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Oscar De La Hoya | Profile
Nickname : The Golden Boy
Height : 5' 11"
Birthdate : February 4, 1973
Age : 35
Birth Place : Los Angeles, CA
Resides : Puerto Rico
Stance : Orthodox
Pro Record : Won 39/ Lost 5 / Drawn 0 / 30 KO’s
Managers : Self
Trainer : Ignacio Beristain
Division : Welterweight
Fighter Bio
A superstar whose popularity transcends boxing, Oscar De La Hoya is considered to be one of the best fighters in the world at any weight - “Pound-for-Pound.” He is also the biggest non-heavyweight attraction and moneymaker at the gate, defeating 19 current or former world champions, one twice, in the process.
On May 5, 2007, De La Hoya returned to the ring in one of the most highly anticipated bouts of the last 25 years when he battled Floyd Mayweather Jr. at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, and though he lost a hard-fought and close 12 round split decision, ‘The Golden Boy’s status as an elite fighter was untouched, and his box office power was cemented forever as the bout set records for pay-per-view buys and revenue generated in the state of Nevada.
This bout followed a triumphant return to the squared circle by the native of East LA, who showed no signs of ring rust after a 20 month layoff from the ring as he destroyed Ricardo Mayorga in six rounds to win the WBC junior middleweight championship of the world on May 6, 2006. The victory was one of the greatest and most emphatic in the storied career of the ‘Golden Boy’, who has been at the top of the sport ever since turning pro after winning a Gold medal for the United States at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
Oscar has been successful at the highest levels of competition, and has beaten current or former world champions Steve Forbes Ricardo Mayorga, Felix Sturm, Fernando Vargas, Pernell Whitaker, Arturo Gatti, Ike Quartey, Julio Cesar Chavez twice, Hector Camacho, Miguel Angel Gonzalez, James Leija, Genaro Hernandez, Rafael Ruelas, John John Molina, Jorge Paez, Javier Francisco Castillejo, Yory Boy Campas, Jimmi Bredahl and Troy Dorsey.
Oscar also fought undisputed world middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins in a title unification bout on September 18, 2004, and after a close battle, Hopkins stopped De La Hoya in the ninth round. Oscar lost no prestige in defeat though, gaining the respect of Hopkins and the boxing community for his continued willingness to fight the best.
Oscar had won the WBO middleweight world title on June 5, 2004 with a 12-round unanimous decision against defending champion Felix Sturm of Germany. His previous fight was a controversial decision loss against Shane Mosley - the vast majority of people who watched the fight, some 75 % according to various internet polls, thought Oscar deserved to win.
Regarding that fight, Oscar said, “When I fought Mosley the first time around, I felt like I lost, that he got me that night. With this fight, I just don’t feel that way. I don’t want to blame anyone or point fingers, but that will be a mystery to me for the rest of my life. I put it in its proper place. I’m moving forward. After talking with my family and my wife, I feel wonderful. I feel like the champ. My body and my mind feel great. I feel fresh. I feel at ease.”
De La Hoya’s road to greatness began on the tough streets of East Los Angeles, California. He once said, “I was a little kid who used to fight a lot on the street and get beat up. But I liked boxing. So my dad took me to the gym.” Oscar started boxing at the age of six and reportedly had 228 amateur fights (223-5)…his father and grandfather were both boxers, but it was clear that the most talented member of the De La Hoya clan was Oscar, who earned a spot on the 1992 US Olympic team.
At the Barcelona games, De La Hoya defeated Marco Rudolph by a 7-2 decision in the finals to become the only U.S. gold medalist in the 1992 games; Oscar had vowed to win at the Olympics for his mother, who died of breast cancer when he was working towards making the Olympic team. Oscar said, “The most important thing I’ve done in my life was winning the Olympic gold medal for my mother. Every time I won, it was like telling my mom, ‘Here is another one for you.’ She was my motivation, my biggest fan.’ ”…
De La Hoya turned pro with much fanfare on November 23, 1992, with a first round knockout of Lamar Williams. By his eighth fight he had stopped tough veteran Troy Dorsey in the first round, and by his 12th he was a world champion, as he stopped Jimmi Bredahl in 10 rounds on March 5, 1994 to win the WBO super featherweight championship.
After defending his title once, De La Hoya moved up to the lightweight division and added another title to his trophy case as he knocked out Jorge Paez in two rounds on July 29, 1994 to win the WBO crown at 135 pounds. Less than a year later, he unified the title with a second round TKO in a highly anticipated local battle with Rafael Ruelas, and went on to stop highly regarded Genaro Hernandez and Jesse James Leija before making another jump in weight to 140 pounds in 1996.
At junior welterweight, De La Hoya continued to be devastating as he halted Mexican icon Julio Cesar Chavez and Miguel Angel Gonzalez, and he then tested the waters at 147 pounds in impressive fashion by winning the WBC welterweight crown from Pernell Whitaker and defending it seven times before losing a controversial 12 round decision to Felix Trinidad on September 18, 1999.
De La Hoya’s attempt to regain his title in June of 2000 was foiled by Shane Mosley, but a voyage to junior middleweight met with spectacular success as he TKOed local rival Fernando Vargas on September 14, 2002.
Since that bout (and in practically every one before it), every event involving De La Hoya has been a major occurrence, and most recently he packed the Home Depot Center’s tennis stadium in Carson, California on May 3, 2008 for his impressive 12 round victory over yet another former world champion, Steve Forbes.
And despite his obvious success in the ring, even De La Hoya’s out of the ring exploits have been accepted warmly by his legion of fans. In 2000, Oscar recorded a pop music CD that was nominated for a Grammy Award, and in December of 2001, he formed his own boxing promotion company, Golden Boy Promotions, which has quickly risen to its current status as one of the premier promotional companies in the sport today. In June of 2008, he will also release his autobiography, American Son.
In October 2001, De La Hoya married Puerto Rican singer Millie Corretjer in a private ceremony in Puerto Rico; Oscar said, “Ever since I met her, my life has been different. I have what I want. I have my jewel in Millie.” They have two children, Oscar Gabriel De La Hoya and Nina Lauren Ninette De La Hoya.
Source: http://www.goldenboypromotions.com/fighters/oscar.php
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Manny Pacquiao | Profile
Record
Lightweight : 47-3-2 36 KOs
Date of Birth : December 17, 1978
Hometown : Kibawe, Philippines
Height : 5'6.5"
Fighter Bio
Updated August 21, 2008
* MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO
* Age: 29 (12-17-78)
* Residence: General Santos City, Philippines
* Birthplace: Kibawe, Philippines
* Record: 47-3-2, 35 KOs
* Height: 5’6.5”
* Reach: 67”
* Trainer: Freddie Roach
(47-3-2, 35 KOs)…
World championship fights - 8-1-2, 7 KOs…
WBC lightweight world champion...
Ranked The Ring #1 “Pound for Pound”...
Former WBC super featherweight world champion...
Boxing Writers Association of America “2006 Fighter of the Year”...
The Ring “2006 Fighter of the Year”...
Former WBC International super featherweight champion, three successful defenses…
Former IBF jr. featherweight world champion, four successful defenses…
Former WBC flyweight world champion, one successful defense…
Former WBC International super bantamweight champion, five successful defenses…
Former OPBF (Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation) flyweight champion, one successful defense…
At the age of 29, Manny is a 13-year pro - he made his debut at 16. He has been fighting at the top levels of competition and given some of the most exciting performances in recent years.
He is also recognized by most knowledgeable observers as the best fighter at any weight in the ring today.
Manny has held world titles in four weight divisions - he won the WBC flyweight world title two weeks before his 20th
birthday in December, 1998, the IBF jr. featherweight world title at 22 in 2001, and the WBC super featherweight world title in March, 2008.
He won the WBC lightweight world title in his last fight in June, 2008, with a ninth-round TKO against defending champion David Diaz.
After the fight, Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com [excerpts]: The Pacman gobbled up yet another opponent in a sensational performance, perhaps the best of his career. Moving up in weight again, Pacquiao, 29, the national hero of the Philippines, looked awesome in destroying the 32-year-old Diaz, the 1996 U.S. Olympian from Chicago who was making his second title defense. In his first defense last summer, Diaz retired the great Erik Morales, Pacquiao’s old rival. Against Pacquiao, Diaz was simply outgunned and had absolutely no chance to deal with his speed and power.
Pacquiao won every second of every round, but the match was entertaining to watch because Diaz never stopped trying to win. He just couldn’t succeed. Pacquiao ripped open a cut over Diaz’s right eye in the fourth round and cracked him with punches from all angles with both hands until he finally knocked him to the canvas face-first in the ninth, at which point there was no need for the fight to continue. Referee Vic Drakulich stopped it without a count, thankfully.
Even before the fight, Pacquiao was a lock first-ballot Hall of Famer. He owns two wins in three fights with Morales, has twice manhandled Marco Antonio Barrera and is 1-0-1 against Juan Manuel Marquez (no matter how disputed both outcomes are). With the win against Diaz, Pacquiao further enhanced his historic résumé by claiming his fifth title in five divisions. He’d already won belts at flyweight, junior featherweight and junior lightweight. And when he knocked out Barrera in their first meeting in 2003, he earned the lineal featherweight title. The victory over Diaz was as convincing as it gets and was the kind of statement Pacquiao needed to make to rightfully take his place atop the pound-for-pound list in the wake of Floyd Mayweather’s retirement....
Fightwriter.com’s Graham Houston reported: It had been quite a performance by Pacquiao, who is surely the world’s top fighter, weight-for-weight. He dominated and ultimately destroyed Diaz. On this night, Pacquiao looked the perfect fighting machine.
Manny won the WBC super featherweight world title in March, 2008, with a 12 round decision victory in the rematch against defending champion Juan Manuel Marquez. It was one of the most highly-anticipated fights of the year, and one of the most exciting.
Manny was named “2006 Fighter of the Year” by the Boxing Writers Association of America and The Ring.
From TheRing-online.com: “It’s amazing what a little guy with a big smile and an even bigger punch can accomplish. While the heavyweight division was bogged down by mediocrity last year, the junior lightweight class soared to new heights thanks in large part to Manny Pacquiao, The Ring’s 2006 Fighter of the Year.”
Manny’s nickname is “PacMan.” His webpage address is mannypacquiao.ph.
Key Fights – 2008 – WON WBC L WORLD TITLE - in his last fight on 6-28-08 in Las Vegas, NV, he TKO’d lefthanded defending champion David Diaz (34-1-1): the fight headlined at Mandalay Bay; Diaz, a 1996 U.S. Olympian, gave a tremendous effort, but Manny dominated the entire fight and gave him a severe beating; he rocked Diaz repeatedly and cut him badly over his right eye in the 4th round; Manny scored a knockdown with a left hand that dropped Diaz face-first to the canvas, and the referee stopped the fight without a count at 2:24; after eight rounds, Manny led by scores of 80-71, 80-71, 80-72; after the fight, Manny said, “I feel much stronger and more powerful at 135. This is where I plan to stay. Diaz caught a lot of punches. I’m surprised he didn’t go down earlier. It’s hard to fight a southpaw, but I jabbed, jabbed to set him up for the knockout.”...
WON WBC SF WORLD TITLE - on 3-15-08 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a 12 round split decision in the rematch against defending champion Juan Manuel Marquez (48-3-1): it was a fast-paced, exciting fight and the momentum shifted back and forth; Manny swept the 1st round on all three scorecards, but Marquez came back, staggered him with a right hand-left hook combination in the 2nd, and swept the round; Manny scored a knockdown with left hand that dropped Marquez flat on his back late in the 3rd round, rocked Marquez again later in the round and won the round 10-8 on all three scorecards, then swept the 4th round on all three scorecards, as well; Marquez rallied and swept the 5th, 7th, and 8th rounds, but was nicked over his right eye in the 5th, and cut badly over the same eye by a clash of heads in the 7th; Manny was also cut badly over his right eye; Manny staggered Marquez with a left hand early in the 10th round, then rocked him against with series of punches moments later and swept the round, but Marquez finished the fight very strongly – he swept the 11th round and won the 12th on two scorecards; scored 115-112, 114-113 Pacquiao, 115-112 Marquez...
2007 – 5TH WBC INTERNATIONAL SF TITLE DEFENSE - on 10-6-07 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a 12 round unanimous decision in the rematch against 33 year-old former three-time WBO jr. featherweight, IBF jr. lightweight and WBC super featherweight world champion Marco Antonio Barrera (63-5): the bout headlined at Mandalay Bay and drew a crowd of 10,112, and Manny dominated the fight; Barrera had his moments – he rocked Manny with a right hand in the 3rd round and scored with a hard left hook and left uupercut in the 5th, but Manny pressed forward and consistently outworked him; Manny staggered Barrera and cut him under his right eye in the 11th round, and Barrera was penalized one point for punching on a break later in the round after he staggered Manny with a right hand; scored 118-109, 118-109, 115-112; after the fight, Manny said, ““It was a good fight, and it was different from the first fight. He’s a good, smart boxer. I’m satisfied with the result. I knew he would have to box me this time around. I thought the people were happy with that fight. I’m trying to make people happy, to give a good fight. I hope that people liked this fight tonight. We did our best. I was careful in this fight. He’s still a good fighter. I was just lucky in the first fight that it happened like that.”...
4TH WBC INTERNATIONAL SF TITLE DEFENSE - on 4-14-07 in San Antonio, TX, he knocked out Jorge Solis (32-0-2): the fight headlined at the Alamodome and drew a crowd of 14,793; the early rounds were tactical and close, and both were effective at times; Manny was cut over his left eye by a clash of heads in the 6th round, but rocked Solis later in the round; Manny stepped up his pace in the 7th round, then scored two knockdowns in the 8th – both with left hands – and he was counted out at 1:16; after the fight, Manny said, “In the early rounds I took it easy, but when I got a cut I was throwing more combinations and pretty soon I knocked him out.”...
2006 – 3RD WBC INTERNATIONAL SF TITLE DEFENSE - on 11-18-06 in Las Vegas, NV, he knocked out former WBC super bantamweight, two-time featherweight, and super featherweight world champion Erik Morales (48-4): the fight headlined at the Thomas & Mack Center and drew an announced crowd of 18,276; Morales gave a tremendous effort, but Manny gave a sensational performance, dominated the fight, and quickly overpowered him; Manny rocked Morales with a right hook in the 1st round and scored a knockdown with a straight left hand in the 2nd; Manny staggered Morales, then scored a knockdown with a series of punches in the 3rd round – Morales came back with a furious attack and rocked Manny, but Manny scored another knockdown and Morales was counted out at 2:57;
2ND WBC INTERNATIONAL SF TITLE DEFENSE - on 7-2-06 in Manila, PHIL, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against former WBC super bantamweight world champion Oscar Larios (56-4-1): the fight headlined at the historic Araneta Coliseum, the site of the “Thrilla in Manila” in 1975; Larios had some early success and staggered Manny in the 3rd round, but Manny came back and cut Larios over the left eye later in the round; several rounds were close, but Manny had the edge in most and and gave Larios a severe beating; Manny scored one knockdown in the 7th round and another in the 12th, and won by scores of 120-106, 118-108, 117-111; after the fight, Manny said, “Their plan was for me to finish the match early, but my plan was that I would not rush, as long as I’m ahead on points. Sometimes if you rush, you may have a problem, because he can squeeze in a punch.”...
1ST WBC INTERNATIONAL SF TITLE DEFENSE - on 1-21-06 in Las Vegas he TKO’d defending champion Erik Morales (48-3): the rematch headlined at the Thomas & Mack Center, and drew announced crowd of 14,618; it was an exciting fight, and both gave tremendous efforts; the early rounds were close, but Morales rallied and swept rounds three through five on all three scorecards and after five rounds, led by scores of 49-46, 48-47, 48-47; but Manny came on strongly in the 6th - he consistently landed the harder punches and swept rounds six through nine on all three scorecards; Manny scored two knockdowns in the 10th - the first with a straight left hand, the second after a series of punches - and the referee stopped the fight without a count at 2:33; after nine rounds, Manny led by scores of 86-85, 87-84, 87-84; after the fight, Manny said, “The first fight was tough for me to go to the body because I had the bloody eye. The big difference is that I could see, I could see his punches coming. I saw I hurt him every time I hit him in the body. I wasn’t expecting to knock him out. I was lucky that I was to get to his body and his head.”..; Dan Rafael of ESPN.com reported, “Pacquiao...put on a spectacular performance in a sensational action fight.”...
2005 - WON VACANT WBC INTERNATIONAL SF TITLE - on 9-10-05 in Los Angeles, CA, he TKO’d Hector Velazquez (42-10-2): Velazquez started fast and gave a good effort, but Manny outworked Velazquez, landed the harder punches, and dominated most of the fight; Manny staggered Velazquez with a right hook in the 6th round, then scored a knockdown moments later; Velazquez got up at the count of eight, but the referee stopped the fight at 2:59; after five rounds, Manny led by scores of 49-46, 49-46, 48-47; after the fight, Manny said, “This is exactly what we trained for. It was the body shots that set him up for the K.O.”…
On 3-19-05 in Las Vegas, NV, lost a 12 round unanimous decision against former WBC super bantamweight, featherweight, and super featherweight world champion Erik Morales (47-2): it was one of the most highly-anticipated fights of the year, and it was boxing at its best; the event drew a capacity crowd of 14,623 to the MGM Grand, and it was a ferocious battle that repeatedly brought the fans to their feet; it was a very close fight, and the momentum shifted back and forth - Manny started fast and won the first and third rounds on all three scorecards, but Morales weathered the early storm and rallied in the middle and late rounds; Morales won the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds on two scorecards, then the eighth, tenth, and eleventh on all three; Manny was cut over the right eye in the 5th round - ruled by a punch - but he won the seventh round on two scorecards, and swept the ninth and twelfth; both stood toe-to-toe in the final round and punched nonstop until the bell; all three judges scored the fight 115-113; after the fight, Manny said, “I couldn’t see out of one eye, and it was very hard. If I am not cut on one eye, I think I can knock him out. But I did my best and gave everyone a good fight.”…
2004 - on 12-11-04 in Taguig City, PHIL, he TKO’d Fahsan Thawatchai (44-7-1): the event drew an estimated crowd of 25,000 at The Fort, and Manny gave a devastating performance; he scored one knockdown in the 2nd round, another in the 3rd, and two more in the 4th - Fahsan was out cold, and the referee stopped the fight without a count at 1:26…
IBF, WBA F WORLD TITLE CHALLENGE - on 5-8-04 in Las Vegas, NV, he fought to a 12 round draw against defending champion Juan Manuel Marquez (42-2): Manny scored three knockdowns in the 1st round, and Marquez’ nose was injured badly and bled throughout the fight; but Marquez showed tremendous heart and determination, gradually recovered, and boxed effectively for much of the fight; Marquez swept rounds three through six on two judges’ scorecards - he rocked Manny and cut him over the right eye in the 5th, and staggered him in the 6th; the second half of the fight was exciting, and the momentum went back and forth - Manny landed the harder punches, but Marquez kept a busier pace and won four of the last six rounds on one scorecard, and five on another; the final scores were 115-110 Marquez, 115-110 Pacquiao, 113-113; after the fight, Manny said, “I’m disappointed. I thought I won, I didn’t think it was close. I thought I took his fight away from him.”…
2003 - in his last fight on 11-15-03 in San Antonio, TX, he TKO’d former three-time WBO jr. featherweight world champion Marco Antonio Barrera (57-3): the fight was at 126 pounds, and Barrera, considered by many observers to be the world’s best featherweight, was a 4-1 favorite to win; but Manny gave a sensational performance; he was knocked down in the 1st round - replays showed that he was tripped when the punch was thrown - but dominated the rest of the fight; Manny scored a knockdown in the 3rd round, then rocked Barrera with several punches later in the round; he relentlessly pressured Barrera, landed the harder punches and wore him down; Barrera’s left eye was swollen in the 4th round, and he was cut over the same eye by a clash of heads in the 7th; Barrera was also penalized one point for punching on the break in the 9th round; Manny scored another knockdown in the 11th round - Barrera got up, but Manny rocked him with a series of punches and Barrera’s corner stopped the fight at 2:56; after 10 rounds, Manny led by scores of 97-88, 97-90, 97-90; after the fight, Manny said, “I really focused through this fight. “Very early, I knew I was going to knock him out. When I knocked him down in the third, I thought it was over. But he came back. I’m surprised he lasted that long.”…
4TH IBF JF WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 7-26-03 in Los Angeles, CA, he knocked out previously undefeated Emmanuel Lucero (21-0-1): it was a spectacular one-punch knockout; Lucero was an awkward opponent - he pressed forward, dipped almost to the canvas at times and lunged at Manny with wide punches; Manny landed a single left hand in the 3rd round that sent Lucero staggering across the ring, out on his feet, and the referee stopped the fight at 0:48 as Lucero slumped to the canvas; after the fight, Manny said, “He was way too low. He looked like an amateur fighter.”…
On 3-15-03 in Manila, PH, he TKO’d Serik Eshmagametov (13-18-1): the fight drew an announced attendance of 50,000 to Manila’s historic Luneta Park; Manny scored a knockdown in the 1st round, but Eshmagametov rallied and scored a knockdown in the 4th; Manny came back strongly, scored two knockdowns in the 5th round, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:52…
2002 - 3RD IBF JF WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 10-26-02 in Davao, PH, he TKO’d Fahproakob Sithkwenim (36-2): the fight was held at Rizal Memorial College gymnasium, and drew a crowd of about 3,000; Manny scored four knockdowns in the 1st round, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:36; after the fight, Manny said, “I really prepared for the fight. I was really surprised why he got down when I hit him with a right cross. I studied his punch and he always brought down his left hand.”…
2ND IBF JF WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 6-8-02 in Memphis, TN, he knocked out Jorge Julio (44-3): the fight was the co-featured bout under the Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson main event; Manny scored two knockdowns early in the 2nd round and bloodied Julio’s nose; Julio got up both times, but Manny rocked him again and the referee stopped the fight at 1:09; after the fight, Manny said, “I hope that now people will start to respect me a little more. The plan was to come out and let him feel my power early. I knew after the first knockdown that it was a matter of time.I didn’t think it would be that easy.”…
2001 – 1ST IBF JF WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 10-11-01 in San Francisco, CA, he had a technical draw against WBO world champion Agapito Sanchez (33-7-1): it was a very dirty fight with continuous mauling and repeated fouls; Manny was cut badly over the right eye in the 2nd round by a clash of heads, and later on the left ear; Sanchez was penalized one point in the 3rd round for pushing the laces of his gloves against Manny’s cut, and another point in the 4th for low blows; Sanchez was also cut over his left eye in the 5th; the referee stopped the fight on Manny’s cut at 1:20 of the 6th round and went to the scorecards - 58-54 Pacquiao, 57-55 Sanchez, 56-56; after the fight, trainer Freddie Roach said, “Tremendous miscarriage of boxing justice. Sanchez repeatedly made intentional fouls.”…
WON IBF JF WORLD TITLE – on 6-23-01 in Las Vegas, NV, he TKO’d defending champion Lehlohonolo Ledwaba (33-1-1): Manny took the fight on two weeks’ notice and gave an sensational performance - he bloodied Ledwaba’s nose in the 1st round, knocked him down in the 2nd, then rocked him several times in the 3rd and 4th; Manny scored two more knockdowns in the 6th, and the referee stopped the fight without a count at 0:59; after the fight, Manny said, “This is a dream come true. My dream was to be champion again. He did not hurt me at all. He did not even hit me hard. I was in control the entire fight.”…
4TH WBC INTERNATIONAL JF DEFENSE – on 4-28-01 in Kidapawan City, PH, he TKO’d Kumanpetch Kiatvoraphong (38-2): it was a wild fight in front of nearly 20,000 fans; Manny was floored by low blows two times in the 4th round, and one time in the 5th, and Kumanpetch was penalized one point; but Manny came back strong in the 6th – he staggered Kumanpetch with a right hand, then rocked him with a series of punches, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:46…
3RD WBC INTERNATIONAL JF DEFENSE –on 2-24-01 in Antipolo, PH, he TKO’d Cholho Kang (19-4-3): Kang, a North Korean based in Japan, is also known as Tetsutora Senrima; Manny stopped him at 1:06 of the 5th round…
2000 – 2ND WBC INTERNATIONAL JF DEFENSE –on 10-14-00 in Manila, PH, he TKO’d previously undefeated British Commonwealth champion Nadel Hussein (19-0): Hussein, born in Lebanon and based in Australia, fought very aggressively; Hussein scored a knockdown in the 4th round, but was also penalized one point; Manny came back in the 5th round and cut Hussein over and under the left eye, and the fight was eventually stopped on the cuts at 1:48 of the 10th; after nine rounds, Manny led by scores of 87-80, 87-83, 87-85; Hussein and his trainer, former three-time world champion Jeff Fenech, protested bitterly that Manny received a long count after his knockdown and that Hussein’s cuts had been ruled from a clash of heads; the crowd threw bottles and coins into the ring and Fenech challenged a heckler to a fight;; after the fight, Manny said, “His punches are really strong. This is my toughest fight so far.”…
1ST WBC INTERNATIONAL JF DEFENSE – on 6-28-00 in Quezon City, PH, he TKO’d previously undefeated Sungkwon Chae (23-0): at 1:42 of the 1st round…
1999 – WON WBC INTERNATIONAL JF TITLE – on 12-18-99 in Manila he TKO’d former Philippines champion and world title challenger Reynante Jamili (41-5): the fight was the main event at the Fiesta Fistiana, the Philippine Sportswriters Association’s annual fund-raiser for retired and disabled boxers; Manny scored three knockdowns, and stopped Jamili in the 2nd round; after the fight, Manny said, “I feel great. I have great trainers who told me to relax and take it slow.”…
LOST WBC FL WORLD TITLE – on 9-17-99 in Thammarat, TH, he was knocked out against Medgoen Lukchaopormasak (19-0): Manny lost the title at the weigh-in when he did not make weight, and Medgoen won the vacant title; Medgoen knocked down Manny in the 3rd round with a body punch, and he was counted out at 1:32…
1ST WBC FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 4-23-99 in Manila he knocked out Gabriel Mira (19-7-1): 15,000 fans were in attendance at the historic Araneta Coliseum, the site of the “Thrilla in Manila” in 1975; Mira started fast and rocked Manny two times in the 2nd round, but Manny rallied to knock down Mira later in the round; Manny scored another knockdown in the 3rd, and three more in the 4th, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:45…
1998 – WON WBC FL WORLD TITLE – on 12-4-98 in Phuttamonthon, TH, he knocked out defending champion Chatchai Sasakul (33-1): it was a spectacular one-punch knockout; Sasakul dominated the early rounds with his speed, skill, and sharp combination punching, but Manny rocked him in the 4th round; Sasakul recovered quickly and continued to box effectively, but Manny knocked down Sasakul with a single left hand in the 8th round, and he was counted out at 2:54; after seven rounds, Sasakul led by scores of 70-64, 69-64, 68-65…
WON OPBF FL TITLE – on 6-27-97 in Manila he knocked out Chokchai Chokwiwat: in the 5th round…
He debuted at the age of 16 on 1-22-95...
AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Manny was born in General Santos City, Philippines...he has an older sister, Zedra, and two younger brothers - Bobby, who is also a professional boxer, and Rogel...their parents were vegetable farmers, and are now estranged...Manny built a house for his mother close to his own...his father still lives in the mountains...
When Manny was 12, he moved to Manila and sold cigarettes on the streets...he started boxing and made the Philippines’ national amateur team; his room and board were paid for by the federal government, and he reportedly had 64 amateur fights (60-4)...he said, “When I was younger, I watched so many videos of Larry Holmes, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and others. I used to rent the videos.”…
Manny turned pro at 16 and won the Oriental-Pacific flyweight title when he was 18; he invited Bobby to come to Manila and took him to the boxing gym...brother Rogel was also a talented boxer, but suffered a head injury in a serious motorcycle accident and no longer boxes...
He has become a national hero in the Philippines, and a a movie star, as well – he has starred in popular Filipino action movies with his friend, Mikey Arroyo, the son of the Philippines President…Manny enjoys playing pool in his spare time…
From BoxingConfidential.com, Feb. 5, 2007: Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao and his brother Bobby today went to a school in General Santos City to take a special exam that would allow them to get the equivalent of high school units of educational attainment.
Both Pacquiaos only finished elementary grades, they admit, due to extreme poverty when they were still growing up - a fact they have not forgotten now despite owning million dollar bank accounts from their boxing earnings.
At the Department of Education Testing Center, the fighting brothers took the High School Equivalency Test for six hours, a process Manny called “very, very tiring.”
The brothers were administered exams in English, Filipino, Social Studies, Mathematics and Science.
“He was very determined to pass, just as he is very determined to win in his fights. He had read the questions very religiously, and answered them well,” said a DepEd official when interviewed by the media.
The examinations started at 1:00 PM and ended at 6:30 PM, a process described by Pacquiao as more tiring that his trilogy with Erik Morales.
Manny and his wife Jinky have three children…
STRENGTHS: A natural lefthander with good skills, speed, and movement…has tremendous punching power in both hands…has shown great improvement in his right hook...physically strong, is always in top condition…is experienced against top opposition…
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 52 fights…280 total rounds…66 world championship rounds…
AVERAGE LENGTH OF BOUTS: 5.3 rounds…
KNOCKOUT PERCENTAGE: 74 %…
DISTANCE FIGHTS: 12 rounds – 5 (3-1-1)…11 rounds – 1 (1-0)...10 rounds – 5 (5-0)…
Source: http://www.toprank.com/fighters/profile/manny-pacquiao
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Sunday, November 16, 2008
Pacquiao/De La Hoya 24/7 Episode # 1
Pacquiao/De La Hoya 24/7 Episode # 1
Source: http://www.nowboxing.com/?p=803//url
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Saturday, November 15, 2008
Karylle to sing national anthem at Pacquiao-De La Hoya fight
Singer-actress Karylle is all set to sing the Philippine national anthem at the Manny Pacquiao-Oscar De La Hoya mega fight at the MGM Grand Hotel Garden in Las Vegas.
There are rumors that with her breakup with actor Dingdong Dantes, she will be transferring to ABS-CBN and become a Kapamilya like her mom Zsa Zsa Padilla. But there’s no official word yet according to STAGES, the group that is currently managing her career.
Source: http://tagpuan.com/karylle-sing-national-anthem-pacquiao-de-la-hoya-fight/
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Friday, November 14, 2008
De La Hoya-Pacquiao is a weighty issue
The promotional spots for the Dec. 6 mega fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao proclaim, "Pacquiao is younger and faster. De La Hoya is stronger and more experienced."
There's no mention of the adjective that most likely will determine the outcome of the fight. De La Hoya is bigger. Much bigger.
Pacquiao began his professional career as a junior flyweight (106 pounds). He has been knocked out twice by men weighing 112 pounds -- in 1996 and 1999. Obviously, he has gotten better since then. But until 2008, he'd never competed above the junior lightweight level.
De La Hoya has fought at weights as high as 160 pounds. Generally on fight night, he refuses to get on the "unofficial HBO scale." But Freddie Roach, who trained De La Hoya for his fight against Floyd Mayweather and has been training Pacquiao, says that De La Hoya gained 10 pounds after weighing in at 154 to face Mayweather. Roach expects a similar gain on Dec. 6; maybe more because Oscar will be drying out more to make the contract weight of 147 pounds.
The disparity in weight between De La Hoya and Pacquiao has led to complaints that boxing's Golden Boy is buying a gold-plated mismatch. Oscar is in danger of being seen as a school-yard bully who, after having lost to fighters his own size, is now picking on tough little guys.
Roach says that Pacquiao will win with speed and that the weight differential (an expected 15 pounds on fight night) "won't be that important."
But Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer concedes that weight is an issue. "You have two camps," he said on Aug. 5. "The camp which is against the fight seems to be bigger than the one for it."
That balance can be expected to change as a consequence of the high-powered marketing campaign that has been put in place for the fight. But at the moment, critics abound.
The two best welterweights in the world at present are Paul Williams and Antonio Margarito. Each man has expressed an interest in fighting De La Hoya, but it would appear that Oscar has no intention of fighting either one of them.
"Oscar will stop Manny within three rounds," said Williams. "I don't want to take anything away from Pacquiao, but his punches won't hurt De La Hoya. Manny is just too small, and Oscar is just too big. That's why we have the different weight classes. The size and weight difference makes it a bad fight."
Margarito is more scornful.
"Now Oscar is getting brave with a 135-pound fighter and is trying to convince everyone that it's a tough fight," Margarito said. "He's getting brave with a great fighter, but a fighter who fights at 135 pounds. He wants to show the world that he can pull the trigger against a 135-pounder. What a man! What a hero!"
WBC president Jose Sulaiman also has gotten into the act.
"What are they going to do?" Sulaiman has asked. "Stuff Manny with tamales and beans, and reduce Oscar in the steam bath to bring them together? It's ridiculous. It's absurd. It's a fraud to the public. The only reason why the fight was made was money."
One presumes that the WBC will not be receiving a sanctioning fee for De La Hoya-Pacquiao.
How relevant is the weight differential?
One of the reasons why De La Hoya ended negotiations with Felix Trinidad for a rematch this year was Trinidad's refusal to come down to 160 pounds (Oscar's previous high). The discrepancy in size between De La Hoya and Pacquiao is significantly greater than the difference between De La Hoya and Trinidad, who fought Roy Jones at 170 pounds in January.
De La Hoya is the size of an average man. Pacquiao started his career 21 pounds below weight for a jockey in the Kentucky Derby. The chart to the right demonstrates their true difference. It lists the average comparative weight each man has fought at since 1995 (the year Pacquiao turned pro) and the differential between them on an annual basis. There is no 2005 entry for Oscar because he was inactive that year.
De La Hoya was, is, and always will be a much larger man than Pacquiao. Would anyone match Pacquiao against Paul Williams or Antonio Margarito?
Ultimately, curiosity and marketing will sell De La Hoya-Pacquiao. Manny's skill and determination will salvage it as entertainment. But the matchup will be competitive only if Oscar has nothing left as a fighter. Boxing's Golden Boy might not be able to pull the trigger like he used to. But he isn't so far gone that he can't beat an opponent whose natural weight is 20 to 30 pounds less than his own.
De la Hoya versus Pacquiao isn't what boxing needs to become a great and popular sport again.
Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3634701
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There's no mention of the adjective that most likely will determine the outcome of the fight. De La Hoya is bigger. Much bigger.
Pacquiao began his professional career as a junior flyweight (106 pounds). He has been knocked out twice by men weighing 112 pounds -- in 1996 and 1999. Obviously, he has gotten better since then. But until 2008, he'd never competed above the junior lightweight level.
De La Hoya has fought at weights as high as 160 pounds. Generally on fight night, he refuses to get on the "unofficial HBO scale." But Freddie Roach, who trained De La Hoya for his fight against Floyd Mayweather and has been training Pacquiao, says that De La Hoya gained 10 pounds after weighing in at 154 to face Mayweather. Roach expects a similar gain on Dec. 6; maybe more because Oscar will be drying out more to make the contract weight of 147 pounds.
The disparity in weight between De La Hoya and Pacquiao has led to complaints that boxing's Golden Boy is buying a gold-plated mismatch. Oscar is in danger of being seen as a school-yard bully who, after having lost to fighters his own size, is now picking on tough little guys.
Roach says that Pacquiao will win with speed and that the weight differential (an expected 15 pounds on fight night) "won't be that important."
But Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer concedes that weight is an issue. "You have two camps," he said on Aug. 5. "The camp which is against the fight seems to be bigger than the one for it."
That balance can be expected to change as a consequence of the high-powered marketing campaign that has been put in place for the fight. But at the moment, critics abound.
The two best welterweights in the world at present are Paul Williams and Antonio Margarito. Each man has expressed an interest in fighting De La Hoya, but it would appear that Oscar has no intention of fighting either one of them.
"Oscar will stop Manny within three rounds," said Williams. "I don't want to take anything away from Pacquiao, but his punches won't hurt De La Hoya. Manny is just too small, and Oscar is just too big. That's why we have the different weight classes. The size and weight difference makes it a bad fight."
Margarito is more scornful.
"Now Oscar is getting brave with a 135-pound fighter and is trying to convince everyone that it's a tough fight," Margarito said. "He's getting brave with a great fighter, but a fighter who fights at 135 pounds. He wants to show the world that he can pull the trigger against a 135-pounder. What a man! What a hero!"
WBC president Jose Sulaiman also has gotten into the act.
"What are they going to do?" Sulaiman has asked. "Stuff Manny with tamales and beans, and reduce Oscar in the steam bath to bring them together? It's ridiculous. It's absurd. It's a fraud to the public. The only reason why the fight was made was money."
One presumes that the WBC will not be receiving a sanctioning fee for De La Hoya-Pacquiao.
How relevant is the weight differential?
One of the reasons why De La Hoya ended negotiations with Felix Trinidad for a rematch this year was Trinidad's refusal to come down to 160 pounds (Oscar's previous high). The discrepancy in size between De La Hoya and Pacquiao is significantly greater than the difference between De La Hoya and Trinidad, who fought Roy Jones at 170 pounds in January.
De La Hoya is the size of an average man. Pacquiao started his career 21 pounds below weight for a jockey in the Kentucky Derby. The chart to the right demonstrates their true difference. It lists the average comparative weight each man has fought at since 1995 (the year Pacquiao turned pro) and the differential between them on an annual basis. There is no 2005 entry for Oscar because he was inactive that year.
De La Hoya was, is, and always will be a much larger man than Pacquiao. Would anyone match Pacquiao against Paul Williams or Antonio Margarito?
Ultimately, curiosity and marketing will sell De La Hoya-Pacquiao. Manny's skill and determination will salvage it as entertainment. But the matchup will be competitive only if Oscar has nothing left as a fighter. Boxing's Golden Boy might not be able to pull the trigger like he used to. But he isn't so far gone that he can't beat an opponent whose natural weight is 20 to 30 pounds less than his own.
De la Hoya versus Pacquiao isn't what boxing needs to become a great and popular sport again.
Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3634701
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De La Hoya-Pacquiao might be a hard sell after all
The return of some random thoughts...
- With the economy in the toilet, it's pretty easy for fight fans to save their money and forgo an expensive pay-per-view card. It's a lot easier to stick to other sports and television programming that is free for your Saturday night entertainment.
That's what promoters Golden Boy and Top Rank face as they try to sell the Dec. 6 fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao on HBO PPV at a time when most folks are more concerned with buying basic necessities than a boxing match.
When the fight was first made, I figured it was a lock for 1.5 million buys. Now, with the economy in such bad shape, it has many in the industry wondering if it will come close to that kind of number -- a number that would make it the second-biggest selling nonheavyweight PPV behind only Floyd Mayweather vs. De La Hoya.
Besides a sour economy, it doesn't help that the fight has a stiff $54.95 price tag, which is, frankly, too much. There are also countless people willing to either steal the fight off one of the numerous streams that are available on the Internet or simply wait a week to watch HBO's replay.
Top Rank's Bob Arum, who promotes Pacquiao and says he's on the hook for about $11 million in guaranteed money to him, is one of those who is a bit worried.
"I'm sitting here biting my nails on a fight that I thought was a slam dunk," Arum told me the other day. "I won't get crushed, but all I want to do is pull this fight out."
One of the ways I believe the promoters could gain some goodwill and help their cause is to cut the price of the pay-per-view. Instead of $54.95 -- the price for only the most expensive pay-per-views -- how about knocking a few bucks off? Like De La Hoya, Pacquiao and the promoters won't be able to survive with a few less dollars?
Imagine the positive publicity they could gain if they came out with this sort of statement: "We understand times are tough. They are tough for a lot of us. So we're going to do our small part to make things more affordable. We're cutting the price of this great fight to $44.95 because you deserve a break. We want to thank you for all of your years of loyal support for our companies and fighters. We hope you appreciate it, and we hope you enjoy the fight."
I can dream can't I?
- I enjoyed HBO's "Calzaghe/Jones 24/7" quite a bit during the buildup to Joe Calzaghe's dominant victory last week over Roy Jones Jr. How cool was it that Jones' hotel suite had the perfect view of Times Square in New York and that HBO's producers were able to capture the historic moment of celebration when Barack Obama won the presidential election? They were in the right place at the right time and that moment added historic perspective to a tremendous final episode.
- Speaking of "24/7," I am looking forward to Sunday's debut (HBO, 8:30 p.m. ET/PT) of the four-part "De La Hoya/Pacquiao 24/7." It will undoubtedly be another terrific series. I only lament that there won't be any involvement from Floyd Mayweather Sr. or Roger Mayweather, both of whom were so much fun to watch in previous installments.
- I have to say that the undercard for Calzaghe-Jones was appalling. Frankly, I think it was the worst HBO PPV undercard ever, and I have watched a lot of bad undercards. None of the fights were compelling on paper and none of them were compelling once the bell rang. If you're going to charge consumers $49.95, I do not think it is unreasonable to expect value for your money, especially in this economic climate. I do not think it is unreasonable that at least one of the fights on the telecast ought to be worthy of being the co-feature to the main event if it was a regular HBO fight. In the case of Calzaghe-Jones, HBO would never have put any of the three undercard bouts on the network in a million years. That's how weak they were. Zab Judah versus Ernest Johnson would have been acceptable as the opener of the pay-per-view, but not as the co-feature. The other two bouts, Frankie Figueroa versus Emanuel Augustus and Dmitriy Salita versus Derrick Campos, were glorified club fights.
- On the Calzaghe-Jones undercard, but not on the broadcast, super middleweight prospect Daniel Jacobs smashed Jimmy Campbell over three lopsided rounds. Campbell is never going to win a world title or be anything more in boxing than an opponent, but he's a good guy. Campbell went into Jacob's dressing room at Madison Square Garden to congratulate him after the fight and noticed that Jacobs was wearing white gym socks with his dark suit. Turns out that Jacobs had forgotten to bring a pair of dress socks. So Campbell ran back to his dressing room and returned with an extra pair of dark socks and gave them to Jacobs. That's class.
- Arthur Abraham is darn good. His latest victory, an expected beat down of Raul Marquez, came as no surprise. Abraham is so strong and determined and he takes such a good shot that he looks unstoppable at times. I really want to see him and Kelly Pavlik fight next year.
- I've had a chance to view the complete fight between Joel "Love Child" Julio and junior middleweight titlist Sergei Dzindziruk from Germany. It was a good fight and Julio had his chances, especially early, but Dzindziruk deserved the victory, although I thought it should have been a little closer than the official scores. Hate to say to I told you so, but Julio never should have taken the fight, the reasons for which were outlined in detail in a prior blog. Hopefully, Julio learned something from the fight and can make another run. He's only 23.
- Here's a classic example of why the sanctioning organizations are a pathetic joke and why fight fans, TV networks and many of my less educated fellow media members should try to ignore them as much as possible. Dzindziruk is the WBO's junior middleweight titleholder. He is healthy and just made a mandatory defense against Julio on Nov. 1. Yet, for no apparent reason, the WBO has sanctioned a Nov. 29 bout for an interim title between Paul Williams and Verno Phillips. There is no good reason why Williams-Phillips should be deciding an interim title. The WBO, of course, probably doesn't see it that way. All it sees is the chance to make a few extra bucks on the sanctioning fees.
- You want more alphabet nonsense? At the WBC's recently completed annual convention in Chengdu, China, Jose Sulaiman was re-elected to another four-year term as the alphabet organization's president. Sulaiman, who has been in office for more than 30 years, was elected unanimously. There's a shocker. Doesn't it sound like one of those phony elections in a country where a dictator wins a supposed open election with 100 percent of the vote?
- Andrew Golota quit after the first round of his fight last week against Ray Austin. Rarely do I ever question the heart of a fighter because it's tough just to get in the ring in the first place, but Golota has the heart the size of a pea. He's made a career of quitting. Hopefully, this is the end for him now at age 40.
- If you're a serious fight fan (and if you read my blog you probably are) then you really need to make sure you watch next Friday's junior featherweight unification bout between Steve Molitor and Celestino Caballero on Showtime's "ShoBox." I've said it before and I will say it again, I love when Showtime picks up these sort of important fights that don't necessarily involve big names. These are the kind of fights that can help the winner become a bigger name.
- In the spring of 2007, one of the hottest fights to be made was between Vic Darchinyan and Jorge Arce, two fighters with all-action styles and big mouths. But the never-ending feud between their promoters, Gary Shaw and Top Rank's Arum, made the fight almost impossible to make. Then both fighters got beat. Darchinyan was brutally knocked out by Nonito Donaire and Cristian Mijares outboxed Arce with ease. But since then, Darchinyan has re-established himself with a big knockout of Mijares to become the junior bantamweight champion while Arce has won five in a row and claimed an interim belt to become one of Darchinyan's mandatory challengers. Now is the time for the promoters to bury the hatchet and revive the fight before one of them gets bumped off again.
- Which is tougher, boxing or politics? I bet heavyweight Joe Mesi would say politics. As a fighter, Mesi is 36-0. In political races, the Democrat is 0-1 after losing his race to win a seat in the New York state senate.
- DVD pick of the week: It wasn't a memorable fight but it was important to me and my career, so I unearthed it after it dawned on me recently that it had been 10 years since the fight. On Halloween night -- Oct. 31, 1998 -- Naseem Hamed methodically outpointed Wayne McCullough to retain the featherweight championship at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. What's the big deal, you ask, about this forgettable match? Forgettable to most, perhaps, but to me it was huge and I will never forget it. I had covered some smaller fight cards in my early newspaper jobs, but Hamed-McCullough was the first HBO card I ever covered and the first one I ever covered for USA TODAY, huge milestones in my life. Since then, I've covered well more than 100 HBO cards and moved on to the greener pastures of ESPN, but Hamed-McCullough will always be special to me.
Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3700426&name=rafael_dan
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- With the economy in the toilet, it's pretty easy for fight fans to save their money and forgo an expensive pay-per-view card. It's a lot easier to stick to other sports and television programming that is free for your Saturday night entertainment.
That's what promoters Golden Boy and Top Rank face as they try to sell the Dec. 6 fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao on HBO PPV at a time when most folks are more concerned with buying basic necessities than a boxing match.
When the fight was first made, I figured it was a lock for 1.5 million buys. Now, with the economy in such bad shape, it has many in the industry wondering if it will come close to that kind of number -- a number that would make it the second-biggest selling nonheavyweight PPV behind only Floyd Mayweather vs. De La Hoya.
Besides a sour economy, it doesn't help that the fight has a stiff $54.95 price tag, which is, frankly, too much. There are also countless people willing to either steal the fight off one of the numerous streams that are available on the Internet or simply wait a week to watch HBO's replay.
Top Rank's Bob Arum, who promotes Pacquiao and says he's on the hook for about $11 million in guaranteed money to him, is one of those who is a bit worried.
"I'm sitting here biting my nails on a fight that I thought was a slam dunk," Arum told me the other day. "I won't get crushed, but all I want to do is pull this fight out."
One of the ways I believe the promoters could gain some goodwill and help their cause is to cut the price of the pay-per-view. Instead of $54.95 -- the price for only the most expensive pay-per-views -- how about knocking a few bucks off? Like De La Hoya, Pacquiao and the promoters won't be able to survive with a few less dollars?
Imagine the positive publicity they could gain if they came out with this sort of statement: "We understand times are tough. They are tough for a lot of us. So we're going to do our small part to make things more affordable. We're cutting the price of this great fight to $44.95 because you deserve a break. We want to thank you for all of your years of loyal support for our companies and fighters. We hope you appreciate it, and we hope you enjoy the fight."
I can dream can't I?
- I enjoyed HBO's "Calzaghe/Jones 24/7" quite a bit during the buildup to Joe Calzaghe's dominant victory last week over Roy Jones Jr. How cool was it that Jones' hotel suite had the perfect view of Times Square in New York and that HBO's producers were able to capture the historic moment of celebration when Barack Obama won the presidential election? They were in the right place at the right time and that moment added historic perspective to a tremendous final episode.
- Speaking of "24/7," I am looking forward to Sunday's debut (HBO, 8:30 p.m. ET/PT) of the four-part "De La Hoya/Pacquiao 24/7." It will undoubtedly be another terrific series. I only lament that there won't be any involvement from Floyd Mayweather Sr. or Roger Mayweather, both of whom were so much fun to watch in previous installments.
- I have to say that the undercard for Calzaghe-Jones was appalling. Frankly, I think it was the worst HBO PPV undercard ever, and I have watched a lot of bad undercards. None of the fights were compelling on paper and none of them were compelling once the bell rang. If you're going to charge consumers $49.95, I do not think it is unreasonable to expect value for your money, especially in this economic climate. I do not think it is unreasonable that at least one of the fights on the telecast ought to be worthy of being the co-feature to the main event if it was a regular HBO fight. In the case of Calzaghe-Jones, HBO would never have put any of the three undercard bouts on the network in a million years. That's how weak they were. Zab Judah versus Ernest Johnson would have been acceptable as the opener of the pay-per-view, but not as the co-feature. The other two bouts, Frankie Figueroa versus Emanuel Augustus and Dmitriy Salita versus Derrick Campos, were glorified club fights.
- On the Calzaghe-Jones undercard, but not on the broadcast, super middleweight prospect Daniel Jacobs smashed Jimmy Campbell over three lopsided rounds. Campbell is never going to win a world title or be anything more in boxing than an opponent, but he's a good guy. Campbell went into Jacob's dressing room at Madison Square Garden to congratulate him after the fight and noticed that Jacobs was wearing white gym socks with his dark suit. Turns out that Jacobs had forgotten to bring a pair of dress socks. So Campbell ran back to his dressing room and returned with an extra pair of dark socks and gave them to Jacobs. That's class.
- Arthur Abraham is darn good. His latest victory, an expected beat down of Raul Marquez, came as no surprise. Abraham is so strong and determined and he takes such a good shot that he looks unstoppable at times. I really want to see him and Kelly Pavlik fight next year.
- I've had a chance to view the complete fight between Joel "Love Child" Julio and junior middleweight titlist Sergei Dzindziruk from Germany. It was a good fight and Julio had his chances, especially early, but Dzindziruk deserved the victory, although I thought it should have been a little closer than the official scores. Hate to say to I told you so, but Julio never should have taken the fight, the reasons for which were outlined in detail in a prior blog. Hopefully, Julio learned something from the fight and can make another run. He's only 23.
- Here's a classic example of why the sanctioning organizations are a pathetic joke and why fight fans, TV networks and many of my less educated fellow media members should try to ignore them as much as possible. Dzindziruk is the WBO's junior middleweight titleholder. He is healthy and just made a mandatory defense against Julio on Nov. 1. Yet, for no apparent reason, the WBO has sanctioned a Nov. 29 bout for an interim title between Paul Williams and Verno Phillips. There is no good reason why Williams-Phillips should be deciding an interim title. The WBO, of course, probably doesn't see it that way. All it sees is the chance to make a few extra bucks on the sanctioning fees.
- You want more alphabet nonsense? At the WBC's recently completed annual convention in Chengdu, China, Jose Sulaiman was re-elected to another four-year term as the alphabet organization's president. Sulaiman, who has been in office for more than 30 years, was elected unanimously. There's a shocker. Doesn't it sound like one of those phony elections in a country where a dictator wins a supposed open election with 100 percent of the vote?
- Andrew Golota quit after the first round of his fight last week against Ray Austin. Rarely do I ever question the heart of a fighter because it's tough just to get in the ring in the first place, but Golota has the heart the size of a pea. He's made a career of quitting. Hopefully, this is the end for him now at age 40.
- If you're a serious fight fan (and if you read my blog you probably are) then you really need to make sure you watch next Friday's junior featherweight unification bout between Steve Molitor and Celestino Caballero on Showtime's "ShoBox." I've said it before and I will say it again, I love when Showtime picks up these sort of important fights that don't necessarily involve big names. These are the kind of fights that can help the winner become a bigger name.
- In the spring of 2007, one of the hottest fights to be made was between Vic Darchinyan and Jorge Arce, two fighters with all-action styles and big mouths. But the never-ending feud between their promoters, Gary Shaw and Top Rank's Arum, made the fight almost impossible to make. Then both fighters got beat. Darchinyan was brutally knocked out by Nonito Donaire and Cristian Mijares outboxed Arce with ease. But since then, Darchinyan has re-established himself with a big knockout of Mijares to become the junior bantamweight champion while Arce has won five in a row and claimed an interim belt to become one of Darchinyan's mandatory challengers. Now is the time for the promoters to bury the hatchet and revive the fight before one of them gets bumped off again.
- Which is tougher, boxing or politics? I bet heavyweight Joe Mesi would say politics. As a fighter, Mesi is 36-0. In political races, the Democrat is 0-1 after losing his race to win a seat in the New York state senate.
- DVD pick of the week: It wasn't a memorable fight but it was important to me and my career, so I unearthed it after it dawned on me recently that it had been 10 years since the fight. On Halloween night -- Oct. 31, 1998 -- Naseem Hamed methodically outpointed Wayne McCullough to retain the featherweight championship at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. What's the big deal, you ask, about this forgettable match? Forgettable to most, perhaps, but to me it was huge and I will never forget it. I had covered some smaller fight cards in my early newspaper jobs, but Hamed-McCullough was the first HBO card I ever covered and the first one I ever covered for USA TODAY, huge milestones in my life. Since then, I've covered well more than 100 HBO cards and moved on to the greener pastures of ESPN, but Hamed-McCullough will always be special to me.
Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3700426&name=rafael_dan
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From Gamblers Television "The Dream Match"
Oscar De La Hoya versus Manny Pacquiao The Dream Match Boxing Quick Hitter with Dana Ward from Gamblers Television
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Wednesday, November 12, 2008
24/7 CONTINUES WITH DE LA HOYA-PACQUAIO, Nov. 16 on HBO!
HBO Sports will provide exclusive behind-the-scenes access, along with in-depth interviews, as two surefire Hall of Famers prepare for one of boxing’s most intriguing bouts. The 35-year-old De La Hoya (39-5, 30 KOs) turned professional after winning the gold at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games. A native of East Los Angeles, he has routinely set box-office records during his stellar career, ranging from the junior lightweight division to the middleweight ranks. A national hero in his native Philippines, the 29-year-old Pacquiao (47-3-2, 35 KOs) is recognized by most boxing observers as the sport’s unofficial pound-for-pound king. Demonstrating knockout power in four weight classes, he will now jump from the 135-pound lightweight division to the 147-pound welterweight ranks to battle De La Hoya.
HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg says, “We look forward to presenting the compelling storylines and characters that will make this edition of ‘24/7′ provocative and engaging television. This fight has the entire boxing community talking about what will happen, and our mission is to get the casual sports fan emotionally involved with the principals.”
Source: http://fightfan.com/?p=2010
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Saturday, November 8, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
WBC's Sulaiman to Pacquiao: Pay up or lose title
CHENG DU, CHINA- Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao must cough up $30,000 within the next 15 days or be stripped of his World Boxing Council lightweight title, the WBC said on Thursday.
The boxing body's governors, meeting in Cheng Du, are demanding the fighter pay sanctioning fees they say he owes, or they will take his belt.
"Manny Pacquiao is a great champion and the pride of the WBC. But he believes he is the ruler of the organization and that is not going to happen," WBC President Jose Sulaiman told Reuters.
"If he doesn't want to do it, he goes his way and we go our way. He has made a fortune with the WBC. He became famous fighting WBC Champions like Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales and now he's trying to kick us in the back and send us home. We cannot do that.
"I am very disappointed because he's a friend, he is the hero of President Arroyo and of the whole country of the Philippines, and I feel very bad because of the way that we've been treated. But the phone is there and the door is open."
The WBC is also insisting Pacquiao pay $100,000 within 15 days of his anticipated fight against Oscar de la Hoya or face the same punishment. That non-title fight is scheduled for Dec. 6.
It was not clear, however, if the WBC has received request from any party to stop the Pacquaio-de la Hoya bout.
Pacman lawyer: no info yet on sanction fee
Pacquiao’s lawyer Jeng Gacal, meanwhile, said they have not received any word from WBC regarding the sanction fees.
“Never naman nagkaroon si Manny ng problem sa pagbayad ng sanction fee. So if it is true na hindi pa siya nakabayad ay Manny will pay it for sure,” Gacal said.
He is even puzzled how the media got hold of the information first.
“Nakakapagtataka dahil hindi naman ito WBC fight at hindi title fight ... so unless may malaking rason, wala talagang sanction fee ito,” said Gacal.
Pacquiao earlier refused to relinquish his WBC 135-lb title which he won after knocking out David Diaz in June 2008.
Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum said the Filipino fighter may end up defending his title depending on the results of his "Dream Match" against de la Hoya.
“If Manny loses, or even if he wins against Oscar, he can go down to 135 (pounds),” said Arum.
Under WBC rules, Pacquiao has one year to defend the title before it is given up in order to pave the way for a new champion.
However, Sulaiman voiced his opposition against the Pacquiao-de la Hoya Dream Match citing the “extreme differences in height and weight" between both fighters.
"He (Pacquiao) is not considering the serious differences where a lower weight beat a higher weight and in this case is not moving from one division to the next but from one to three more divisions," Sulaiman said.
Pacquiao stands 5' 6 1/2" while de la Hoya is four inches taller. With reports from Dyan Castillejo, Reuters and the Philippine Star
Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/11/06/08/pay-pacquiao-or-be-stripped-title-wbcs-sulaiman-says
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The boxing body's governors, meeting in Cheng Du, are demanding the fighter pay sanctioning fees they say he owes, or they will take his belt.
"Manny Pacquiao is a great champion and the pride of the WBC. But he believes he is the ruler of the organization and that is not going to happen," WBC President Jose Sulaiman told Reuters.
"If he doesn't want to do it, he goes his way and we go our way. He has made a fortune with the WBC. He became famous fighting WBC Champions like Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales and now he's trying to kick us in the back and send us home. We cannot do that.
"I am very disappointed because he's a friend, he is the hero of President Arroyo and of the whole country of the Philippines, and I feel very bad because of the way that we've been treated. But the phone is there and the door is open."
The WBC is also insisting Pacquiao pay $100,000 within 15 days of his anticipated fight against Oscar de la Hoya or face the same punishment. That non-title fight is scheduled for Dec. 6.
It was not clear, however, if the WBC has received request from any party to stop the Pacquaio-de la Hoya bout.
Pacman lawyer: no info yet on sanction fee
Pacquiao’s lawyer Jeng Gacal, meanwhile, said they have not received any word from WBC regarding the sanction fees.
“Never naman nagkaroon si Manny ng problem sa pagbayad ng sanction fee. So if it is true na hindi pa siya nakabayad ay Manny will pay it for sure,” Gacal said.
He is even puzzled how the media got hold of the information first.
“Nakakapagtataka dahil hindi naman ito WBC fight at hindi title fight ... so unless may malaking rason, wala talagang sanction fee ito,” said Gacal.
Pacquiao earlier refused to relinquish his WBC 135-lb title which he won after knocking out David Diaz in June 2008.
Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum said the Filipino fighter may end up defending his title depending on the results of his "Dream Match" against de la Hoya.
“If Manny loses, or even if he wins against Oscar, he can go down to 135 (pounds),” said Arum.
Under WBC rules, Pacquiao has one year to defend the title before it is given up in order to pave the way for a new champion.
However, Sulaiman voiced his opposition against the Pacquiao-de la Hoya Dream Match citing the “extreme differences in height and weight" between both fighters.
"He (Pacquiao) is not considering the serious differences where a lower weight beat a higher weight and in this case is not moving from one division to the next but from one to three more divisions," Sulaiman said.
Pacquiao stands 5' 6 1/2" while de la Hoya is four inches taller. With reports from Dyan Castillejo, Reuters and the Philippine Star
Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/11/06/08/pay-pacquiao-or-be-stripped-title-wbcs-sulaiman-says
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Monday, November 3, 2008
Pacquiao, Dela Hoya take breather: It’s show time
Tickets to the “Dream Match” between Manny Pacquiao and Oscar dela Hoya have long been sold out and yet the two superstars in the thick of training are still taking time out to promote the Dec. 6 showdown.
Dela Hoya, the king of pay-per-view, is all set to appear on ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Sunday (today in Manila). He will be the episode’s special guest and is expected to make a few announcements.
Pacquiao, the pound-for-pound king, is being prepped as guest on the popular Jimmy Kimmel Live, an American late-night talk show being broadcast on ABC. It is the longest running ABC late-night talk show since the Dick Cavett Show in the early ‘70s.
Bob Arum told The STAR that Pacquiao might appear on the show close to the fight, and the likeable Filipino superstar, the Top Rank president said, “would be asked to sing a song or play a musical instrument.”
Pacquiao appearing in a popular late-night talk show is part of the promotions for the coming fight which has already brought the two fighters to several key places like New York, San Antonio and San Francisco last month.
For his fight against Hector Velasquez in 2006, Pacquiao threw the ceremonial pitch in a California Angels match, and against Jorge Solis later on was asked to appear in a San Antonio Spurs ballgame in San Antonio though it didn’t happen.
“This time we’re concentrating on appearances that are cross-over. And this big late-night show of Jimmy Kimmel should take Manny across the country,” said Arum of the show that already had the likes of Shaquille O’Neal, Mike Tyson and Tom Cruise as guests.
Last week, ESPN’s primetime newsmagazine aired a very special feature on the life of Pacquiao – his rise from poverty to being a national hero in the Philippines. The special feature was reported by Jeremy Schaap.
“It was an unbelievable feature,” said Arum.
He said tickets to the fight, set at the 17,000-seat Grand Arena of the fabulous MGM Grand of Las Vegas, have “all been gone” and with the continued promotional gigs they’re hoping to catch more on the PPV sales.
Promoters are hoping that it could match or even the surpass the record 2.4 million PPV buys generated by the Dela Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight last year.
“So can Pacquiao’s “Dream Match” with De La Hoya out do those numbers? It’s hard to say. There are many factors in this year’s economy that were certainly different from 2007,” it was written on the Internet recently.
“It’s often said that in times of recession, recreational items such as concerts and sporting events are the first to get hit. The Global market is in turmoil these days, financial markets everywhere are taking a plunge and come Christmas time, many people might be reluctant to part with their cash on items such as Pay-Per-View.
Source: http://teampilipinas.info/2008/11/pacquiao-dela-hoya-take-breather-its.html
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Dela Hoya, the king of pay-per-view, is all set to appear on ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Sunday (today in Manila). He will be the episode’s special guest and is expected to make a few announcements.
Pacquiao, the pound-for-pound king, is being prepped as guest on the popular Jimmy Kimmel Live, an American late-night talk show being broadcast on ABC. It is the longest running ABC late-night talk show since the Dick Cavett Show in the early ‘70s.
Bob Arum told The STAR that Pacquiao might appear on the show close to the fight, and the likeable Filipino superstar, the Top Rank president said, “would be asked to sing a song or play a musical instrument.”
Pacquiao appearing in a popular late-night talk show is part of the promotions for the coming fight which has already brought the two fighters to several key places like New York, San Antonio and San Francisco last month.
For his fight against Hector Velasquez in 2006, Pacquiao threw the ceremonial pitch in a California Angels match, and against Jorge Solis later on was asked to appear in a San Antonio Spurs ballgame in San Antonio though it didn’t happen.
“This time we’re concentrating on appearances that are cross-over. And this big late-night show of Jimmy Kimmel should take Manny across the country,” said Arum of the show that already had the likes of Shaquille O’Neal, Mike Tyson and Tom Cruise as guests.
Last week, ESPN’s primetime newsmagazine aired a very special feature on the life of Pacquiao – his rise from poverty to being a national hero in the Philippines. The special feature was reported by Jeremy Schaap.
“It was an unbelievable feature,” said Arum.
He said tickets to the fight, set at the 17,000-seat Grand Arena of the fabulous MGM Grand of Las Vegas, have “all been gone” and with the continued promotional gigs they’re hoping to catch more on the PPV sales.
Promoters are hoping that it could match or even the surpass the record 2.4 million PPV buys generated by the Dela Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight last year.
“So can Pacquiao’s “Dream Match” with De La Hoya out do those numbers? It’s hard to say. There are many factors in this year’s economy that were certainly different from 2007,” it was written on the Internet recently.
“It’s often said that in times of recession, recreational items such as concerts and sporting events are the first to get hit. The Global market is in turmoil these days, financial markets everywhere are taking a plunge and come Christmas time, many people might be reluctant to part with their cash on items such as Pay-Per-View.
Source: http://teampilipinas.info/2008/11/pacquiao-dela-hoya-take-breather-its.html
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De la Hoya expects 'long, fun' fight with Pacquiao
Boxing superstar Oscar de la Hoya expects to have fun with Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao during their much-awaited fight dubbed "The Dream Match" in Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena on December 6.
"Be ready for a long, fun fight... I say fun because with Manny Pacquiao, there is no boring fight and that’s what I'm looking forward to," De la Hoya said at the formal announcement Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) of their December 6 non-title fight.
De la Hoya said he would be "honored to be in the ring" with the Filipino boxing icon.
Pacquiao, for his part, went on with his usual one liner, "I will fight for the honor of our country," which means he will give his 100 percent to win the fight.
"Tatayo ako hangga't may hininga, hindi susuko (I will continue fighting up to my last breath. I won't give up)," Pacquiao said.
The two boxing superstars made the statements at the joint announcement of the December 6 fight in Liberty Island in New York.
Pacquiao arrived in New York Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) from Los Angeles for the big announcement.
Boxing analysts expect an action-packed fight between the two boxing superstars. There were comments that Pacquiao is no match for the veteran boxer.
However, Pacquiao, despite disadvantages on height, weight and reach, maintained his fearless stance against De la Hoya.
On Tuesday, the Filipino boxing champion said he is not bothered by De la Hoya's decision to hire renowned trainer Ignacio "Nacho" Beristain.
Beristain trained Pacquaio’s old nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez, who lost his WBC super featherweight title to the Filipino in a controversial match in Las Vegas last March.
“I think that's good for me because never naman nanalo sa akin si Marquez. Siguro kinuha niya (De la Hoya) ang trainer ni Marquez para matalo din siya,” joked Pacquiao.
The Filipino, however, said his training against the Mexican-American star is serious business. He has been training harder to match De la Hoya's heavier weight and longer reach.
“Kakaiba ang sakit ng katawan ko, kakaiba ang training na ginagawa ko ngayon, talagang pampalakas at saka pampatibay,” he said.
source:
with reports from VALCUENCA and DYAN CASTILLEJO, ABS-CBN News
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De La Hoya Interview on ESPN
ESPN interviews Oscar de la Hoya for his upcoming fight against Boxing's Pound 4 Pound Best Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao!!!
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Sunday, November 2, 2008
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