fighter Archives - Between Bites - Bites of Food, Travel and Lifestyle

Pacquiao vs. Mayweather Coming to a Close?

December 5, 2009 by Janey

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum made a trip to the Philippines to talk to Manny Pacquiao, who broke records of being the only champion with 7 world boxing titles under his belt. After Pacquiao’s clear welterweight win over Miguel Cotto last November, everyone is slating Floyd Mayweather Jr. as the next in line to face the formidable Filipino boxer.

March 13, 2010 is the date they are eyeing. This can be the biggest boxing event of next year since people have been anticipating this match-up. Pacquiao is the top pound-for-pound fighter while Mayweather is currently No.2 –although the No.1 position is not new to Mayweather since he was No.1 before he retired in June 2008.

The public has been clamoring for this fight to happen but according to Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s coach, March 13 is too fast a turnaround. Remember that Pacquiao suffered a broken eardrum during his duel with Cotto. Roach wants Pacquiao to be in his best possible shape before he steps again in the ring. Roach is looking into a May 2010 bout but that will coincide with the election month. Pacquiao already filed his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) this week to run for Congress.

Ticket for the live fight is expected to cost around $2,500 (P117,500) while the cheapest seats at around $500 (P25,000).

Will Schaefer and Arum get this deal done and set a fight date before the 2^nd half of next year? The public will have to wait and see.

—

Leave a Comment Filed Under: Pump Iron Tagged With: 1 million, 147 lbs, 2 knockdowns, 2010, 24/7, 4 million dollars, ABS CBN, air, airing, animosity, Arum, autograph, autographed, award, awarded, Beer, belts, best, best shape, bet, betting, bidding, bigger crowd, bigger draw, body shots, bout, Boxer, Boxing, boxing fans, Breakfast, Brits, broke, broken, BTV, Buffet, buy, cancel, canceled, career, cash, catch weight, cauliflower ear, Champ, champion, Channel, channel 2, channel 7, class, clothes, coach, comeback, condition, congress, contract, controversial, cost, Cottley, Cotto, Cotto's family, count, critical, Dallas, damage, dangerous, date, deal, December 2007, different weight classes, division, dollar, Dollars, eardrum, elections, Erik Morales, ESPN news, establishment, exclusive, exclusive photos, expose, fall, family, Fan, fan support, fight, Fight Card, fight date, fight fans, fighter, Filipino, Filipino champ, Filipino hero, Floyd, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Floyd Mayweather Junior, Freddie Roach, free, free to air, free tv, gamble, gambling, gash, GMA-7, Golden Boy Production, Gorres, grab, greatest, group, guest, Hatton, HBO, HBO PPV, head butt, host, hosted, hotels, house, image, injure, injured, injury, Interview, Jinky Pacquiao, Jr, Juan Manuel Marquez, judge, judges, June 2008, Junior, karaoke, Kenny Bayless, knockdown, KO, Las Vegas, latest, list of restaurants, live, live screening, live streaming, location, lose, lost, Madison Square Garden, man of the year, Manila schedule, Manny Pacman, Manny Pacquiao, Manny Pacquiao apparel, Manny Pacquiao versus Miguel Cotto, March 13, march 2010, Marquez, Martin Nievera, match, match up, May 1, May 2010, Mayweather, Mayweather asking for bigger share, Mayweather injured, MGM Grand, Miguel, Miguel Cotto, Mommy Dionisia, money, Morales, Mosley, Movie, my PLDT my DSL, national anthem, new, next bout of Pacquiao, next fight, next schedule, Nike commercial, November 14, open, Oscar De La Hoya, Pacman, Pacquiao, Pacquiao versus Mayweather, pay out, Pay Per View, payment, peso, Photo, postpone, postponed, pound for pound, pounds, PPV boxing, prediction, Press Conference, press release, price, prioritize, puffed ear, punch, punches, purse, purse cut, purse fee, purse of cotto, purse pay, push back, quit, rate, ref, Referee, refund, repeat, Replay, replay schedule, report, rerun, retired, retires, return, rib injury, Ricky Hatton, ring, Round 12 stopped, Round 2, round 4, round 8, round1, rounds, running for Congress, San Miguel Beer commercial, Schaefer, schedule, score, scorecard, selling price, serious, seventh belt, Shane Mosley, Show, showbiz, sign, signature, Singer, Solar, Solar Entertainment Corporation, Solar Sports, song, split, sport man of the year, stage, steal, support, team, Team Pacquiao, technical knockout, theaters, ticket, ticket price, Tickets, time, title, TKO, trainer, travel, tremendous support, TV, update, Vegas, victory, Video, watchpad, weight, weight class, welterweight, when, where, where to buy, where to watch, win, with food, world title, writer, Z Gorres

Pacquiao Floored Hatton

May 4, 2009 by Janey

Three KOs’ a charm.

Pacquiao has really bolstered the path in becoming a boxing legend after knocking out Ricky Hatton. With consecutive wins and 2 straight wins from bigger guys, Pacquiao has definitely more than put the Philippines in the world map. He has gained a worldwide respect from boxing critics and fans. Pacquiao with a record of 49-3-2, 37 knockouts supposedly earned $12 million for the fight, while Hatton (45-2) was paid $8 million.

The pound-for-pound contender Hatton was knocked down twice during the first round. It quickly quieted a boisterous crowd of 16,262 at the MGM Grand arena, we know how loud the Brits can cheer. Many of them flew from England to sing and chant Hatton’s praises. The first knockdown was from a thundering right of Pacman, one that he has developed brilliantly through the help of his trainer Freddie Roach. Opponents have a hard time reading where Pacquiao will be coming from since he has become an ambidextrous boxer.

Referee Kenny Bayless rushed to Hatton’s side and started counting. By number 8, Hatton was back on his feet, still startled by the blow. He tried to buy time. Pacquiao knocked him out again with 11 seconds left. Pacman could have gone for the kill before the staggering Hatton lost his footing. But like a self-assured king of the jungle, he stepped back and circled his prey, knowing that there’s a perfect time to attack the jugular. He let the 1^st round pass (A collective sigh of relief of advertisers, PPV sellers and buyers and boxing fans can be heard from East to West).

At the start of the 2^nd round, Hatton looked unfazed by the first round. Hatton was on the offensive, remembering his brawling style. He became re-energized a bit. He kept charging at Pacquiao trying to return the favor. A seasoned athlete, Pacquiao stick to their game plan even with Hatton’s wild advances. He threw a flurry of punches with precision that left the Hitman helpless. Pacquiao’s speed left him confused.

Image Source: Dave Thompson/PA www.guardian.co.uk

Hatton probably thought Manny would target his body and left his head wide open. He threw a punch to where Manny’s face was supposed to be, only to have his knuckles kiss the wind. Manny dodged and released a left hook, the moneymaker, and it landed squarely on Hatton’s jaw. Hatton lay motionless on the canvass. 2:59 of the 2^nd round, the fight was over.

Pacman threw 73 punches in 2 rounds against Hatton’s 18? The 2 rounds of Pacquiao v. Hatton were more exciting for me than the 9 rounds of Pacquiao v. Dela Hoya. I saw the aggression from Hatton at the start of the 2^nd round but unfortunately Pacquiao has already sized him up.

Pacquiao sealed the deal of being the best pound-for-pound boxer Saturday night with this stunning performance. That left hook that separated Hatton from his senses is a dynamite of a punch and it exploded right at the target area where it’s supposed to hit. He is not only skillful, he is a smart boxer. He knows where the weak spots are and targets it. His increasing speed and accuracy make him an unbeatable title holder.

On the same day Mayweather announced his return to the ring with a July 18 fight against Juan Manuel Marquez.

Do we see a Pacquiao versus Mayweather fight at the end of the year? How about a Marquez next year?

The Real Deal: Pacman Signs with ABS-CBN

July 6 Marked the 1^st Round Between Ateneo and DLSU

Unfinished Business: Pacquiao v. Marquez

Manila Ice and the Philippine Heat

Leave a Comment Filed Under: Pump Iron Tagged With: best, bonus, Boxer, Boxing, Britain, Brits, controversy, count, earnings, election, fight, fight review, fighter, Filipino, Freddie Roach, General Santos City, GenSan, GSC, Hatton, HBO Pay Per View, issue, judge, Kenny Bayless, Manila, Manny, Mayweather, money, motionless, Pacman, Pacquiao, Philippine, Philippines, pound for pound, president, price, province, purse, rate, Referee, review, Ricky Hatton, running, Saranggani, South, southpaw, Taste Manila, Tickets, trainer, undercard, versus, weak spots, Wild Card gym, win

The Real Deal: Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao Signs with ABS-CBN

March 19, 2009 by Janey

Manny Pacquiao announces live on TV Patrol, Channel 2, Wednesday night that he has signed up with ABS-CBN Corporation for the exclusive coverage of his fight with Ricky Hatton on May 2, 2009 (Manila time). In a bold move, Pacman surprises viewers with the announcement, having been exclusive under the Solar Entertainment banner for several years. He is now back in being a “Kapamilya.”

Minutes after the announcement, Solar releases a statement through its lawyer on 24 Oras, which is the evening news show of network counterpart, GMA. The lawyer, Enrique Dela Cruz Jr., intimated that Pacquiao does not have control to remove its contractual obligations from Solar and transfer telecast rights to ABS-CBN. Solar holds a live contract that run until 2012 for exclusive broadcast rights over the Pacquiao fights across all platforms. Solar Entertainment reiterated that the contract is still valid and binding and they continue to carry the legal right to air Pacman’s fights saying that Pacquiao or ABS-CBN cannot violate that legal agreement.

Unconfirmed reports say that other than the business deal that amounts anywhere between PHP 120 Million to PHP 180 Million per fight, another underlying factor that made Pacman switch is the media support he was going to get from ABS-CBN for his electoral campaign. ABS-CBN is dominant and very visible in the Saranggani area. Pacman is candidly considering running again for the same congressional seat in his province General Santos city, which he lost to incumbent Congresswoman Darlene Antonino-Custodio.

Under the ABS-CBN deal, the next fights of Pacman will be aired over the giant network and not on GMA-7, which telecast the recent fights of the world’s pound for pound king. Solar Entertainment partnered with GMA-7 for these past fights, giving them the free TV rights to air Pacman’s bouts. Ironically, Pacman has 2 shows under GMA’s belt, Pinoy Records which he co-hosts with Chris Tiu and Totoy Bato, where he plays the trainer of Robin Padilla in the action series.

Rumors have been spreading since early this year that Solar’s ties with Pacquiao have been severed caused by non-payment of fees that Pacman’s camp should be collecting from Solar Sports. Solar vice president for business operations Ralph Roy also have said to denounce two Inquirer exclusives, saying that the paper put the financial state of the company in a bad light. The owners of Solar Sports and ABS-CBN met recently where the idea of buying out Pacquiao’s contract from Solar was initially considered.

If the case were true that Solar has been delinquent in its payment to Pacquiao then that can tantamount to breach of the agreement, which paves the route to pre-termination of the contract, provided this is one of the explicit termination effects of the agreement.

Hatton would probably set out to be Pacquiao’s biggest and most arduous fight in his career. Ricky Hatton is one of the premiere boxers of today and he is at the peak of his game. When Pacquiao fought with Mexican boxing giants, Barrera, Morales, Marquez, Dela Hoya, they were at the end of their prime. Pacquiao is said to have met his match in Hatton. However, Pacman predicts a win as he promises to bring honor to the country once again. Speculation boils that the winner of Pacquiao versus Hatton bout is appointed to meet Mayweather in the next fight.

Pacquiao is set to retire after one or two more fights after Hatton. One might be scheduled at the end of the year and another one for 2010.

Unfinished Business: Pacquiao v. Marquez II

Manila Ice and the Philippine Heat