler, he did many other menial odd jobs to keep body and soul together.
He ended up in the boxing ring, a brutal life maiming his opponents at every mandatory countdown. A devastating knock out during his early boxing career almost exterminated the Manny Pacquiao we see today.
But life has a way of rewarding back those who keep on walking, err, running.
Directed by Johnny Green, the Manny Pacquiao part is about his wild rabbit chase, condensed into a gut wrenching 90-second spot, of grit, determination and something to mull over long after the last boxing bell had fell into deafening silence.
It is not by luck, nor by any chance that the new Pacquiao commercial came out as an inspiring advertising.
It was handled by no less than David Droga, founding chair of Droga5, last year’s Cannes Lion Outdoor Grand Prix winner and past competition head of jury.
Together with his equally stellar Executive Creative Director Ted Royer, he made sure it would be.
Both Droga and Royer were frequent Manila visitors during the mid-90s as part of their regional roles, overseeing Asian Saatchi and Saatchi agencies’ creative output.
Read more: http://business.inquirer.net/53251/ny-agency-creates-global-pacquiao-ad
By James Slater
Even though he is, by his own admission, currently working his ass off for a fight that will happen in less than a month, unbeaten superstar Floyd Mayweather Junior is still being peppered with questions about a fight that has an average at best chance of happening.
Mayweather, as we know, faces the formidable challenge of Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto on May 5th (actually, it will be Floyd who does the challenging, for Miguel’s 154-plound title), and this fight has attracted quite some buzz amongst boxing people. But still, despite the soap opera having dragged on for far, far, far too long already, media types continue to ask Mayweather Junior about the possibility of him facing fellow superstar Manny Pacquiao.
The latest news on this tiresome subject is this: Lance Pugmire of The L.A Times was told by “Money” that “No, I don’t think it’s going to happen. It’s because of Bob Arum. It’s not my fault.”
Doubtless many fans will agree with Floyd when it comes to who is holding up/preventing the potential classic. Arum has been singled out as the bad guy a number of times before and some writers, Dan Rafael for one, feel Arum is the biggest problem when it comes to the two Pound-for-Pounders being able to meet and settle their differences in the ring.
However, some people – such as Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach and Mayweather trainer and uncle Roger Mayweather – remain somewhat optimistic.
“There’s nowhere else for them to go,” Roach said of Team-Mayweather.
Read more: http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=31565&more=1
By Dino Maragay (The Philippine Star)
MANILA, Philippines – Boxing observers and fans can probably kiss goodbye their hopes for a megafight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. to happen this year.
This after Mayweather himself expressed doubt that a fight with Pacquiao will be made following the undefeated American’s bout with Miguel Cotto next month.
“No, I don’t think it (Mayweather-Pacquiao fight) is going to happen,” Mayweather said in an article by Lance Pugmire of The Los Angeles Times.
For a long time, boxing fans have been clamoring for a showdown between two of the best boxers in the world. Several negotiations to put the fight together have failed, with the Pacquiao and Mayweather camps blaming each other for various reasons.
There was Mayweather’s demand for an Olympic-style drug testing to be conducted prior to the fight – something Pacquiao initially balked at but eventually agreed to do. Then came the issue of the purse split, with Mayweather insisting to get a larger piece of pie than the logical 50-50 sharing.
But Mayweather singled out one person as being the cause for the failed talks.
“It’s because of Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum. It’s not my fault,” he said.
Both fighters ended up with different opponents, with Pacquiao taking on Timothy Bradley roughly a month after Mayweather faces Cotto.
Meanwhile, the trainers of Pacquiao and Mayweather were one in saying their wards should meet in the ring soon.
Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach said Pacquiao fighting Mayweather would be the most logical move for both stars.
“There’s nowhere else for them to go,” Roach said.
For his part, Mayweather’s chief cornerman and uncle Roger Mayweather insisted that his nephew will have little trouble disposing of Pacquiao.
Read more: http://www.philstar.com/sportsarticle.aspx?articleid=796488&publicationsubcategoryid=69
By Hougigo Martin (Correspondent)
Last November, Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38KO) fought his longtime Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez (53-5-1, 39KO) for the third time to settle their little rivalry once and for all.
Pacquiao and Marquez had a draw in the first match and the second one going to Pacquiao by split decision. Both fights ended in controversy as they were both close fights that could have gone either way.
While the third fight was supposed to settle the score between the two once and for all, it ended once again in controversy as Pacquiao took a majority decision while many felt Marquez did enough to take the belt form the champion.
With the door still open, a fourth fight between the two is possible, but as days went by after the fight it seemed more and more unlikely that the two would fight each other again. The reason being that people have seen them fight three times already and the results were controversial each time. It just feels like no matter how many times we watch the two fight, it seems it will always be a close/controversial fight between the two, so why keep watching?
MANILA, Philippines – Manny Pacquiao found himself involved in another lawsuit amid claims that his foundation failed to pay shipping charges on a consignment that was seized by the Philippine customs.
The Manny Pacquiao Foundation, which the pound-for-pound boxing king uses to support his favorite charities, tried to import a shipment of “relief goods” from the US using an unnamed logistics company in 2009.
According to TMZ on Yahoo Sports, when customs officials found the containers to be holding used clothes, which do not qualify as “relief goods” under Filipino law and are subject to excise duties, the shipment was impounded.
As a result of the load not being delivered to its destination, it is claimed, the foundation refused to pay its bill with the shipper. However, all major logistics companies, such as FedEx and UPS, include a clause in every contract that insists on full payment, even if a package is not delivered due to customs irregularities.
The foundation is being sued for the full shipping charge of $35,806.36, plus interest, while the containers continue to sit undistributed in a Filipino port.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of high-profile controversies surrounding Pacquiao.
He drew criticism over his attendance record in Congress and was forced to respond to a contempt claim brought by Filipino tax authorities. He also resorted to legal action following allegations he had housed a fugitive former politician at his home.
Pacquiao’s camp and the Manny Pacquiao Foundation could not be reached for comment. However, swift changes to the structure of his foundation were implemented this week. Pacquiao’s trusted promoter, Bob Arum, and Las Vegas hotel and casino magnate Steve Wynn were among several new appointments to the board of trustees in a move that should serve to offset some of the damaging publicity brought by the lawsuit.
Read more: http://www.philstar.com/sportsarticle.aspx?articleid=796193&publicationsubcategoryid=69
BY RAPPLER.COM
MANILA, Philippines – A day after Vice President Jejomar Binay welcomed world champion boxer and Sarangani congressman Manny Pacquiao to join the senatorial ticket of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), Pacquiao, through a staff member, told Rappler he is not running for senator.
Rose Tamayo, Pacquiao’s public information officer, said the boxer was “very honored” by the Vice President’s statement since he is a man Pacquiao respects. But the 8-division world champion is not eligible to run.
“It’s not the right time for him to run for the Senate because he’s only 33 years old,” said Tamayo over the phone. “The age limit is 35.” The senatorial race will be in May 2013.
Pacquiao will, however, run for governor of Saranggani as previously announced, according to Tamayo.
Read more: http://www.rappler.com/sports/3705-pacquiao-won-t,-can-t-run-for-senator
by Charles Jay
The Manny Pacquiao Foundation is the latest part of the world champion’s life to take a hit.
When are “relief goods” for flood victims NOT relief goods? I guess when they are used clothing. As a result of not qualifying as relief goods, they were held by customs, remain undelivered, and are at the center of a lawsuit filed by the commercial shipper of these goods (not identified in the original report by TMZ.com), who insist that problems with customs are hardly THEIR problem, and take measures to cover their ass in that regard.
The amount in question is around $36,000, which might be enough to replace all four tires on one of Pacquiao’s cars, although come to think of it, it’s equal to about 22% of the entire tax bill he paid in 2010.
In light of all this, Pacquiao has now started to pay some attention. He’s bringing new, powerful blood onto the board of directors of the foundation, with heavy hitters like Bob Arum and Steve Wynn. They’ll be joined by some physicians from the Cleveland Clinic, along with a lawyer, an accountant, and, well, you probably know how the age-old tradition of “damage control” works.
Like a lot of things that have gone on with the Filipino icon in the last few years, the foundation probably had no sense of institutional control.
And I, for one, am not going to lay all the blame at his feet.
I cannot imagine that Pacquiao is aware of the day-to-day goings-on with this organization, and I certainly don’t think that the illegal shipment was sent with his knowledge or sanction. You can’t really expect the guy to be on top of all issues at once.
As much was said by the very writer Pacquiao has slapped with his most recent libel suit. Edwin Espejo, whose “Pacquiao Watch” column has reported on Manny extensively through the years, notes that the foundation was not exactly a full-time operation, with employees showing up at the office only when PacMan was in town. and asserts that there have been so many people out there with agendas of their own that it is not inconceivable that some of them – even those associated with the foundation – may be running a little game and using his considerable notoriety to do it.
Read more: http://www.boxinginsider.com/columns/dont-ride-manny-pacquiao-too-hard-on-foundation-scandal/
by Don Tagala, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau
NEW YORK, N.Y. – Manny Pacquiao’s fight billboards have often been seen in the middle of a sea of billboards and gigantic widescreen TVs in Times Square, but none of them became as controversial as his latest billboard endorsing Hennessy, an expensive Cognac brand.
The ad quotes Pacquiao, “Fighting the fights that really matters: That’s my wild rabbit.”
Pacquiao said it’s not about Hennessy. It’s more of an inspiring ad on how to follow your dreams and be successful.
But Filipinos in the East Coast who have seen the ad had mixed reactions.
Bernard Guerzon of Rockland, New York said, “When you’re in an alcohol ad, you’re not being the best role model for everyone that looks up to him.”
While East Brunswick, New Jersey resident Nora Sagad said, “Napatunayan naman natin na he’s a changed man, part lang yan ng trabaho, advertisement lang naman yun.”
“Well it’s just an advertisement, since he says he’s a changed man, he’s probably not drinking that thing, that liquor,” said Issalina Sagad.
Another East Brunswick fan, Ruth Uchida said, “Hindi mo mapi-please ang lahat so as long as his personal life, pina-practice niya yung napag-aaralan niya sa Bible then that’s what matters.”
Read more: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/04/12/12/pacquiaos-liquor-ad-ny-draws-mixed-reactions
By Frances Mangosing
INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Following the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s filing of the tax evasion case against its former poster boy, boxing icon and Representative Manny Pacquiao, half of INQUIRER.net readers think it was only the right thing to do.
In a poll conducted between March 29 and April 12, 51.73 percent or 2,682 answered “BIR is only right to go after Pacquiao” to the question, “What do you think of the BIR’s tax case against Manny Pacquiao?”
However, 32.15 percent or 1,667 thought it could be talked over by answering “BIR and Pacquiao should settle the case amicably.”
Meanwhile, 16.12 percent or 836 voted that “Pacquiao is right in calling the BIR move as harassment.”
In March, the BIR filed a tax evasion case against Pacquiao, for his alleged failure to submit complete tax records for the year 2010.
Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/175693/%E2%80%98bir-is-right-going-after-pacquiao%E2%80%99
By Miguel Rivera
BoxingScene.com has been advised by promoter Fernando Beltran of Zanfer Promotions, who represents Juan Manuel Marquez (53-6, 39KOs), that he started discussions with the representatives of Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38KOs) to stage a possible fourth clash at the new Arena Mexico in Mexico City.
Beltran states the discussions with Pacquiao’s reps have gone well. This Saturday, Marquez will stage the first ever boxing event at the new Arena Mexico. He faces Sergey Fedchenko (30-1, 13KOs) for the interim-WBO junior welterweight title. If Marquez wins, he will possibly return on July 14 at Cowboys Stadium in Texas.
Read more: http://www.boxingscene.com/pacquiao-marquez-talks-fourth-bout-mexico-city–51671
By Roy Luarca
Philippine Daily Inquirer
A FOURTH installment of the heralded Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez face-off is in the offing. And, chances are, it will no longer be staged in LasVegas but in Marquez’s turf— Mexico City.
Fernando Beltran of Zanfer Promotions, which manages Marquez, told Miguel Rivera of BoxingScene.com Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) that his group has initiated discussions with Pacquiao’s representatives and these “have gone well.”
“Having (the fight in Mexico) is not being viewed as a bad thing,” said Beltran. “There are many benefits to having the Pacquiao fight made there.”
Beltran is said to be so enamored with Pacquiao-Marquez IV that he has vowed to bring the showdown—projected to be held in Nov-ember—to the spanking-new Arena Mexico.
Read more: http://sports.inquirer.net/40107/pacquiao-may-clash-with-marquez-a-fourth-time
By Dino Maragay (philstar.com)
MANILA, Philippines – Boxing observers and fans can probably kiss goodbye their hopes for a megafight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayeather Jr. to happen this year.
This after Mayweather himself expressed doubt that a fight with Pacquiao will be made following the undefeated American’s bout with Miguel Cotto next month.
“No, I don’t think it (Mayweather-Pacquiao fight) is going to happen,” Mayweather said in an article by Lance Pugmire of The Los Angeles Times.
For a long time, boxing fans have been clamoring for a showdown between two of the best boxers in the world. Several negotiations to put the fight together have failed, with the Pacquiao and Mayweather camps blaming each other for various reasons.
There was Mayweather’s demand for an Olympic-style drug testing to be conducted prior to the fight – something Pacquiao initially balked at but eventually agreed to do. Then came the issue of the purse split, with Mayweather insisting to get a larger piece of pie than the logical 50-50 sharing.
But Mayweather singled out one person as being the cause for the failed talks.
“It’s because of [Pacquiao promoter] Bob Arum. It’s not my fault,” he said.
Read more: http://www.philstar.com/SportsArticle.aspx?articleId=796298&publicationSubCategoryId=200
by Alex Groberman
Floyd Mayweather Jr. seems to have given up on the idea of perhaps facing off against his arch rival, Manny Pacquiao, at some point this fall.
The much-discussed showdown between Mayweather and Pacquiao has been the subject of boxing analysis consistently over the last three years. Ever since Mayweather returned from his self-imposed 21-month sabbatical (in 2009) claiming that he wanted to prove that he was the sport’s biggest star, the prospect of him and Pacquiao agreeing to a bout has had fans salivating.
Unfortunately, between red herring performance-enhancing drug (PED) battles and equally ludicrous arguments about potential purse splits, all of the talk we’ve heard up to this point has just led to more of the same – talk.
During a recent interview with Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times, Mayweather acknowledged that he didn’t foresee taking on Pacquiao after his bout versus Miguel Cotto this May.
“No, I don’t think it’s going to happen,” Mayweather said. “It’s because of [Pacquiao promoter] Bob Arum. It’s not my fault.”
Of course it’s not Mayweather’s fault.
Back at the beginning of 2012, things actually looked relatively sunny in terms of getting this match put together. The only stumbling block that anyone could see was how the financial breakdown would turn out. But seeing as Pacquiao had once agreed to give his counterpart the lion’s share of the purse if this fight ever happened, even that seemed like it wouldn’t be a huge hurdle.
Of course, it did end up being a huge hurdle.
Rick Rockwell
There’s a growing sentiment among the boxing universe that Manny Pacquiao might be vulnerable in his upcoming fight against Timothy Bradley. Pacquiao has recently faced numerous personal issues that could distract the fighting congressman, which could bode well for Bradley. According to a Tuesday April 10th report by Yahoo! Sports, Manny Pacquiao’s charity foundation, which bares his name, has just been named in a lawsuit. This lawsuit comes on the heels of Manny facing tax penalties and potential criminal charges for his personal taxes from 2010.
The lawsuit against Manny’s foundation states that the organization never paid shipping charges on a delivery of relief goods that were shipped to the Philippines. The fees associated with this lawsuit is roughly 36,000 dollars, not including interest since the goods are still sitting in a shipping container. the alleged incident took place in 2009.
In addition to the tax problems and this recent lawsuit, Manny has also come under scrutiny in his role as Congressman due to his lack of attendance and questionable affiliations. Even Manny’s family members have become subject to media attention. All of these issues don’t even compare to the huge cloud hanging over Manny’s head in regards to a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. not materializing.
By Joseph Santoliquito
He’s survived it all. The battles with Miguel Cotto, Oscar De La Hoya, Juan Manuel Marquez (just barely), Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley and Ricky Hatton.
He’s somehow managed to stay afloat amid myriad parasites—and they are many in boxing, the hangers-on with their hands out looking for something for nothing. And then there is the step into Filipino politics, a maggot-infested cesspool that is far worse than anything Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall could have conjured up.
Manny Pacquiao had a poor training camp in preparation for his latest fight against Marquez. Everyone watching saw a fading Pac-Man in the later rounds who somehow managed to eke out the victory. This time, Pacquiao has “The Man,” the Filipino version, coming after him and hovering.
In March, Pacquiao was facing contempt charges by the Philippines’ Bureau of Internal Revenue for his refusal to provide documentation relating to his income sources and tax payments. Pacquiao said he would fight the charges, but he also publicly said something else, admitting he couldn’t train hard lugging this new set of excess baggage.
He does have a major fight coming up. Against Timothy Bradley on June 9, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Against a stubborn, fearless opponent who won’t back down and will keep coming at him, testing Pacquiao that if he isn’t 100-percent, he will lose.
At one time, no one multi-tasked better than Pacquiao. At one time in his career, he had a very strong taste for the nightlife, carousing in pool halls into the wee hours of the morning when he should have been leading a more Spartan existence for a budding world-class fighter.
Pacquiao somehow managed to survive that spell.
Read more: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1141487-will-outside-distractions-finally-derail-manny-pacquiao
By Ryan Burton
We welcomed Tim Bradley to the most recent edition of The Boxing Lab, BoxingScene.com’s official audio show. You can hear the entire interview by clicking http://tobtr.com/s/2997117. Bradley faces WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao on June 9th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
One of the key components that Bradley will have to deal with is Pacquiao’s power. The Filipino is known for his deadly combination of speed and power. I asked Bradley if he wants to feel his opponent’s power early on so that he will know exactly what he is up against.
“Hell yeah, I definitely do. I get in the ring with a lot of people who say they can punch. I get hit with a big shot flush in the chin and I’m like ‘that’s it’?” Stated Bradley. He also said that if he is able to take Pacquiao’s power early that the pound for pound champion will be in for a long night. “If he can’t rattle me its going to be one hell of a fight. If its nothing too crazy then it’s one hell of a fight. I think I will make an adjustment.”
Read more: http://www.boxingscene.com/bradley-pacquiaos-team-wants-get-rid-me-early–51655
By Lance Pugmire
LAS VEGAS — Floyd Mayweather Jr. told The Times he is not among those who believe the long-awaited showdown against Manny Pacquiao is likely to happen in the fall.
“No, I don’t think it’s going to happen,” Mayweather said of a Pacquiao fight. “It’s because of [Pacquiao promoter] Bob Arum. It’s not my fault.”
Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach, and even Mayweather’s uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, have speculated recently that Mayweather and Pacquiao will fight in November, should Mayweather defeat Miguel Cotto (May 5) and Pacquiao defeat Timothy Bradley (June 9).
“There’s nowhere else for them to go,” Roach has said.
Roger Mayweather said Tuesday amid such talk that he promotes the idea of “making the Pacquiao fight next” because his nephew looks incredibly sharp in training on the heels of a victory over Victor Ortiz in September.
“This is the best I’ve seen him since the Diego Corrales fight,” Roger Mayweather said. “He hasn’t been laid off at all, he’s come back tight, sharper.”
Of making the Pacquiao fight, Roger Mayweather said, “Why wouldn’t you? There ain’t no way that guy [Pacquiao] lasts five rounds against my nephew.”
Talks this year to stage Mayweather-Pacquiao unraveled with Mayweather promising Pacquiao no more than a $40-million guarantee, unacceptable to the Filipino superstar’s camp who want an even split of revenues and believe the fight can generate about $150 million in profit for the fighters to share.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-mayweather-pacquiao-20120411,0,5295936.story
By: Ashley White
Alex Ariza, strength and conditioning coach for Manny Pacquiao the current WBO welterweight champion, has indicated Pacquiao’s lack of interest to train due to a bunch of controversial issues he is in right now. According to Alex, Pacquiao is taking the risk of not being up to the mark.
In his recent interview, Ariza said, “We can’t have a bad camp. His physical conditioning is very important. This must happen all the way. He’s [Bradley] a high-volume puncher who’ll come forward. Bradley’s not a technical guy like [Juan Manuel] Marquez. He fights somewhat like Manny. That’s why I think it’ll be an explosive fight. It’s up to Manny how to prepare for Bradley. And against Bradley, he wants to prove something. His competitive spirit will take over. How he trains will impact on how he does against Bradley. If he trains properly, Manny could blow that guy away in less than five rounds.”
It should be noted here that the bout between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley would have the Filipino’s welterweight title on the line. Therefore, it is imperative for Pacquiao to be in the right condition before he steps in the ring against Bradley. The fight is scheduled for June 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. If Pacquiao is able to win, it will be his 55th victory.
By Nick Giongco
Night and day, images of Tim Bradley keep on appearing in Buboy Fernandez’s head like a bad dream.
Having forcibly been fed with videos of Bradley’s fights every night the past couple of weeks, Fernandez has come to know his boss’s opponent from head-to-foot and inside-and-out and is looking forward to the night of June 9 in Las Vegas when all the hard work comes into play.
“I know what’s going to happen to him (Bradley),” Fernandez told the Bulletin with a hearty laugh on Monday as he was keenly awaiting the arrival of Manny Pacquiao at a gym owned by businessman-sportsman Rey Golingan in General Santos City.
Fernandez did not elaborate about his bold statement but one could not be faulted if he starts to picture Bradley, bruised and bloodied, either being saved by the referee from further bodily harm or lying on his back ala Ricky Hatton.
The right-hand man of Freddie Roach for over ten years now, Fernandez is Pacquiao’s childhood buddy – and even a comic – but oftentimes inspiring presence in the Filipino’s corner.
Read more: http://www.worldboxingnews.net/2012/04/team-pacquiao-we-know-what-will-happen.html
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/sports/04/11/12/pacquiao-starts-training-gen-san
MANILA, Philippines – Filipino boxing champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao is back in the gym to prepare for his upcoming title defense against undefeated American boxer Timothy Bradley, Jr.
It has been five months since Pacquiao’s last bout – a majority decision win over Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez – and the boxer is shaking off his ring rust in General Santos City.
Pacquiao will then head off to Baguio City to begin his training camp with trainer Freddie Roach.
Pacquiao will defend his WBO welterweight title against Bradley on June 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Mornings @ ANC, April 11, 2012.
Read more: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/sports/04/11/12/pacquiao-starts-training-gen-san
by Andre
Manny Pacquiao has again become involved in a peculiar lawsuit amid claims that his foundation failed to pay shipping charges on a consignment that was seized by customs authorities in the Philippines.
The Manny Pacquiao Foundation, which the pound-for-pound boxing king uses for his charities, tried to import a shipment of “relief goods” from the United States to the Philippines using an unnamed company in 2009. Based on TMZ reports, the shipment was impounded because customs officials found the containers to be holding used clothes, which do not qualify as “relief goods” under Filipino law and are subject to excise duties.
Because the load was not delivered to its destination, the foundation refused to pay its bill with the shipper. However, all major logistics companies, such as FedEx and UPS, follows a specific rule in every contract that insists on full payment, whether or not the package is delivered due to customs irregularities.
The foundation is being sued for the full shipping charge of $35,806.36, plus interest, while the containers of “relief goods” are still undistributed.
The high-profile lawsuit is the latest is a series of controversies surrounding Pacquiao, whose reputation in the Philippines has been tainted in recent years. Also, his role as a congressman in his country has brought extra attention that results to negative headlines.
Read more: http://empowerednews.net/manny-pacquiao-illegally-smuggled-goods-for-the-poor/1822109/
By Nick Tylwalk
Thanks to the presence of Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao’s status as the best boxer on the planet is always up for debate. What can’t be questioned is that he’s the busiest fighter in the world when he’s not actually in the ring.
Pac-Man sings, appears in movies, and owns his own basketball team. He may or may not chase around women who aren’t his wife. He serves as a congressman, potentially to set up a presidential bid down the road, and generally does a lot to help the people of the Philippines in any way he can. None of this is news.
Trainer Freddie Roach has gone public with his fears about the non-boxing parts of Manny’s life swallowing up the boxing side before, but usually in a way that made it seem like a minor concern instead of a full blown panic. He may have been crying wolf if he had sounded a louder alarm, because through it all, Pacquiao has continued to win. It doesn’t feel like it, but as of last month, it’s been seven years since Pac-Man last tasted defeat at the hands of Erik Morales – a loss he avenged twice back in 2006.
This time, though, feels different. The news that has broken over the past 24 hours about Pacquiao’s charitable foundation getting sued for failure to pay thousands of dollars in shipping charges (and possibly knowingly breaking the rules over what constitutes “relief goods”) comes on the heels of other bad news since 2012 began. Namely, that he housed a fugitive and made some “mistakes” with his taxes.
Maybe all of this, too, is no big deal. Longtime fitness coach Alex Ariza made it sound that way, telling Martin Rogers of Yahoo! Sports that, “Manny is used to distractions and stuff like that,” in what may go down as a classic case of understatement. Reports also have Pacquiao giving up betting on cockfights and leaning heavily on his faith. Maybe everything swirling around him is, like people in the Boston Red Sox used to say about mercurial slugger Manny Ramirez (in a somewhat different context, but still), just “Manny being Manny.”
Read more: http://www.opposingviews.com/i/sports/year-distractions-outside-ring-finally-get-best-manny-pacquiao
(ThyBlackMan.com)
During the promotional tour for his forthcoming fight with Timothy Bradley, Manny Pacquiao has stated that he will adhere much more strictly to the exercise regime recommend by his strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza then he did when preparing for his last two fights with Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Marquez.
Assuming that Manny Pacquiao will honour this commitment, his bout with Bradley has the potential to answer a question that has profound implications for the Filipino champion’s future in boxing: namely, was Manny Pacquiao’s rather lack-lustre performances against Shane Mosley and Marquez a result of irreversible physical decline, or was it a function of the much more reversible factors of failing to adhere properly to the exercise regime stipulated by his strength and conditioning coach?
As it stands there is some reason to believe that Manny Pacquiao may be suffering from physical decline. Having now reached the age of 33 it would not be surprising if Manny Pacquiao’s speed and reflexes had diminished somewhat. I am no expert on the relationship between age and boxing performance but, as far as I understand, it is not uncommon for boxers’ to experience a decline in foot and hand speed in their early to mid thirties. To take just one example – which I acknowledge is not really sufficient to properly demonstrate the point – the 30-year-old Muhammad Ali that fought and dramatically knocked-out George Foreman was not nearly so quick as the 22-year-old Ali who danced around and then knocked-out Sonny Liston.
Furthermore, if you subscribe to the notion that the more a person uses his or her body the quicker his or her body will physically deteriorate – a scientifically naïve theory, but one that has some prima facie plausibility – there is further reason to believe that Manny Pacquiao’s disappointing showing against Mosley and Marquez was as a result of physical decline. Manny Pacquiao turned professional when he was 16 years old, which means that he has been subjecting his body to the intense physical strain of life as a professional boxer for 17 years – over half of his life. He is also known to train exceptionally hard when preparing for a fight. His trainer Freddie Roach has stated in many interviews that during training camps he has to almost force Manny Pacquiao to work at a lower intensity.
Read more: http://thyblackman.com/2012/04/11/manny-pacquiao-vs-bradley-interesting-match-up/
By Rene Ciria-Cruz
ROME (The New York Times)—Vatican officials have launched a frantic investigation into the unauthorized release of the transcript of God’s recent conversation with world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.
Officials of the Roman Curia, the Holy See’s ruling body, are appalled that someone with access to the Archivum Secretum Vaticanum illicitly passed on an official copy of the classified document to a columnist of INQUIRER.net in the Philippines, which published it verbatim.
Pacquiao, today’s best pound for pound pugilist, told a Philippine radio show that he spoke with God in a dream and that the Almighty asked him to quit boxing soon. As a result, he has turned to preaching, which eventually will be his new vocation in addition to politics.
Serious security breach
The release of the full transcript of the conversation is a serious security breach, declared Caparbio Ficcanaso, chief of the special unit of the Pontifical Swiss Guards assigned by the Curia to track down the source of the leak.
“It’s the religious version of attorney-client privilege,” Mr. Ficcanaso stressed, “except lawyers charge more. God is fine with a few candles and a sincere prayer.”
He expressed relief that his unit members do not have to wear the guards’ colorful but swishy uniform on this assignment. “We tend to stand out in tutus and tights,” he told a Times reporter who met him in a typical trattoria near Peter’s basilica for the obligatory local color.
An inside job
A reliable source said someone hiding in the vast, shadowy stacks of the Vatican Library could have sneaked into the Archive’s restricted entrance nearby, and filched, photocopied and returned the transcript without being seen by the sinister albino guardian who was also in the Da Vinci Code.
“Paranoid members of the Opus Dei who are always lurking in the corridors also failed to notice,” he added.
The short document published by INQUIRER.net reveals for the first time a somewhat complicated relationship between the boxer and his maker. In it, God complains that Pacquiao and his ilk “always put me in a terrible bind.”
(TRANSCRIPT BEGINS)
[GOD] Emmanuel “Manny” “Pacman” Dapidran Pacquiao, WE HAVE TO TALK. Right now. I’m so busy being in charge of everything, even when that leaf on your guava tree is going to fall, there’s not enough days in the week, I tell you.
[PACQUIAO] Don’t you get Sunday off?
Theoretically. But with all the sacraments I must…enough about me. I’m here to give you a piece of my mind!
Sir Lord, is it really you?
Who else makes a cloudy entrance with angels blowing trumpets in the background?
Lady Gaga?
See. That’s why you need talking to. Your head is now filled glitter and glamour. You’ve been palling around with the wrong crowd. Paris Hilton? Who’s next, Snooki, Kim Kardashian?
Is that why I’m not sure if people still like me? Even the BIR is harassing me.
Manny, you simply must give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. But you’ve been giving to the wrong Caesar.
Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Lord. Even Jinkee got mad.
Exactly. Quit gambling. And Saint Peter is complaining that you go through roosters like there’s no tomorrow. Enough of the cockfights, okay?
Don’t be angry, Lord. I always pray to you to give me strength and power.
Yeah, yeah, so you can beat the other fellow to a bloody pulp—and have I denied you?
Just 3 times out of 54.
Read more: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/32467/transcript-of-pacquiao%E2%80%99s-talk-with-god-leaked
By Zachary D. Rymer
Another day, another outside-the-ring controversy for boxing great Manny Pacquiao.
According to Martin Rogers of Yahoo! Sports, Pac-Man has found himself in a bizarre lawsuit stemming from an incident involving The Manny Pacquiao Foundation in 2009. The story goes that the foundation tried to ship “relief goods” from the United States to his native Philippines using an unnamed logistics company, only to have the shipment impounded by customs officials.
The shipment was impounded because officials found the containers to be holding used clothes, which do not qualify as “relief goods” under Filipino law.
After the shipment was impounded, the foundation refused to pay its shipping bill. Because of that, the foundation is now being sued for the full shipping charge of $35,806.36, plus interest.
Strange, right?
Indeed it is. The idea that a high-profile athlete could be involved in a lawsuit is nothing out of the ordinary, but an athlete being involved in a lawsuit of this sort is nothing if not original.
So it goes for Pac-Man. Compared to most boxers, Pac-Man used to be a paragon of virtue outside of the ring. But these days, his outside-the-ring life is pretty messy.
By King J
Manny Pacquiao’s new Hennessy commercial is creating quite a buzz among the boxing world and around the internet worldwide.
If you have not seen it yet, it’s almost like a throwback to the more younger, hungrier, prime Manny Pacquiao who was all business in training camp, and more so, all business in the ring.
Nowadays Pacquiao is, for the most part, highly distracted with numerous engagements with politics, music, television and a movie career that seem to make his plate very full.
We may even see evidence of his decline in his most recent performances against older opponents Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Marquez.
The commercial is done really well, like a movie showing a glimpse of the true reality of how hard it must have been to come up from absolutely nothing in the slums of the Philippines.
We see Manny, or what might be a younger version of Manny, running and shadowboxing in the streets of the Philippines—dark footage of dirty boxing gyms.
Then, we see every-day Filipino people gathering around a television set to watch their now idol fight for their nation and people.
Manny is seen staring down the camera and mad dogging as he’s walking to the ring.
This is not the same Manny we have been seeing lately who often smiles whenever cameras are on around him.
Even when fighters are supposed to have their ultimate game face on and stare down their opponent for that last-minute intimidation and mind warfare tactics, lately, Manny has been smiling and even cracking up in laughter as he tries to stare down his opponents in the weigh-ins.
When was the last time we even saw Manny really stare down an opponent? You would probably have to go all the way back to the Erik Morales’ trilogy.
Also, of course, we all know Manny has been walking to the ring with the biggest smile on his face possible as if he just found out he has the winning Mega Millions lottery ticket in his pocket. This is the complete opposite of how he’s seen walking into the ring in this commercial.
Hennessy’s campaign theme is: “What Is Your Wild Rabbit?”
Meaning that in Cognac, France, where Hennessy is made, they have folk tales that wild rabbits are wild creatures that are rarely seen, but they’re said to be in people’s minds, and they are the drive that motivates one to achieve success.
The commercial ends with Manny wearing a very expensive suit looking like he’s about to walk on the red carpet to the Oscars.
By ABS-CBNnews.com
MANILA, Philippines – Vice-President Jejomar Binay on Tuesday said Sarangani congressman and 8-division boxing champ Manny Pacquiao is welcome to join the senatorial ticket of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).
In a visit to Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, Binay confirmed that the coalition of his Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) party and former President Joseph Estrada’s Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) is attracting many potential candidates for the 2013 polls.
He confirmed Pacquiao is one of the names being floated as a possible senatorial bet. He added, however, that any talk of the Pacman’s possible senatorial run will have to wait until after his prize fight with Timothy Bradley in June.
Read more: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/04/10/12/pacquiao-senator-2013
By Recah Trinidad
Philippine Daily Inquirer
HAS MANNY Pacquiao been impeached as world pound-for-pound boxing king?
Definitely not, says this latest genuine information from Los Angeles, California, very close to where experts conduct the vote for the P4P pick.
Actually, there immediately rose two contrasting suspicions on why and how Pacquiao allegedly got ousted as pound-for-pound ruler.
Several avid Pacquiao watchers blamed it on his excruciating stand against Juan Manuel Marquez, who continued to cry that he had been robbed of deserved victory.
Much later, pundits started to include Pacquiao’s tax record controversy, which had been played up worldwide, among the factors that supposedly pulled down and demoted the national boxing icon.
Bad news, indeed.
***
But here’s the good news—the truth.
“Someone forwarded me your article about The Ring Magazine poll (‘Has Pacquiao Been Impeached?’),” stated Gary Andrew Poole, author and respected boxing expert who writes for Time International.
Poole, whose celebrated book “Pacman: Behind the scenes with Manny Pacquiao” readily hit it big in the market, asked that he be allowed to set the record straight.
“Just wanted to let you know: I don’t know about the other boxing scribes, but Michael Rosenthal asked me for my top 10 pound-for-pound rank a couple of months ago, before the Pacquiao tax story hit the news. Anything that happens outside of the ring doesn’t concern me in P4P rankings. It’s all about skill and smarts inside the ring, and how a boxer performs against quality opposition.
***
But did you participate in the vote?
“I don’t regularly participate in The Ring poll, or any poll for that matter. But just to let you know: this wasn’t a Ring Ratings poll. I can understand the confusion, but several writers in the Filipino boxing media got this one wrong: Rosenthal asked 10 of us for our pound-for-pound fighter as part of a story in the magazine. Please check but as far as I know the poll is not the official position of The Ring, just a poll of various scribes. (You can ask Rosenthal but The Ring still has Pacquiao as number one P4P; all the sturm und drang over ‘Pacquiao losing the P4P The Ring ranking’ does not appear to have any validity.)”
Read more: http://sports.inquirer.net/39949/manny-pacquiao-acquitted
by Alex Groberman
Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez provided fans with one of the most thrilling bouts of the year last November. While it was the Filipino champion who ultimately emerged victorious from that showdown, many felt as though Marquez had done enough to earn the win.
In fact, shortly after the judges announced who had won, fans in attendance booed the result and threw stuff at the ring.
Almost immediately after the fight, Top Rank boss Bob Arum made it clear that fighting Marquez again was a priority. Similarly, Pacquiao expressed a certain desire to give arguably his biggest career rival (as in, biggest rival amongst guys he’s fought) a fourth shot at beating him.
Since then, though, the prospect of Pacquiao and Marquez meeting against has been sort of shut down. Between Pacquiao’s “negotiations” with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and eventual agreement to fight Timothy Bradley this June, nobody has really bothered to bring up what the odds of Marquez getting another crack at Pacquiao currently are. That’s not to say Marquez hasn’t been vocal about his desire to fight the Filipino champ – it’s more of a case of Pacquiao simply having bigger and more important things to do.
Or so we thought.
As it turns out, Pacquiao had a reason for not instantly giving Marquez a fourth fight this year. He opened up about that reason during an interview with Boxing Scene. Per the report:
“There’s a chance to fight [Marquez] again, but not right now,” Pacquiao said. “I don’t think people will watch the same movie [over and over].
ABS-CBNnews.com
MANILA, Philippines – Undefeated American boxer Timothy Bradley Jr. claims he has an answer for every one of Filipino boxing champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao’s tricks and techniques inside the boxing ring.
The two boxers will face off on June 9 in Las Vegas, with Bradley moving up in weight to challenge Pacquiao for the World Boxing Organization welterweight championship.
In an interview with Fight Saga, Bradley revealed that he has watched tapes of Pacquiao’s previous fights and already knows what to do against the Filipino champion.
“If he wants to war, I’ll box him… If he wants to bang, you already know I’m gonna box him. If he’s gonna lay back, you know I’m gonna go to him,” Bradley said. “Whatever he wants to do, I’m gonna know from the first round.”
“I can be aggressive or I can box – I’ll probably do a little of both,” he added.
Read more: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/04/10/12/bradley-i-have-answers-pacquiaos-attacks
by Waldo Rastel
Before I even start this article, let me just say that I don’t care what Michael Koncz thinks mostly because he is frequently wrong and misinformed. Yet, whenever someone close to either Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao speaks about an upcoming opponent, we must report it and we will all discuss it. Igor Frank of the Glendale Examiner recently spoke with Michael Koncz about Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent, Timothy Bradley. Koncz first speaks to the criticism that Manny will overlook Timothy Bradley, much like Manny did with Juan Manuel Marquez.
“I don’t think Manny is doing that,” replied Konz:”He is not underestimating Bradley. Manny was young. Manny was hungry at one time as a young fighter. He knows that Bradley is undefeated. Bradley as a physical aspect; he’s got a tremendous body. He has skill and we know he is going to be in the best shape of his life and he is going to come there to win this fight.”
First of all, Manny is not going to show up in the best shape of his life, because he’s not going to magically become 5 years younger in this fight. I would expect Manny to be in slightly better shape than the JMM fight, but he is not going to be too far off from that standard. The distractions that detracted from his last training camp are not going away either.
‘Manny should start serious training now’
By Romina S. Austria
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Manny Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach said he is far from impressed with the Filipino ring superstar’s two fights last year.
And the last thing Alex Ariza wants is an unprepared Pacquiao battling the unbeaten American Timothy Bradley on June 9 for the Sarangani congressman’s WBO welterweight belt at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
“We can’t have a bad camp,” Ariza told boxingscene.com. “(Pacquiao’s) physical conditioning is very important. This must happen all the way.”
Pacquiao will defend his WBO title for the fourth time against the unpredictable Bradley, with the Ring magazine’s pound-for-pound king heavily favored to bag his 55th professional victory in 60 fights.
The eight-division world champion prevailed via ho-hum unanimous decisions over Joshua Clottey in March 2010 and Shane Mosley in May 2011 before besting Juan Manuel Marquez for the second time via an unpopular majority decision six months later.
“He’s (Bradley) a high-volume puncher who’ll come forward,” Ariza said. “Bradley’s not a technical guy like Marquez. He fights somewhat like Manny. That’s why I think it’ll be an explosive fight.”
Ariza said Pacquiao, who has started light training in Manila and General Santos City, runs the risk of losing focus for his clash with Bradley because of his various activities outside the ring.
Read more: http://sports.inquirer.net/39983/last-2-pacquiao-fights-fail-to-impress-ariza
By Martin Rogers / Yahoo
Manny Pacquiao has become embroiled in a bizarre lawsuit amid claims that his foundation failed to pay shipping charges on a consignment that was seized by customs authorities in his native Philippines.
The Manny Pacquiao Foundation, which the pound-for-pound boxing king uses to support his favourite charities, tried to import a shipment of “relief goods” from the United States to the Philippines using an unnamed logistics company in 2009.
According to TMZ, when customs officials found the containers to be holding used clothes – which do not qualify as “relief goods” under Filipino law and are subject to excise duties – the shipment was impounded.
As a result of the load not being delivered to its destination, it is claimed, the foundation refused to pay its bill with the shipper. However, all major logistics companies, such as FedEx and UPS, include a clause in every contract that insists on full payment, even if a package is not delivered due to customs irregularities.
The foundation is being sued for the full shipping charge of $35,806.36, plus interest, while the containers continue to sit undistributed in a Filipino port.
The lawsuit is the latest is a series of high-profile controversies surrounding Pacquiao, whose reputation in his homeland has taken a considerable hit in recent years. His role as a congressman in the Philippines has brought extra attention that often has resulted in negative headlines.
Pacquiao drew criticism over his attendance record in congress and was forced to respond to a contempt claim brought by Filipino tax authorities. He also resorted to legal action following allegations he had housed a fugitive former politician at his home.
Even the actions of his father, Rosalio, have earned attention. A vehicle owned by and carrying Pacquiao’s father struck a mini-tricycle driver last week, and the matter was widely reported in the Filipino press.
Read more: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/10042012/58/pacquiao-foundation-comes-under-scrutiny.html
by Lee Wylie
If we were to compile a pound for pound list on sheer talent alone, Jorge Linares would probably feature somewhere around the top as a result of his smorgasbord of just about every positive boxing attribute imaginable – decent height, reach, handspeed, footspeed, hand/eye co-ordination and power. Linares was once thought of as one of boxing’s hottest prospects, but now, after his second round knockout defeat courtesy of Sergio Thompson – his second technical knockout loss in a row – it seems Jorge Linares is now destined to join boxing’s “what could have been?” list.
So how does a fighter, who is blessed with all the talent in the world, suffer consecutive TKO losses at the hands of far less talented fighters?
Linares’ promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, believed he has the answer when he took to Twitter after the bout.
“Linares needs a new trainer. He has so much natural ability but has no defense. Jorge needs a new trainer, someone that is going to pay attention and teach him defense! Freddie Roach was just too busy and I was told he didn’t train him for this one. If you do not get hit, you do not get knocked out. If Linares had defense, he would be untouchable. If I had no chin I would do everything in my power to learn the craft of defense.”
De La Hoya does make an interesting point. While I wouldn’t go as far as Oscar in saying that Freddie can’t teach defense, I would say that there seems to be certain defensive areas that Roach has missed in the tutelage of his fighters.
Looking at Linares, Amir Khan and Manny Pacquiao, we can see a fighters who ARE defensively responsible when attacking. A fighter is at his most vulnerable at the time of his attack, so by being overly aggressive, a fighter may be caught off balance and find it difficult to transition back to defense. This is where Roach has done a terrific job with Linares, Khan and Pacquiao; their balance issues have improved under the guidance of Freddie Roach.
Also evident in Roach’s fighters is the ability to move away from danger after an attack, so as to reduce the risk of a counter attack. In other words, Roach has taught his fighters how to maintain defensive concern after the completion of their attack. Roach has embedded this into his fighters through an emphasis on great footwork. If you look at Pacquiao, his ability to move off after an attack is his main form of defense. It’s the same with Khan and it’s the same with Linares.
Defense is not only used when under pressure from an opponent. It is also used when a fighter is on the attack. This is the area in which Roach clearly excels. On the other hand, there does appear to be an area in which Roach seems to have either neglected, or has a distinct lack of understanding of: defending on the inside.
Yes, Roach has worked with some great defensive fighters in the past. Marlon Starling and James Toney were indeed defensive specialists. But Toney was already well schooled under Bill Miller and Starling, a naturally gifted counterpuncher, didn’t need any defensive refinement.
Even fighters who operate at a distance have to posses some understanding on how to defend in close, Muhammad Ali and Wladimir Klitschko being prime examples. At their best, they are keeping the fight at arms length, either on the end of a jab or a straight right hand. Their objective? To prevent their opponents from breeching their optimum fighting space. That’s why we have never seen them mount much in the way of offense on the inside. However, one of the reasons that Ali and Wladimir were able to dominate is because of their ability to prevent an inside fight from occurring by tying up on the inside and locking their opponent’s arms up. From a defensive standpoint, they had knowledge on inside fighting.
I believe this knowledge is missing in Jorge Linares’, Amir Khan’s and quite possibly Manny Pacquiao’s work as a direct result of the type of fighter Freddie Roach was… an offensive blood and guts trader who sometimes took five to land his one. If we focus on Khan and Linares in particular, they don’t seem to know how to react when confronted with severe pressure.
So how does a fighter defend in close?
The best defensive fighters have a good variety of defenses against every punch available. They are able to mantain relaxation amid heavy fire. If a fighter is putting severe pressure on them, panic is no option. They stay calm and allow their defensive skills to take over, slipping, rolling, elbow blocking, half arm covering, hip rotation and the ability to tie up. I’ve never seen Linares and Khan display any of these defensive attributes.
A trainer like Freddie Roach likely never had much use for these techniques as a fighter because his entire emphasis was on attack. This could be the reason why Roach was never considered a great fighter. There always comes a time when offense is not always enough.
If we take a look back throughout history, more often than not, the defender has gotten the better of the attacker; James Corbett got the better of John L Sullivan, Gene Tunney got the better of Jack Dempsey and Jack Johnson got the better of Jim Jefferies. The modern era is no different. The ability to defend, and in particular the ability to defend in close, cannot be overlooked.
Telling times lie ahead.
The next couple of months could prove to be very detrimental for Freddie Roach. He has two fights coming up, against two proven inside fighters, against his two prized assets – Amir Khan and Manny Pacquiao. During their first bout, Amir Khan’s lack of an inside game was brought into light from the third round onwards as his opponent, Lamont Peterson – who normally operates as a boxer – took on the persona of the brawler and swarmed all over Khan, throwing nothing but power shots in close. As was evident during his win over Marcos Maidana, Khan had no answer to Peterson’s severe pressure. Khan’s only response was to push his opponent off which eventually led to a two point reduction against him. If there have not been any improvements made to Khan’s inside game, then it is not hard to imagine Peterson utilising the same strategy that won him the fight last time out.
While Freddie Roach deserves an awful lot of credit with regards to his transformation of Manny Pacquiao’s offense– namely his two handed attack and balance issues–is there any evidence of him improving Pacquiao defensively on the inside?
BY RAMON ARANDA
With his April 14 return inching closer, Juan Manuel Marquez has finished putting the finishing touches on his training camp, as he prepares to take on Serhiy Fedchenko (30-1, 13 KOs) in Mexico City.
Marquez (53-6-1, 39 KOs), coming off a disputed decision loss to Manny Pacquiao will headline the card that is to be televised in Mexico via TV Azteca, while being a part of the HBO PPV broadcast in the U.S.
It’s a fight Marquez isn’t taking lightly but a fourth fight with Pacquiao was at the top of his list. Unfortunately for ‘Dinamita’, the fight has not materialized, as Pacquiao will instead take on Timothy Bradley on June 9 in Las Vegas, forcing Marquez to have looked for a different opponent.
“Everybody knows I was looking for the rematch with Manny but I don’t know what happened. The most important thing is I like to fight and I will fight on April 14 and I am very happy about that but I don’t know what happened with the rematch,” said Marquez during a recent conference call.
Many experts believed that with Pacquiao’s improved skills since their second meeting, Marquez would be knocked out by the heavy-handed Pacquiao. And although Marquez had proven in their first two fights that his counter-punching skills were problematic for the welterweight titlist, most predicted an easy win for the Pacman. Of course that wasn’t the case as Marquez again proved that he had the technique to give Pacquiao fits, and many felt Marquez deserved the decision once again.
Training at the famed Romanza Gym in Iztacalco, the 38-year old Marquez is optimistic that his fans will be pleased with his performance next Saturday night and aims to convince them that he still has plenty left in the tank.
“We have no problems with the weight and we have been focusing on increasing my speed, my defense, combination punching and in working as hard as we can in order to give the fans a great fight on April 14,” said Marquez from his camp.
Though certainly a step down from his previous opponent, Juan Manuel Marquez is eager to make a splash at 140-pounds, insisting he wants a title at junior welterweight and a summer clash with Brandon Rios. Marquez however, isn’t looking past the once-beaten Fedchenko.
“This is a big fight, Fedchenko is a tough opponent, or so his record leads us to believe; European styles are always tough but we’re going to neutralize him first and then make him fight our fight,” said Marquez.
Read more: http://3morerounds.com/columns/with-pacquiao-and-rios-on-the-brain-marquez-preps-for-fedchenko/
By Ruslan Chikov, Allboxing.ru
Junior welterweight contender Ruslan Provodnikov (21-1, 14KOs) will join the training camp of Manny Pacquiao as a sparring partner. Pacquiao will officially begin camp on April 16th, preparing for his scheduled defense of the WBO welterweight title against Timothy Bradley on June 9th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Read more: http://www.boxingscene.com/pacquiao-use-provodnikov-sparring-tim-bradley–51586
By Rick Rockwell
It appears that Manny Pacquiao is out to prove something against Timothy Bradley on June 9th when the two meet in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pacquiao has been criticized by pundits and fans for two lackluster performances in his previous two fights. Manny’s team believes that Pacquiao will prove to the world that he’s still the best fighter. However, his success against Bradley comes down to how well he trains. According to a Monday April 9th report by BoxingScene.com, Manny’s trainer Alex Ariza made the following comments:
“And against Bradley, he wants to prove something. His competitive spirit will take over. How he trains will impact on how he does against Bradley. If he trains properly, Manny could blow that guy away in less than five rounds.”
Bradley is undefeated and does provide a threat to dethroning Pacquiao. Timothy is also considered a “dirty fighter” with his head butting and Team Pacquiao have publicly expressed their concerns over this issue. Ariza also believes that this fight will be “explosive” because both Manny and Bradley like to exchange punches and aren’t afraid to take the fight inside.
By Vitali Shaposhnikov
“There’s a chance to fight [Marquez] again, but not right now,” said Pacquiao in a recent interview. “I don’t think people will watch the same movie.”
“My concern is the fans. I don’t want to lose the trust of the people in boxing. I don’t want to lose the fans in boxing. That’s my first concern,” continued Pacquiao.
To tell you the truth, what Manny Pacquiao said is like a double-edged sword: While there is some truth to it, it’s also saturated with lack of closure for many boxing fans. Yes, their trilogy so far has been pretty uniform, with not only similar outcomes, but also close to identical bell-to-bell action.
Pacquiao was always the aggressor, while Marquez rarely failed to deliver a successful counterattack.
Despite his wins, Pacquiao always talked about the fact that he was not completely satisfied with his performances against Marquez, but never denied himself the actuality of his victory. Marquez, on the other hand, had entirely opposite feelings, always claiming that he did enough to win the fight and that his victory was stolen from him by the unfair judges.
It is entirely understandable why Marquez demands another opportunity, and it is just as easy to see why Pacquiao might not want to offer one, yet feels like he might have to.
Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, seems to be on the same page as his pupil regarding this topic.
“Every time they fight it gets less exciting because we’ve already seen it.
The third fight was nowhere near as good as the first two. And the thing is, I think the fourth one would be the same. I just think it’s like watching a movie four times. How much more do you get out of it?”
Since Manny Pacquiao states that the fans are his main concern and that he is convinced that they would not be interested in another fight with Marquez, I can tell that Pacquiao is not being a very observant champion.
Sure, most people call for his potential blockbuster bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr., but aside from that, many fans are still not satisfied with the final outcome of his trilogy against Marquez.
WORLD Boxing Organization welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao has extended his stay in Gen. Santos City for another week and is set to pitch camp in Baguio City this Sunday to step up his training for his June 9 (June 10 in Manila) title defense against American Timothy Bradley.
Trainer Freddie Roach yesterday said the 33-year-old eight-division titleholder will not be inactive, having promised to continue the roadwork he started in Sta. Rosa in Laguna two weeks ago.
“We talked on the phone last Saturday and he told me he will definitely be in Baguio on Sunday (April 15) to start serious training the following day,” Roach told Malaya Business Insight in a telephone interview.
“He told me he’s been running daily for the past two weeks to remove excess baggage in his body and he will continue doing so in Gen. Santos this week,” said Roach, who is now in the Pines City supervising the build-up of another ward, Englishman Amir Khan.
“I told him to just go on doing what he will be comfortable with. It’s still early anyway and we have plenty of time to prepare. The schedule is to start really on April 16 so we’re on time,” the 52-year-old Hall of Famer assured.
“But when we start, I also told him it will be hard work … hard work … and hard work,” he stressed. “We’ve learned our lesson in our last fight and we will not be too complacent this time around.”
Roach was referring to the Filipino icon’s unimpressive majority decision victory over Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez in Chapter III of their trilogy last November in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao is putting his 140-pound title on the block against the undefeated Bradley, the junior welterweight titlist, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Read more: http://www.malaya.com.ph/index.php/sports/978-pacquiao-set-to-pitch-camp-in-baguio-for-bradley-fight
by Scott Christ
In an interview with The Philippine Star, strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza has more or less laid down the public challenge to Manny Pacquiao for his upcoming training camp, as Manny prepares to face Timothy Bradley on June 9 in Las Vegas, live on HBO pay-per-view. Pacquiao is reportedly set to begin camp on April 16.
Ariza says again that Pacquiao’s last two training camps, which led to a boring win over Shane Mosley and a highly-disputed win over Juan Manuel Marquez, were not up to Manny’s standards during their previous camps together.
“In both fights, he suffered leg cramps. What did he do differently in camp before those two fights? The equation is clear. He didn’t train for Mosley and Marquez like he did before. The results were evident – he was explosive in knocking out Diaz, De la Hoya, Hatton and Cotto and convincingly beat Margarito and Clottey. He wasn’t explosive against Mosley and Marquez. Manny now realizes he’s got to do the kind of scientific training I lay out for him every fight if he wants to do better than his last fight.”
It is pretty much impossible to read Ariza’s quotes without feeling his ginormous ego bursting through your monitor, but let’s give credit where credit is due: He’s a good strength and conditioning coach, and he’s gotten marvelous results out of Manny, and to a lesser extent, Amir Khan and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, plus Andrew Bynum, as later in the interview he mentions in great detail.
Now my greatest question, as I’ve stated before, is whether or not 33-year-old, 17-year pro boxer Manny Pacquiao can really do what he used to do. Guys get old. 33 isn’t old, really, but he’s had a long, hard pro career. Is it a matter of Manny lacking the same hunger, or just Manny getting older? Maybe both?
As for Ariza’s knockout prediction, it’s part of the challenge, basically. I’m reading this as him basically laying it out there now, so if Manny “disappoints” again, Ariza can just say Pacquiao didn’t follow the scientific program.
By Venessa Wong
Retired heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson has been in the spotlight since he was a teenager. Nintendo based a now classic video game around him when he was just 21 years old. So much about his life—growing up in Brownsville, Brooklyn; being trained and nurtured under Cus D’Amato; his wins and losses; the ear-biting incident; his wild lifestyle; his drug and alcohol use; his wealth and subsequent bankruptcy; his rape conviction; his conversion to Islam while in prison; his retreat to a quieter, suburban life—have been documented in gritty detail. But, Tyson says, people don’t know the full story.
Iron Mike, now 45, is ready to tell his own tale. He’s taking it to the stage, at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, for a one-man show called Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth—Live on Stage, which runs from April 13 to April 18. “You’ll laugh, cry, be bewildered,” Tyson says.
Bloomberg Businessweek caught up with Tyson to chat about his second act as an entertainer, having “no money,” and his anger-management tips. He also, bizarrely but instructively, weighed the relative merits of having confidence vs. having “the best sex organs.” In a fight, confidence wins.
You’ve played in the Hangover movies and appeared in Funny or Die videos. Now you’re doing a one-man show. Are you a comedian now?
No. I’m just some goofy guy. I love to entertain. If I don’t do it boxing, I want to do it in some other kind of way.
Why did you want to reinvent your career this way?
I always wanted to do stuff like this. I was too busy boxing to do it. When I was young, I thought about variety shows, like Dean Martin. Skits. It’s like what In Living Color was, but in the ’70s. I like In Living Color. I like Funny or Die—that’s off the hook!
Your show is in Las Vegas. Do you ever gamble?
No, I don’t gamble. No way.
What’s more intimidating, an opponent in the boxing ring, or your audience at the show?
I don’t look at it like that. I look at it as the same. I have to be prepared to deal with them, whatever it may be.
So what scares you most?
Maybe I wake up and find out everything is a joke, and never actually happened.
As an athlete, now as a performer, do you think of yourself as a brand?
I don’t know what I am. I am just a guy that likes to entertain people. I don’t think of it from a corporate perspective. I am just here in this world. I am no icon. I am no superstar. I just want to enjoy every moment. More than three-fourths of my life might be over. I just want to enjoy my family.
Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-04-09/q-and-a-mike-tyson-on-his-one-man-show-in-las-vegas
By ABS-CBNnews.com
MANILA, Philippines – Hall-of-Fame boxing trainer Freddie Roach will start training Filipino boxing icon Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao on April 16 to prepare him for his June 9 fight date against undefeated American boxer Timothy Bradley Jr.
Roach arrived in the Philippines last week and has already started training British boxer Amir Khan, who has an upcoming bout of his own on May 19 against Lamont Peterson.
But Roach is already looking forward to working with Pacquiao.
“My wish is to get to Baguio as soon as possible, start preparing as soon as possible and get Manny in shape as soon as possible,” he told PhilBoxing’s Eddie Alinea.
“I want Manny to win by a knockout, and that’s what we will be preparing for. How to win by KO,” he added.
Pacquiao has not had a knockout victory since demolishing Miguel Cotto via a 12th round technical knockout in 2009.
Read more: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/04/09/12/roach-wants-pacman-ko-bradley
by Morgan in Boxing
Floyd Mayweather has getting all kinds of praise recently. As the tensions and hype towards his May 5 fight against Miguel Cotto builds up, Mayweather’s intentions and direction is once again in the spotlight, with most actually looking ahead towards his time after prison, thinking a win is guaranteed against the WBA Super Light Middleweight Champion.
If Mayweather needed any more praise to boost his already incredibly inflated ego, ESPN used some CompuBox numbers to declare him as the greatest fighter of all time. No one avoids punches like Mayweather, and no one throws them accurately as he does. But that’s nothing new to most, who can’t seem to part the incredible achievements in the ring with the public persona Mayweather portrays, not among the popular in the boxing world.
Is Mayweather the greatest pound for pound fighter in history? He may well be. For most of his career, he stood and fought every possible challenger to his titles, every big name in his weight class that stood in his way to greatness. But until he fight Manny Pacquiao, there will always be that question mark, regarding both of them. It probably bothers Mayweather more, in terms of historic acknowledgment. But he loves that 0 on the loss column. He loves having the financial control over his fights.
Assuming he gets through Cotto with flying colors, Mayweather has to plan ahead for fall, for the days after he’s released from prison. I don’t know how long exactly he will serve in custody, but he’ll probably need some time after getting out to train. Lets say, no sooner than a November fight. As always, the Pacquiao rumors will hover. They’ll probably be hovering while Floyd is in prison, with the Golden Boy Promotions taking care of things on the outside. As recent history has shown us, it won’t be an easy fight to schedule. Probably impossible.
So who else? Amir Khan would love a Mayweather fight, but he needs to get through Lamont Peterson first. Then? Fight a Welterweight opponents. In general, I’m not too sure Mayweather is that keen to fight with Khan. Not for being afraid reasons, but he doesn’t seem to be planning on the young British fighter who’s been talking about a Mayweather fight for around a year.
Read more: http://sportige.com/floyd-mayweather-post-miguel-cotto-plans/
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