Pacquiao vs Margarito | Pacquiao Fight Updates

MANNY Pacquiao added another prestigious award to his ever-growing list of international achievements—the Best Fighter accolade at the 2009 Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly awards known as the ESPY.

Pacquiao overcame the challenge from Mixed Martial Arts stars Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silva, along with World Boxing Association welterweight champion Shane Mosley, who has been hounding the Pacman to fight him in November, instead of World Boxing Organization champion Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico.

GMA News reported that Pacquiao earned the nod of ESPN’s online voters for his sensational

second-round knockout of Ricky Hatton and for pulverizing Oscar de la Hoya in December 2008.

It was also reported that Pacquiao’s knockout of Hatton, who was effectively separated from his senses by a cracking looping left hook, lost out in the Best Play award to the Ben Roethlisberger-to-Santonio Holmes last-minute touchdown, which gave the Pittsburg Steelers a dramatic win in Super Bowl XLIII over Arizona.

In winning the Best Fighter award, Pacquiao joins an elite list of some of the superstars of sport, including Beijing Olympic swimming sensation Michael Phelps, who attended the ESPY with his mother and won the Best Male Athlete and Best Record Breaking Performance award for his eight gold medals; Tiger Woods (Best Golfer), Beijing Olympics sprint king Usain Bolt (Best International Male Athlete) and LeBron James (Best NBA Player), among others.

The awards ceremony, which was held at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, will be telecast over ESPN on Sunday. It was hosted by Samuel Jackson.

Pacquiao had earlier been named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world by Time magazine and broke into the Top 10 list of Forbes magazine’s richest athletes in the world.

While the ESPN awards were going on, his adviser Michael Koncz said Pacquiao was “getting his commitments for endorsements and commercials out of the way,” so that when he signs the contract to fight Cotto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in November, he would have eight weeks of undisturbed training.

Among those who attended the awards were former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and the Williams sisters Serena and Venus.


http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/

Manny Pacquiao, Filipino boxing idol closes out a ripping career by waging a 12 round war against Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto in a year-ending stunner at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Viewed generally as his farewell fight before launching a second crack at politics, Pacquiao is locked in a frenetic maneuver to have his promoter(s) agree to an equitable sharing of revenues for the November 14 barn-boiler.

What is on the table for Manny and Miguel is the issue of purses with both camps still unable to come to terms on how large they are to be paid for their awaited face off.

A snag has delayed approval of their impressive-looking bout for now.

The crease however in negotiations gets resolved soon after lead promoter Bob Arum is done enjoying his European vacation.

GenSan's Pacman meanwhile is awaiting word on his counter offers as he gets set for his last fight prior to engaging in an archetypal race to be run in a disparate terrain.

Pacquiao, to repeat is at a tail-end of a 14-year ring journey confident of pulling out a theatrical win against Cotto, complemented perhaps with a coveted mandate from his new Sarangani constituents.

For now, he's getting ready for the Puerto Rican slugger, determined to install what's needed for a redoubtable training camp once an agreement is reached.

These days the Pinoy idol is devoting huge hours in his tight schedule looking for ways to beat a strong challenge from a rival who is backed by Sarangani's political elite.

Quite a spirited challenge for Manny's hold in his new polling domain.

But that's another story for another day.


http://philboxing.com/

So lets jump to spring of 2010. Mayweather has beat Juan Manuel Marquez and Pacquiao has beat Miguel Cotto. These could be two highly competitive fights. But , for the sake of argument and my article , Mayweather and Pacquiao come out winners. How does the fight shape up? You have two extremely skilled boxers. Both are quick. We have the former and present pound for pound kings facing off. Different styles , different personas and very different trainers. What happens on fight night?

The closest thing Mayweather has faced to an opponent that resembles Pacquiao is a combination of Zab Judah and Jose Luis Castillo. A concoction of Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez is what we need to create a suitable , if thats possible , Mayweather clone.

The counter punching of Marquez gave Pacman trouble. Manny was leary of jumping on Marquez and when he hesitated he lost the round. Morales did basically the same thing. Erik's philosophy was to take ten punches to land two punches.

Mayweather had trouble with Judah. At least for the first four rounds. Judah used his speed to give Mayweather angles. It was effective until Judah had his usual meltdown. His loss of focus turned a good fight into an easy Mayweather victory.

Many thought that Castillo beat Mayweather in their first fight. He did this with constant pressure. Mayweather likes to be on the ropes and look for openings as his opponent commits to his punches. Castillo took this advantage away by staying close and throwing an assortment of punches.

Roach said De La Hoya won every round against Mayweather when he used his jab. This kept the defensive minded Mayweather in an even more defensive posture. But Mayweather is smart and has a habit of figuring out opponents.

So what happens? Pacquiao's aura of invincibility shows in the first round. He starts strong and immediately attacks Mayweather. Mayweather grins , but you can tell he isn't comfortable. Mayweather's quickness allows him to roll with and away from some punches. Still , Mayweather cannot land any telling blows as Pacquiao's speed is amazing.

Round two also goes to Pacquiao. But , you can see Mayweather becoming a little more offensive minded.

The two split rounds three to six. Pacquiao raises his hands after the two exchange. He is in his element. Whenever there is a lull Mayweather grabs the opportunity to potshot his opponent.

Rounds seven through ten see more of the same. The difference is that Mayweather continues to head hunt while Pacquiao has focused on Mayweather's body. Pacquiao seems to be ahead six rounds to four. Some may even see him ahead seven to three.

Rounds eleven and twelve are usually Floyd's rounds , but the bodyshots have definitely taken their toll. Knowing he probably needs a knockout doesn't matter. Mayweather believes he is ahead and goes defensive again. Round twelve sees Mayweather back on the ropes. He appears hurt from the body attack. Manny attacks like a hungry lion and tries to stop his prey , but Mayweather survives the round.

Manny Pacquiao is announced as the clear cut winner. Manny says the jab and body punching were the key to his victory. The only one in disbelief is Floyd Mayweather. He sprouts off about boxing politics and Larry Merchant ends the interview by saying , "Floyd , you finally lost , get over it".



http://www.examiner.com/

By: Albert Alvarez

Lately, I've been asked some tough questions from who are my favorite fighters to, whats next for Ricky Hatton and of course who are the most exciting fighters.Well I got all the answers to these and some more:

Do you really think that Agbeko will beat Darchinyan?- Yes, Yes, and Yes!!! If I said it I meant it, bite my tongue for no one. Darchinyan is a very awkward hard hitting bull, but to me Agbeko is just too tough to discourage. You must realize that Darchinyan is able to freeze you with his power, when he hits he discourages you from being able to do what you want to do. Agbeko is just too tough to discourage, think Nonito Donaire Jr.

Even at 147, Pacquiao will be too much for Cotto, So do you really think that Cotto can beat Pacquiao at 147?- The fact that this question is even being asked should answer your question. If Pacquiao was as confident as you are, don't you think that this fight would have already been inked? My Diamond Boxing Dream Team Member, Carl Hewitt, knocked it out of the park when he recently wrote that you must fight the best at their best, I couldn't agree more.

Have you, or anyone else heard anything about Ricky Hatton and his plans? Where is Ricky?- Your Guess is as good as mine, I have yet to hear anything about Ricky's where abouts, soon as I hear anything I will let it be known, if you hear anything before I do, Please hit me up.

Who are your Favorite fighters to watch right now?- My favorite fighters to watch right now are: Juan Manuel Lopez, Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley, Paul Williams, Miguel Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez, Edwin Valero, Jorge Linares, Tomasz Adamek, Chris Arreola, Kelly Pavlik, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Nonito Donaire Jr., James Kirkland, Alfredo Angulo, Andre Berto, man just too many to name but these are the first to come to mind.

Who are the most exciting fighters fighting today in your opinion?- Manny Pacquiao for sure! Guys like Roman Gonzalez, Vic Darchinyan, Edwin Valero, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Katsidis, Gamboa, James Kirkland, Tavoris Cloud, Allan Green, Pavlik, each of these guys always come to entertain and to excite.

Bro, we need more top Mexican fighters, who do you see out there that can be the next ones?- I get this question asked all the time. The fighters I see that have heart and skill to be the chosen few are: Abner Mares, who I think has the tools to be an all around fighter like the Marquez brothers, Marvin Quintero, Marvin to me has what it takes to be the next Marco Antonio Barrera, Urbano Antillon, this guy can really fight. Saul Alvarez, my cousin [LOL] sure can hit!!! Saul can bang with the best of them.


http://diamondboxing.com/

Welterweight champ Shane Mosley fought the good fight in trying to convince pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao to fight him this fall.

He launched a vigorous campaign to get Pacquiao into the ring, enlisting his publicists to battle on his behalf with a series of press releases. He had his business partners at Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya and CEO Richard Schaefer, fighting for him. De La Hoya even made phone calls to select media members to plead Mosley's case.

Mosley also made all sorts of concessions in a bid to entice Pacquiao to fight him. Mosley said he'd ask for only 40 percent of the money and was willing to agree to a contract weight somewhere in the low 140s to appease the smaller Pacquiao.

But nothing worked because Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, with no disrespect to Mosley, had designs on another fight for Pacquiao. Arum is moving forward with plans to match Pacquiao with his other big star, welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto. Arum says he is close to making the deal under which Pacquiao and Cotto will meet Nov. 14 in Las Vegas on HBO PPV.

Mosley has now come to the realization that if he wants to fight before the end of the year, he'll have to find another dance partner. Pacquiao and Cotto (who already owns a close decision win against Mosley, who would like a rematch) are unavailable, and unretiring former pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. is fighting lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez on Sept. 19 (in a fight rescheduled from July 18 because of Mayweather's rib injury).

Schaefer called me Monday afternoon to announce that Mosley was moving on.

"Our offer to Pacquiao is off the table," Schaefer said. "We're moving on. Shane was like a volcano, and he gave me my marching orders to go get him another fight. Now, I will be talking to some of these other names in the weight class. I'm going to be talking to HBO first and seeing what names they have in mind. But it is apparent that Shane will be returning live on HBO later this year. Eventually he will be the last man standing, and those other guys will have to fight him if they want to be the best."

Schaefer got in one more dig at the other stars -- Pacquiao, Cotto and Mayweather -- before moving on, however.

"He looked sensational [in January] when he knocked out Antonio Margarito," Schaefer said. "He looked so good that it hurt him to get one of these big guys. After the Ricardo Mayorga fight, they were interested because they felt he was an aging star. After the Margarito fight, Shane looked like an emerging star and they didn't want to fight him."

Mosley knocked Mayorga out in the final seconds of the 12th round last fall, but hadn't looked all that sharp before the stunning conclusion. Against Margarito, Mosley looked awesome.

"Shane called me earlier [Monday] and said that's it, he's had it," Shaefer said. "He's not waiting around anymore. He said, 'This guy [Pacquiao] is obviously scared of me. So let's move on.' Sugar Shane Mosley's career has not been built around Pacquiao. He already has a legacy of greatness. But eventually a Mayweather or Cotto or Pacquiao will need him. That day will come."

Schaefer, by the way, is promoting the Mayweather-Marquez fight, so he didn't really give Mayweather much grief for bypassing Mosley in favor of a lightweight.

Still, Mosley's moving on leads to the obvious question: Who will he fight in the fall?

The various names Schaefer mentioned as potential opponents were titlist Andre Berto, whom Mosley was close to making a deal with before the Margarito fight was finalized; Paul Williams, who has been dying for a fight with Mosley about as badly as Mosley was dying for one with Pacquiao; former undisputed champ Zab Judah, who had a fight canceled with Mosley about a year ago after Judah's infamous shower door incident; and former titlist Kermit Cintron, who was also scheduled at one time to face Mosley before a falling out with one of his former promoters killed the fight.

"There are obviously names and opportunities out there," Schaefer said. "Shane made it clear what he wants, and now I have to go get it done. I really fully endorse Shane's decision to fight and not to wait for Pacquiao. He's shown a lot of patience. Some people feel he humiliated himself by offering himself up to Pacquiao. But he really wanted this fight and was willing to make major concessions. For whatever reason, it didn't happen, and life goes on."


http://sports.espn.go.com/

It's no longer feasible this year, but Freddie Roach holds out hope that his prized ward, Manny Pacquiao, will get to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. in his next outing.

And the three-time Trainer of the Year predicts that the lucrative bout will happen early next year.

“I think we’re going to fight either (Miguel) Cotto or Shane Mosley, so either one is fine with me,” Roach told Percy Crawford of FightHype Monday. “But Mayweather is the one I want and hopefully, the Mayweather fight will happen by early next year.”

Roach and Pacquiao had originally looked at a Mayweather bout either on Oct. 17 or Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Mayweather, who was supposed to battle Juan Manuel Marquez on July 18, however, suffered a rib injury during training. The fight, set at a catch weight of 143 pounds, has since been moved to Sept. 19.

Thus far, Cotto, the WBO welterweight champ, appears to be Pacquiao’s most likely foe with only the catch weight (144 lb or 145 lb) and revenue sharing still to be resolved.

Because of the undefeated American’s edge in size and defense, Roach hesitated on a Pacquiao-Mayweather duel last year.

But Pacquiao’s successive demolition of Oscar De La Hoya at 147 lb and Ricky Hatton at 140 made Roach change his mind.

As to Cotto and Mosley, Roach feels that both are tough fights as they are bigger and stronger than Pacquiao. But he said the Filipino superstar stands a good chance as he works hardest against big guys.


http://sports.inquirer.net/

Although there is some rambling about Pacquiao’s alleged hesitation to sign the contract to face Cotto on November 14, 2009, the show will go on as scheduled. After briefly analyzing this match-up and reviewing a lot of video of both fighters. One thing stands out: Pacquiao is a different fighter since moving up to 135 pounds.

He has tremendously enhanced his footwork. But before Pacquaio become the complete package there was another weapon he was developing long before the move to lightweight: a right hook. Ironically, the right hook or “Manila Ice” was originally developed for the first Erik Morales fight in which it was not very effective. But fight after fight “Manila Ice” has become the perfect complement to Pacman’s deadly straight left hand.

I mentioned I was watching a lot of film. I came across the Cotto/Corley fight. Corley visibly stuns Cotto with a sneaky right hook early in the contest. Pacquiao’s right hook is superior to Corley’s; it is quicker and more powerful. Furthermore, Cotto is an aggressive boxer early, and may try to test Pacquiao’s body since there is still suspicion that it is the Pacman’s weakness. Cotto is known to be a vicious body puncher as we saw with his match against Quintana. That will be the Cotto game plan: hurt Manny to the body. The only problem with this strategy: Freddie Roach will be expecting it. Manny has spent years working on his body since the early portion of his boxing career, and I believe that his early trouble with body shots had to do with fighting at very low weights in the first place. But that being said, Cotto will attempt to attack the body of Pacquiao, but the problem is he will be vulnerable in doing so because he must drop his hands to go to the body, particularly trying to land that left hook downstairs. When Cotto lowers his hands to attack the body, he drops his guard that protects him from right hand counters. And that’s where “Manila Ice” comes into play.

I expect Manny to catch Cotto coming in, load up on big right hooks, and possibly hurt Cotto similar to the way we’ve seen him hurt in the past. If Cotto is hurt, he will not survive for two reasons: one, he does not know how to clinch when he’s hurt, and two, Manny’s hand speed will not allow Cotto to see the punches coming when he is backing up. Cotto tends to backup when he’s hurt instead of clinching, and the Pacman is at his best when he has his opponent backtracking. Manny’s hand speed and foot speed will be too much for Cotto, and he will repeatedly pulverize Miguel with that “Manila Ice” every time he comes in trying to land something. Cotto must use his left hand to be effective, and Roach knows it. Expect Pacquiao to unload that right hook and dip under Cotto’s left-hand attacks all night long. Southpaws are said to have an advantage neutralizing the left hands of orthodox fighters. But Judah, Quintana, and Corley (apart from one punch in the fight) did not have the constant right hook power to give Miguel something to worry about and keep his left hand in the holster. Because Cotto is overly dependent on his left hand, “Manila Ice” will be a huge factor in this match.


http://www.boxingnews24.com/

MANNY Pacquiao has vowed he will quit boxing for his political plans. However, his promoter, Bob Arum, believes it will be better for the Filipino icon to keep on fighting and at the same time, serve his constituents—that is if he wins.

“I hope he becomes a congressman,” Arum said in a report posted at abs-cbnnews.com. “The fact that he will become a ‘fighting congressman’ will enhance his promotability.”

Pacquiao is planning to run for congress in Sarangani in the 2010 elections.

“I don’t think that’s ever happened before in history, somebody who’s a congressional representative from his country fighting at the top level in boxing,” said Arum.

The 30-year-old General Santos fighter ran for a congressional spot last 2007 but lost by a landslide to political rival Darlene Antonino-Custudio.

Arum believes Pacquiao’s fights won’t be a hindrance to his job as a congressman.

“When Manny fights, Congress closes down anyway,” he said.

Pacquiao is scheduled to fight Puerto Rican world champion Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
“I think he’ll fight for two more years…I would like to think he still has four fights left,” said Arum.

Arum is waiting for the deal of the Pacquiao-Cotto mega fight to be finalized and is still waiting for the nod from his prized fighter if he agrees with the terms offered.

“There is a huge problem. And it’s not so much concerning the weight, or money going to the two of them, or the percentages—no, this is not the problem. My problem is that I need to speak with Manny Pacquiao,” Arum said in another report at BoxingScene.com.

Arum believes that both fighters want to fight each other and that he thinks Cotto is the best fighter available for the pound-for-pound king.

“I think Manny wants that fight, Cotto wants this fight, the public wants this fight, I want that fight and the whole world wants that fight because in the ring will be the two best fighters on the planet,” he said.

World Boxing Organization President Francisco Valcarcel also wants the 28-year-old Cotto to defend his welterweight title against Pacquiao.


http://www.sunstar.com.ph/

THE World Boxing Organization (WBO) is pushing for the proposed bout between pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao and Puerto Rican superstar Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to be a world title fight.

WBO President Francisco Valcarcel plans to sanction Pacquiao’s ring return as a world title bout, with Cotto defending his WBO welterweight title.

“I made a request to the committee to place Pacquiao in the number one position for the fight for Cotto’s title,” said Valcarcel in a report posted at BoxingScene.com. “I’ve already spoken to Bob Arum and agreed the fight will be for the title.”

If this would be sanctioned as a title fight, Pacquiao will be gunning for his seventh division title.

The 30-year-old Pacquiao has won world titles in six different weight categories of the major boxing bodies and has won two lineal titles.

Pacquiao has won a world title at flyweight (112 pounds), super bantamweight (122), featherweight (126), super featherweight (130), lightweight (135) and light welterweight (142).

Negotiations

Cotto’s legal adviser Gabriel Peñagaricano said Cotto’s defense of his world title is one of the issues that have been brought up in the negotiations but it isn’t definite as of the moment.

“Miguel’s title is part of the negotiations that are still ongoing,” said Peñagaricano. “It will be one of the aspects to consider during the fight discussions. (There are people) saying the agreement is signed, that’s not true. The only thing we agreed on is the fight being at 145 pounds.”


http://www.sunstar.com.ph/