Friday, October 30, 2009

Mayweather fight unlikely – Pacquiao

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Manny Pacquiao believes the biggest potential fight in boxing will never happen because Floyd Mayweather Jr. wants no part of him.

Pacquiao is training in Hollywood for his meeting with Miguel Cotto on November 14 in Las Vegas, but the pound-for-pound champion spared a moment on Thursday to evaluate his chances of fighting Mayweather, the unbeaten pay-per-view king. Although the matchup almost certainly would be a financial bonanza for both fighters,

Pacquiao thinks fans shouldn't hold their breath.

“I don't think it's going to happen,'' Pacquiao said. “I'm sure he doesn't want to fight.”

Mayweather has been circumspect about his plans for his next bout, saying only that he has never ducked anybody and would consider any opponent. In his comeback bout from a 21-month layoff, Mayweather demolished Juan Manuel Marquez on September 19 in a fight that generated more than 1 million pay-per-view buys.

Mayweather's advisers claim they haven't ruled out a bout with Pacquiao, likely among the world's few fighters who could match the American's speed. But the Filipino champion has surprisingly strong opinions about why it won't happen.

“Boxing for him is like a business,” Pacquiao said. “He doesn't care about the people around him watching. He doesn't care if the fight is boring, as long as the fight is finished and he gets (plenty of) money. ... I want people to be happy. You have a big responsibility as a boxer.”

If Mayweather and Pacquiao don't make a deal, Sugar Shane Mosley has been outspoken in his desire to fight Mayweather, even calling him out in the ring moments after his victory over Marquez. Mosley is slated to meet welterweight champion Andre Berto in Las Vegas in January.

After arriving in California last Saturday, Pacquiao has been ramping up his training regimen this week while also battling jet lag that forced him to sleep for about 20 hours on Wednesday, wiping out a day of training. Because of tax issues, Pacquiao's camp began in Manila and moved to Hollywood later than trainer Freddie Roach usually prefers.

“I'm not worried about it, because he's always known how to block everything out,” Roach said. “If anybody can do it, he can.”

Pacquiao looked fairly sharp while sparring 11 rounds on Thursday at Roach's Wild Card Gym in front of a small group of spectators including Los Angeles Lakers forward Ron Artest and his father, Ron Sr., both avid boxing fans and Pacquiao admirers.

Pacquiao will spar 12 rounds on Saturday before gradually scaling back in preparation for his trip to Las Vegas to meet Cotto, the once-beaten welterweight champion whose combination of size and strength will be unlike anything the former flyweight champion has faced. Cotto is in camp in Tampa. Florida before traveling to the West Coast next week.

“I consider this one of the hardest fights in my boxing career,” Pacquiao said.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Is the Pacquiao/Roach relationship beginning to sour?


Those who have watched HBO 24/7 Pacquiao/Cotto last night could see the change in the Pacman. It was a different side, an inconsiderate side that I had never seen before.

Roach made a comment about Pacquiao being happy over the small things before but not so much today, like when Manny came to the gym and was happy because he got a new pair of Mizuno boxing shows and showing off his new Mizuno shoes to Freddie. Well those times have changed and it seems Manny has finally fallen victim to the Fame.

Like many other star athletes once they get to a certain level they no longer cherish the little things.

Manny has gotten too comfortable wearing those silky pajamas to bed. In the episode he disobeyed Freddie, he promised Roach behind closed doors that they would leave early, but later on decided to stay a bit more in Baguio.

As Manny Pacquiao trained in the lavish Baguio gym, instead of taking a break to visit the victims he just stayed at the resort. Roach as usual sticks up for Manny during the Baguio visit he tells the storm victims that Manny could not visit them because he told Manny to train for his fight, no matter how bad Manny treats Freddie, Roach will defend Manny and never talk bad about him.

For those poor Filipino people, just one glimpse of seeing their hero Manny Pacquiao in person would of boost their morale and give them hope. Manny took time out from training to talk politics, but not visit those victims for a brief moment? I hope this was just HBO editing because that seems unlike the Manny Pacquiao image we are so used to seeing.

Even Floyd Mayweather Jr. took the time out of his training to help the homeless and give lectures to homeless youth. Mayweather showed even with all his money that he still has the time to help those less fortunate, but with Floyd Jr. people seem to overlook that side of him and focus on the negative.

I really felt for Roach, the father and son relationship that they once had or seemed to have was no longer there. As evidenced by the final scene where Manny was talking to some politician and Freddie who was fed up because no one was listening to him tells Manny that they have to leave to LA already.

The response from Manny was shocking he rolled his eyes at Freddie Roach simply to dismiss him as if he was a nobody.

Pacquiao needs to realize how lucky he is to have a man like Freddie Roach in his corner, inside and outside the ring. Roach has stuck his neck out for Manny many times. True friends like Roach always get overlooked when they get to a certain level, they forget the little people.

People like Roach are few and far between.

Watch Pacquiao vs Cotto Match

Source: nowboxing.com

Monday, October 19, 2009

Roach predicts KO victory by Pacquiao

BAGUIO CITY - Three-time Trainer of the Year Freddie Roach here Friday predicted Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao will win his seventh title when he collides with World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion Miguel Cotto next month.

Pacquiao and Cotto will be testing each other's mettle in a blockbuster title bout on November 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

"Manny has been doing excellent work in his training here. We are confident we could finish the fight early to prevent Cotto from getting his second wind." Roach stressed.

In his latest sparring session late Thursday afternoon, the 30-year-old world champion floored undefeated superwelterweight contender Shawn Porter in the second round of their four-round blistering encounter with a solid left straight to the latter's jaw.

After knocking down Porter, Pacquiao also virtually mauled two-time world lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo of Mexico as he displayed awesome speed and power.

Pacquiao is on his fourth week of rigid training in this mountain resort city in preparation for the Cotto fight. Team Pacquiao will be breaking camp here on October 23 in order to catch the late evening flight for Los Angeles the following day where he will be entering the Wild Card gym on October 26 for the final stage of his training.

"Manny is nearing his peak form. We are now regulating his training regimen so that he could maintain his excellent performance in the ring until the fight. We already got our game going with the help of his supportive sparring partners," Roach added.

While admitting that Typhoon Pepeng had a slight effect on the pound for pound king's roadwork, Roach claimed they are now taking advantage of the good weather to get back lost time although the gym work is way ahead of schedule.

Earlier, Roach predicted Pacquiao will knock out Cotto in either the eighth or ninth round but said the champion's performance in recent days shows that there will be an early knockout victory for his favorite ward.

Since Cotto is known to be able to get his second wind in the later part of his previous fights, the American trainer claimed Pacquiao will be working aggressively in the early rounds in order to catch the champion off balanced to be assured of a victory.

Watch Pacquiao vs Cotto match

Source: ph.news.yahoo.com

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Cotto Highlights: Pac are you ready for This?

It is almost all about Pacquiao. Of course! He is one of the most respected boxer today. But then its time to share the fame with his next foe, Miguel Cotto.

This Pacquiao vs Cotto match will not be possible of course without the joint venture in the same ring with these two great fighters. The video below will show the power of Miguel Cotto. This Puerto Rican Champ might also disappoint Pacquiao and the fans following this fight.

Watch how Miguel Cotto have slugged and outscored his previous opponents. Dont dare to miss the fire power match this November 14, 2009.



Saturday, October 17, 2009

P1-billion prize eyed in next Pacquiao fight

LOS ANGELES — Assuming Manny Pacquiao topples Miguel Cotto from his throne in November for Pacquiao vs Cotto fight, his next bout will certainly earn him a billion peso prize – win or lose.

That is, if Floyd Mayweather repulses Juan Manuel Marquez this Saturday.

If both Pacquiao and Mayweather prevail, there will be no other bout that will make boxing fans drool from excitement but to see the current pound-for-pound king take on the former holder of that mythical title.

If everything falls into place, Pacquiao and Mayweather will figure in a collision course in 2010, a matchup so mouth-watering it has all the trappings of a record-breaker in terms of ticket sales and attendance records.

Industry sources say Pacquiao should get a guarantee of $25 million (P1.2 billion) against Mayweather plus a share in pay-per-view and ticket sales as well.

Against Cotto on November 14, Pacquiao has been guaranteed $13 million and a cut in the other revenue-generating schemes.

“Kapag nanalo kami pareho ni Mayweather, kami na (ang maglalaban). Nag-uusap na pero si Cotto muna ang focus natin. Basta nag-uusap na,” Pacquiao told a pair of Filipino scribes who were invited by Top Rank to cover the press tour and join the fighter on the private plane that brought them here from San Francisco.

Pacquiao was joined by his trainer Freddie Roach, lawyer Franklin Gacal and Canadian adviser Mike Koncz, training assistant Roger Fernandez, free-lance publicist Fred Sternburg on the 50-minute journey.

Pacquiao was supposed to check in at the Beverly Hills Hotel but opted instead to stay in his pricey house at Hancock Park where Koncz cooked up his famed steak barbecue that pleased his boss.

Pacquiao became boxing’s recognized holder of the coveted pound-for-pound crown on the strength of his sensational wins over Juan Manuel Marquez, David Diaz and Oscar De La Hoya and his hold to that lofty position was galvanized by his smashing one-punch knockout of Ricky Hatton last May.

Mayweather, who made his announcement almost two years ago, was regarded as pound-for-pound titlist at that time.

Even Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, has his sights on a Mayweather showdown although the Harvard-educated lawyer insists Pacquiao should first deal with the dangerous Cotto before salivating over the mega-buck Mayweather bout.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Arum ruling out Pacquiao's tiff vs Mayweather

MANILA, Philippines - Top Rank’s chief Bob Arum, American promoter of Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao, expressed doubt on the possibility of his prized ward facing Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a bout pitting two of the world’s top pound-for-pound fighters.

The top boxing executive said he's having doubts that Pacquiao will take on Mayweather next if he gets past Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14 (Nov. 15 in Manila), citing problems that may possibly arise during negotiations.

"I don't think (Pacquiao-Mayweather) will happen within the next year because of all of Mayweather's posturing, the trash talk. That impedes any realistic negotiations. It would just be too difficult," Arum told Michael Rosenthal of The Ring.

Even Pacquiao's chief trainer Freddie Roach is on the same page as Arum.

"It seems like there's a lot of things working against this fight ever happening," Roach earlier told The Los Angeles Times. "It makes sense. It'd be a great fight, but it seems there’s a lot of distractions around it. I don’t think it’s going to happen."

It was earlier reported that the issue of the purse split may derail a Pacquiao-Mayweather duel, as neither fighter is willing to settle for an equal sharing of the pot.

Mayweather came out of retirement to beat Juan Manuel Marquez – Pacquiao's arch-nemesis – cruising to a lopsided victory last Sept. 19.

Asked if Pacquiao is doomed to suffer the same beating as Marquez if the Filipino goes up against Mayweather, Arum said the Filipino fighter has an entirely different style compared to Marquez's.

"Styles make fights," Arum said, citing an age-old boxing adage.

"Mayweather is a defensive specialist and Marquez is a counter puncher. Mayweather forced Marquez to be aggressive, which isn’t his game. Marquez needs his opponent to be aggressive. When Manny fought Marquez – and it’s not the same Manny now – Manny was the aggressor. Marquez was able to win a lot of rounds because he’s a good counter puncher," he added.

Arum even provided additional examples to stress his point.

"Just because A beats B and B beats C, it doesn't mean A will necessarily beat C. Look at the heavyweights from years ago. George Foreman could fight Joe Frazier and Ken Norton a hundred times each and the result would be the same, a Foreman knockout. Muhammad Ali could fight Frazier 100 times and every one would be a war. The same with Norton; he just couldn’t figure out his style. Then you put Ali in with Foreman and he's able to knock him out. Manny is a different type of fighter than Marquez," he said.


Source: news.yahoo.com

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Pacquiao spars with Castillo

The Philippine Champ Manny Pacquiao had finally engaged former world champion Jose Luis Castillo of Mexico in one of the sparring sessions on Tuesday in his training camp in Baguio City. This was added with the two key figures inside the Filipino’s camp where both were satisfied with the showing of the 35-year-old warhorse from Sonora state. The ex-champ Castillo proved to be a worthy spar mate according to Pacquiao’s Canadian adviser Mike Koncz, who personally picked up Castillo to spend some quality minutes with his boss.

The Conditioning coach Alex Ariza was also all paid praises for Castillo, who will likely fill in the void that will be left by Urbano Antillon. Urbano is due to return to the United States this weekend so he could get used to the local weather there as he prepares for a fight next month. Head coach Freddie Roach wanted to know if Castillo was indeed in shape as he ordered the Mexican to start off the seven-round session by going three rounds with pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao. It was known that after Castillo, Pacquiao worked with unbeaten super-welterweight Shawn Porter. So far, Pacquiao has logged a total of 38 rounds of sparring. Manny Pacquiao, who will face Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14 in Las Vegas, spars thrice a week.

This conditioning activities of Pacquiao in Baguio City is just a few on his daily dues for the Pacquiao vs Cotto match. You will see how dedicated this guy is all through out his trainings.

Lets us watch the Pacquiao vs Cotto fight dubbed as the fire power if he can beat the bigger Cotto in his quest to dominate each and every divisions he is in. Go Manny Pacquiao!
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