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Manny Pacquiao raises the bar: The Pacman to test reluctant Floyd Mayweather Jr after crushing Joshua Clottey

Mayweather vs Mosley - As if 12 rounds of world championship boxing were not enough for one night's work, Manny Pacquaio bounced out to another stadium across the road to give a late night concert for thousands of his fans. The first song of his 90 minute session was a rousing rendition of La Bamba. This little chap is possessed of more energy than it takes to power up the space station of an arena in which he retained his world welterweight title against a challenger who dwarfed him in the ring. The sound and light show was dazzling but no star shone bigger or brighter in the Texas sky this Saturday night the most brilliant boxer on planet Earth. The high-tec wizardry which surged across the largest HD screens in the world created a spectacle in its own right but nothing could equal the velocity of Pacquaio. The Pacman was a blur, a meteor hurtling through the vastness of the Dallas Cowboys Stadum as he continued his journey from the slums of the Philippines to a place in the galaxy of sporting greatness.

There is no word yet as to how Floyd Mayweather viewed his arch-rival's performance but if the idea was to lure back into negotiations the American who kicked up the stink about drugs testing which forced the cancellation of their mega-fight, it may have done exactly the opposite. The perceived wisdom has been that Mayweather's size and defensive skills would make him impregnable against any smaller fighter, no matter how gifted. That theory was thrown into question here as Pacquaio won almost every round against Joshua Clottey, an iron-man of a former champion who weighed two divisions heavier than himself by the time they entered the ring and who boxed behind a defensive wall of arms and gloves.

Promoter Bob Arum accuses Mayweather of manufacturing the blood-testing scandal to avoid fighting his Pacman. If so, Floyd Jr may be more reluctant now to come back to the party in November. If that fight were to take place here it would become not only the first $200 million promotion but would more than double Saturday's crowd of 50,994, which of itself raised the bar for boxing attendances in the future. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones would relish the opportunity - saying 'such an event would be very good for boxing' - even though Clottey's unwillingness to co-operate in a thriller left Pacquaio to put on a virtual one-man show.

As the Ghanian who came to America via east London played peek-a-boo Pacquaio piled up the points by throwing a phenomenal 1,231 punches, most of them in clusters at light speed, many of them to the body. He kept firing, even though that left him exposed to Clottey's occasional counters. Sporadic, Clottey's responses may have been but when he did connect he did so with sufficient force to prove that Pacquaio is equipped with another of the components of ring greatness. In common with Muhammad Ali, he has a granite jaw. Clottey excused his negative tactics by saying: 'He is so fast. Maybe too fast even for Mayweather. My only chance was to land the big counter punch.'

Then, in reference to three previous defeats on his long record, he admitted: 'This is the only fight I fight I think I really lost.' By a considerable distance, as it happens. One judge awarded Pacquaio a 12-round shut-out. The other two, like most of us at ringside, gave Clottey just the third round in a 119-109 thrashing. The third biggest gate of modern times in US boxing would have preferred a stoppage but Pacquaio's master-coach Freddie Roach said: 'When a guy this big and strong is simply trying to survive it is very difficult to knock him out. I still give me my man an A-star for his performance.'

Few present would disagree. They were treated to a an eye-popping extravaganza which even included three Cowboy cheerleaders singing the US national anthem, and very well, too. Yet for the most part the special effects were tailored to complement the boxing. That came by way of round-by-round repetition. Pacquaio went to work with a lightning will, getting caught from time to time by Clottey's heavy but infrequent punches. At the service of Mass which always precedes his fights, the devoutly Catholic Pacqauio had not only his shorts, boots and robe blessed by the priest but also the cup which protects his groin. A not unwise precaution since Clottey was warned for hitting him low in round eight.

At the end, Roach, Arum and Pacquaio goaded Mayweather. The trainer said: 'Come on Floyd, stop talking and start fighting.' The promoter said: 'We believe he is using the drugs testing controversy to duck Manny. If we're wrong, let him sign a regular contract.' The boxer said: 'I have no problem fighting Mayweather but I don't think he's ready in his mind to me at the moment. Maybe some time.'

It had better be some time soon if Pacquaio wins a seat in the Philippine congress in the May 10 election there. And the politics of helping the poor is not his only distraction. He is now acting in movies, as well as taking the singing career so seriously that a voice coach - as well as his Jack Russell terrier who is his running partner every morning - is in his personal entourage. For his next act - on his way home for the election campaign - he will star in another concert, in Honolulu next Sunday.

There ain't no stopping him now.

Jeff Powell
Source: dailymail.co.uk

Pacquiao vs Clottey Fight Photos

Pacquiao vs Clottey Fight Photos - March 14, 2010

Pacquiao cruises Dominates Clottey

Pacquiao cruises Dominates Clottey

The pound for pound king once again showed the world why he is one of a kind. Manny Pacquiao dominated Joshua Clottey through 12 rounds using his speed and his punch output. Clottey fought a scared fight and took no chances despite his corner begging him to do so. The 11th round was the first time in the entire fight where Clottey opened up a little bit. The problem? Pacquiao rose to the occassion and took the round back anyway. Pacquiao overwhelmed Clottey with too many punches. Clottey suvived the fight, but that's all he was able to do. Official scores 120/108 119/109 and 119/109-Unanimous Decision Pacquiao

Pacquiao: World’s only Seven-division Champ

Boxing writers named him as having re-invented the sport of sweet science, inspired millions, perhaps billions of people around the world. It would not be an overstatement that Manny Pacquiao is being hailed these days as the savior of a sport and a nation. The Filipino boxer, who barely stands at 5ft 6½ inches , is universally regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, a point he emphatically demonstrated the past decade by crowning himself world champion in seven weight classes, the last the welteweight belt at the expense of Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto only November of last year, in the process enriching himself by US$13 million. No less that Bob Arum, his promoter who head Top Rank, believes Pacquiao, otherwise – known as “ Pacman”, is the one boxer responsible for a resurrection of the long-dormant sport.

As for his countrymen, he approximates the status of deity.

Every time he fights, crime in the country drops to virtually zero. Whenever Pacquiao’s fights are on television. Shooting between army troops and the rebels in the south or elsewhere actually stopped. All this simply adds to his status in as a humble superstar who gives away thousands of dollars each year to help his fellow countrymen cope with grinding poverty. Born 31 years ago in the little-known town of Kibawe, Bukidnon in far south Mindanao, Pacquiao grew up selling breads and flowers to help keep his family in food. Like many of his countrymen, he had no shoes, little formal education and no future until he fled home at 14 to try his luck in prizefighting. From the time he won his first professional fight, a four-rounder by decision, on January 22, 1995, rose from a 106-pound fighter to someone who has won world titles at flyweight (112), super-bantamweight (122), featherweight (126), super-featherweight (130), lightweight (135), light-welterweight (140) and welterweight (147).
His victims include Ricky Hatton, Oscar DeLa Hoya, Marco Antonio Barrera, and Erik Morales, future Hall of Famers all and, in baseball, members of the murderers’ row in the batting order. Those victories catapulted the Filipino icon to the world pound-for-pound throne, a mythical title he has worn the past three years.

Pacquiao has fought 55 times, six fewer than the great Muhammad Ali and had boxed the same number of rounds (305) that Sugar Ray Leonard had when he retired. Reason why even on the very eve of his fight with Ghanaian challenger Joshua Clottey for his welterweight plum on Sunday, debate on whether he should retire continues.

And chief trainer Freddie Roach, who has been handling him since 2001 as a flyweight champ,, has been pursuing the issue as a reminds of the perils of an overextended boxing career, as he battles the effects of pugilistic Parkinson's syndrome.

"It's hard to say. Is this my last fight? We'll see," Pacquiao, for his part, said. "One never knows. It's still so early to be talking about this, but I do like the thought of going out on top."We did a lot in boxing, achieved a lot -- more than what we set out to do."

Arum though, citing money as reason, said he was "inclined to doubt" that his star fighter would walk away from the sport
Another reason could be politics as the 31-year-old father of four with wife Jinkee is running anew for congress in the lone district of Srangani province.
Despite his iconic stature, he was unsuccessful when he ran for the Philippine Congress in 2007. Undaunted, he is running again this year.
Time magazine honored in 2009 ranked Pacquiao among the 100 people who most affect the world. Among his peers were Sister Mary Scullion, an advocate for the homeless in Philadelphia, and Suraya Pakzad, a women's rights activist in Afghanistan. He also appeared in the Time cover, the first Asian athlete to have been honored.
Pacquiao was already a pretty good fighter when he walked into Roach's Los Angeles gym in 2001 and asked Roach to be his new trainer. Pacquiao had won 31 of 35 bouts outside the United States and already owned the first of his major titles, the WBC flyweight (112-pound) championship. But the fighter, who relied almost exclusively on his dominant left hand, sensed he needed more if he wanted to conquer the sport in the United States. Roach agreed.

Roach, whom Pacquiao referred to as his “master”, tutored technique and preached the importance of ring strategy. He taught the importance of angles as well as the art of hitting and running. In the end, it has been a match made in boxing heaven. In their first fight together, Pacquiao won the IBF super bantamweight (122-pound) championship in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao has won his last 11 bouts by KO, including a career-ending against DeLa Hoya. He’s been voted Fighter of the Year in 2006, 2008 and 2009 by the Boxing Writers Association of America. Has a 90-1-2 record in world championship fights.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

Pacquiao vs Mayweather won’t happen yet <>Hopkins

THE former undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins expects that Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather won’t reach a deal for their proposed mega fight next year.

Instead, the superstars will be facing different opponents for their next bouts early next year.

"The Manny Pacquiao Blog". Click here for stories and updates on the Filipino boxing champ.

Hopkins believes Pacquiao will be gunning for a record eighth division world title against undefeated World Boxing Organization junior middleweight champion Yuri Foreman.

Mayweather will be in a super fight against World Boxing Association welterweight titleholder Shane Mosley, where the winner will face the 30-year-old Filipino pound-for-pound king.

“Mayweather will fight Shane Mosley before he fights Pacquiao.

Pacquiao is probably going to fight the Jewish kid at 154, and Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather are going to fight. And then the winner will fight Pacquiao for all the marbles – by late next year. All of that is going to happen. That’s my prediction,” said the 44-year-old Hopkins at boxingscene.com.

He is scheduled to see action on Dec. 2 against Enrique Ornelas.

Hopkins thinks Pacquiao will be successful if he moves up in weight and challenges Foreman, who is also handled by Bob Arum’s Top Rank promotional outfit.

“They’re all gonna talk but they ain’t going to get the deal done. Arum doesn’t want to deal. At the end of the day, I think it’s going to be Sugar Shane and Mayweather and the winner will fight Pacquiao. And Pacquiao will fight at 154. Pacquiao has nobody else to fight to make that money. He’s going to fight Arum’s fighter, that Jewish kid who won the title and Pacquiao is going to win a title at 154,” he said.

Pacquiao demolished all the fighters he faced in his abrupt rise in three different weight categories. He stopped David Diaz in the ninth round in the lightweight category; knocked out Ricky Hatton in the second round in the light welterweight category; and destroyed both Oscar de la Hoya, in the eighth, and Miguel Cotto, in the 12th, in the welterweight division.

Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather Jr. Future Match

Pacquiao-vs-MayweatherToday, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, the crowned pound for pound king, said to the press that the next opponent that he wants to fight on the ring will be the undefeated Floyd “Pretty Boy” Mayweather Jr. not the first rumored opponents Shane Mosley nor Miguel Cotto. He also believe that the undefeated, fast and furious defender “Pretty Boy” will win against Marquez on the Mayweather vs Marquez match this coming July 18 of the year. If in case that this will be pursued and agreed upon by the two camps, the tentative schedule for the said Pacquiao vs Mayweather match will be on October of this year.

I think Mayweather needs to win first his come back match before he can say something about this issue. He should prove to the boxing fans world wide that he is still the same “Pretty Boy” boxer that they’ve seen on his peak years. Well if this will happen in the future, I am sure PPV and tickets earnings will surely be one of the top grosser of all boxing fights in the world.

Later, I will update this blog for more news about this upcoming match.


Source :Posted in Sports Events

Who’s next for Manny?

After the victory against Miguel Angel Cotto, Questions are again starting to swell up.



Who’s next for Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (50-3-2), 38 KO’s)
Freddie Roach wants what most of the fans, boxing analyst/experts and ordinary people around the world also wants, Floyd Mayweather Jr (40-0, 25 KO’s).

That you think ? ...