Just asking… do you really want to see a Pacquiao – Marquez IV?

Just asking… do you really want to see a Pacquiao – Marquez IV?

NO (66%)
YES (34%)

Total Votes: 150

 

Boxing Superstar Manny Pacquiao to Launch His Own Portal

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Floyd, Floyd, Floyd

Another Floyd “Manny Pacquiao rant”…

Pucha Floyd oh, ang kulit mo. Blood and urine test isn’t an issue anymore. Calm down Floyd, calm down. Think it’s you who’s juiced. You having problems with Manny taking his money home and spending it here in the Philippines is absolutely ridiculous. Times 40 kaya ang dollar to peso! Common sense man. Besides, you’re fighting Miguel Cotto all you have to say is Manny, Manny, Manny. Come on man, talk about Cotto now man.

Manny Pacquiao: What’s Your Wild Rabbit?

This is the 24/7-ish commercial by Hennessy featuring Congressman Manny Pacquiao.

And he says, “Fighting the fights that really matter. That is my wild rabbit.”

We know the fight that really matters is the Pacman versus Floyd fight. So hopefully they’ll find a way to make the fight then we can all drink to it. Hennessy preferred.

For more about this Hennessy integrated campaign, check http://www.neverstopneversettle.com/.

Pacman is Lin-alike

Some of Manny Pacquiao & Jeremy Lin’s common characteristics.

• Asian blood of course. Duh.
• Both wear jersey number 17.
• Afraid of needles? (right Dino?)
• Both exploded in the US out of nowhere.
• Super breakout moments came off legends of their respective sports (Pacman vs Barrera, Lin vs Kobe, the 38 point game)
• Both endorse Nike.
• Before becoming the hottest thing in basketball & boxing, there’s a cute story of Jeremy Lin sleeping on his brother’s couch, and Pacman’s story, well, sleeping on nothing at all.
• Both are religious dudes.
• Both hated by Floyd. ( by @BofSantos)

Add up please…

Manny Pacquiao vs Timothy Bradley Video Primer

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Defending Manny Pacquiao: A deeper look at the 3rd Pac-JMM fight

My initial reaction after watching the fight and while anxiously waiting for the decision was, “Oh shit, Marquez finally wins one”. Pacquiao’s tentativeness and Marquez’ perfect counter-punching were the key factors in making me decide to give 7 rounds to Marquez over Pac’s 5.

In comes the decision.

Still the WBO Welterweight Champion, Manny Pacman Pacquiao.

I will have to admit, I was one of the  many people who were screaming robbery after watching the fight live through streaming. I scored it 115-113 Marquez and most of the people who were watching with me thought Pacquiao was a goner too. After a few twitter and facebook posts here, I knew that I had to re-watch the fight and see what really happened from a much clearer perspective.  Thanks to GMA-7′s delayed, ad bombarded telecast, I was able to watch the fight again.

And upon watching the fight again, it’s not really as bad as I initially called it to be. There were close rounds which could’ve gone either way, the fight lacked a knockdown which would’ve made a round more decisive and the decisive rounds came far and few in between, the only decisive rounds in the 12 round fight were rounds 2 and 8 for Marquez and rounds 3 and 12 for Pacquiao. Other than that, it’s anybody’s ball game. With that being said, the judges decision were not really that much of a stretch as I initially thought it was.

From an initial 115-113 Marquez score, I now had it a 114-114 draw after the replay. Now, Dave Moretti’s 115-113 scorecard wasn’t that bad, though I have to admit Towbridge’s decision to give Pacquiao 8 rounds is a little questionable, it isn’t hard to see how Manny may have won the fight in other people’s eyes.

Going through the fight, the question at hand is, why does people think Pacquiao should’ve lost the fight in the first place?  And how will I justify Manny Pacquiao winning the fight or at the very least, pulling a draw?

1) Juan Manuel Marquez fought a perfect fight

Dinamita fought the fight of his life. Juan Manuel Marquez made Pacquiao fight his fight. He kept distance and made Pacquiao very tentative in throwing flurries. Most of Pacquiao’s combinations were responded very well. His digging punches to the body also helped add up to his cause. Regardless of the decision, Juan Manuel Marquez fought a perfect fight, and that might very well be one of the major reasons why many thought Marquez should’ve won the fight.

But a question that I have to throw to you is that is Manny Pacquiao good enough that even in Juan Manuel Marquez’ best days, Pacquiao is still capable of winning a close decision? Sounds like it.

Despite Marquez fighting a near flawless game, Pacquiao was able to sneak in punches in his own. He was able to adapt to the style of Marquez which definitely gives him problems and fight a fight wherein he’s not putting himself open for timely power counter-punches while still landing in a rate higher than his opponent. Compubox had Pacquiao landing more than Marquez in total punches, power punches and jabs. This may not explain that Pacquiao had to win the fight, but it’s a nice justification that Pacquiao was landing at a higher rate.

2) Lack of aggressiveness from Manny’s side

Cotto, Clottey, Margarito, Mosley. Pacquiao’s last four victims all  got a taste of Pacquiao’s fury. Pacquiao’s movement, his aggressiveness and the way he throws punches in bunches from the opening bell up to the last round made Pacquiao a man that is very feared in the boxing world. That Pacquiao wasn’t present in this fight. In most rounds, Pacquiao fought with caution, dissecting JMM’s defense and counter-punching through calculated punches. This wasn’t the Pacquiao that everyone knew and therefore this could also add up to them thinking that Pacquiao may have lost this fight.

Then again, why fight someone who knows how to beat you and may have already done that  in your previous meaning without caution? Pacquiao definitely did not look like himself  but it’s not like Marquez was dominating him all through out the fight. Point is, Pacquiao fought cautiously but still landed at a higher rate than Marquez in some rounds.

3) No one was expecting Marquez to stay standing after 12

This, I believe, is the biggest reason why people thought Marquez won the fight. Marquez was really a huge underdog and everyone thought (Including me) that Pacquiao was just going to run through Juan Manuel Marquez and finish the trilogy in devastating fashion. Obviously, that didn’t happen.

Unlike their first two fights, Juan Manuel Marquez didn’t even hit the canvass in this fight. He stood toe to toe with Pacquiao for 12 rounds, keeping distance while counter-punching beautifully. Marquez wasn’t annihilated as expected by many, Marquez didn’t hit the canvass and he was even able to hang with Pacquiao, that is why many people reacted violently against the Pacquiao victory.

But I tell you what, if it was Floyd Mayweather Jr. in that ring and Pacquiao dropped  a decision from Mayweather Jr with the fight going the same as this one,everyone will be screaming robbery for Manny Pacquiao. The reason? The simple fact that Floyd didn’t come in as an underdog and people are expecting him to stand toe to toe  with Manny Pacquiao in this fight, not like Marquez who many people were predicting to be knocked out cold within 6-8 rounds.

The point is, the fight was so close, it could have been called either way. Marquez has his case of winning, Pacquiao has his. And after watching a re-run of the fight, I really would be fine with the decision regardless of the winner.

The main reason why I believe two judges had it for Manny Pacquiao is that because despite being tentative and not being his usual self, he’s still the aggressor in most rounds and in rounds where in it was too even to come up with an undisputed decision, more times than not judges will give the aggressor the round and in that case, Manny may have a legitimate case here.

As for myself, I didn’t buy that aggressor always beats the calm argument knowing that Marquez isn’t really the type of boxer who will throw punches in bunches. Marquez stayed with enough distance to catch Pacquiao with some beautiful counters but even in that case I had the fight a draw upon watching the fight again.

Bottomline, Marquez and Pacquiao are so equal to each other, it’s  always hard to pick a decisive winner whenever they face each other in the ring. Pacquiao may be the best fighter in the world right now, and with the way he destroyed his previous quality opponents he still may be, but Marquez knows how to fight him and knows how to win against him. It’s pretty much like knowing how to beat a megaboss in a video game and having the tools to beat it, but coming up short because of a slip or a bad case of misjudgment prior to the finish.

Did Pacquiao deserve the win in this fight?  Based on what I’ve said above, Yes. But is he a better fighter than Juan Manuel Marquez? That is something that still needs to be cleared up.

Pacquiao-Marquez 4? Sounds intriguing. It may be the only solution to beat this deadlock and give boxing fans another war that they deserve to see.

 

 

Pacquiao Meets Fans After Marquez Fight & Delivers a K.O. for Charity!

As boxing’s number one pound-for-pound boxer, Manny Pacquiao has the world at his fists, garnering support from boxing fans, video gamers, Lakers shooting guards, nighttime television hosts and Oscar-hosting comedians alike as his big fight approaches against Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez. With his championship bout fast approaching, the Pac-Man is teaming up with charitybuzz to deliver a one-two punch for charity, and giving two lucky fans a chance to meet him after he fights to defend his World Welterweight Championship title at the MGM Grand Las Vegas! The twosome will be able to cheer on The Destroyer on November 12 as he fights Marquez, and then take pictures with the champ when they meet him after the bout. Bidding is open through Wednesday, November 9 at http://ow.ly/7jxlG.

Pacquiao has had many big victories in the MGM Las Vegas ring, like in 2009 when he KO’ed Ricky Hatton into retirement, but not before both fighters signed a boxing glove to be auctioned off to one lucky fan for charity! The winning bidder can own a part of this memorable night with a glove autographed by Manny Pacquiao and Hatton before the showdown that would make boxing history, as Pacquiao’s victory would give him six world titles in six different weight divisions, leveling him with Oscar De La Hoya. The signed glove also comes with a certificate of authenticity signed by
Chairman and CEO of TOP RANK, Bob Arum. Bidding is open through Thursday, November 17 at charitybuzz: http://ow.ly/7jAsz.

Proceeds for these items benefit the Obakki Foundation and C5LA.

Joe Frazier, Half of the “Thrilla” Dies at 67

He beat all of ‘em (Ok, not Foreman).

He beat Ali.

But not liver cancer.

Joe Frazier – “Smoking Joe,” who was half of the “Thrilla in Manila”, half of that “Fight of the Century,” died Monday night. In the fight of his life, cancer defeated him.

Parkinson’s-stricken Muhammad Ali has outlived Joe Frazier.

One of those sleepless wee hours, I caught the HBO’s documentary ,”Thrilla in Manila“, kinda felt it for Frazier. There he was, manning his old Phillie gym, aging, training guys, waiting for something. Not getting the recognition that Ali got back in the day, and is getting, right now.

Up to that point (filming of the documentary), he hated Ali. Without each other, their legends are INCOMPLETE. Too bad, a fourth meeting between old warriors Joe and Ali could have ended their legendary rivalry on a sweet note. Make up, settle the differences, not with barrage of punches, but words of admiration, respect and forgiveness.

It did not happen. Perhaps it will someday. Not in this life but the next.

RIP JOE!

Kobe Bryant visited Manny Pacquiao at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym

Nike superstar endorsers Kobe Bryant and Manny Pacquiao briefly met up inside Roach’s WCG.

Over the years, the two have established a mutual respect for what they do. Both being at the top of their game for most of the century, both world champions and icons, both with unmatched work ethic… and both guys wear the “swoosh”.

Kobe has his “Blackout Drill”, but he just saw Pacman’s “Knockout Drill.”

Freddie Roach said that Kobe watched Pacman go 7 rounds with 3 different  sparring partners, and then later, he did more mitts.

Roach later tweeted… “kobe bryant came in gym a real gentleman. rob peters yelled out anyone tryin to sneak a pic has to become celts fan. kobe cracked up – funny”

In the Kobe-Pacman chat, not yet sure if Manny Pacquiao renounced his love of Boston Celtics!

Photo by Top Rank.

UPDATED… Manny Pacquiao – Kobe Bryant Visits Manny Pacquiao (VIDEO)

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