After Diaz, Pacquiao may fight Briton

The super featherweights face a long wait.

If Manny Pacquiao succeeds in wresting the World Boxing Council lightweight crown from Mexican-American champ David Diaz on June 28, the Filipino ring icon is likely to stay in the division for a while and make his title defense in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in November.

“Assuming Manny is successful, and he wants to stay at lightweight, then we’d look at Nate Campbell, Joel Casamayor or Amir Khan,” promoter Bob Arum told Michael Woods of The Sweet Science on Wednesday.

Campbell is the reigning IBF, WBO and WBA lightweight champ while Casamayor, 36, is the WBO interim lightweight titlist.

The 21-year-old Khan, the WBO Intercontinental lightweight champ and 2004 Olympic silver medalist from Britain, is the latest addition to a horde of Pacquiao would-be challengers.

Arum, in another interview with Michael Marley of Boxing Confidential admitted that he has had talks with Frank Warren, Khan’s promoter, for a fight in Dubai in November.

Source: http://www.inquirer.net/specialfeatures/ThePacquiaoFiles/view.php?db=1&article=20080411-129672

Marquez want a rematch with Manny Pacquiao

In a recent article by Ronnie Nathanielsz of BoxingScene.com, Manny Pacquiao is quoted on his thoughts regarding Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao states he is eager to fight Marquez again soon and that he is not afraid to face him again.

In regards to Marquez, Pacquiao claimed he was “desperate for a rematch” and dissed Marquez for "crying like a baby.”

Pacquiao added: “We could have fought bare-fisted in the parking lot or anywhere, even in the backyard but I think I am more of a gentleman. I will not stoop down to his level which is what my parents taught me."

Coach Freddie Roach: "My Dream For Manny Pacquiao Is Hatton at 140"

Manny Pacquiao could have done better. In the end, that’s the bottom line for Freddie Roach.

That’s the way the veteran trainer looked at his fighter’s razor-thin margin of victory over Juan Manuel Marquez two weeks ago. His fighter won a perilously close decision but he could have fought better, which has led Roach to think of only one thing since.

“We want to fight him again,’’ Roach said flatly this week.

Having seen your fighter twice barely escape defeat at the hands of Marquez, most trainers would be moving as far away from the man as possible and staying there for as long as possible. That is the business side of the sport. It’s also exactly why Roach says he wants Pacquiao to meet Marquez again soon.

“Pacquiao and Marquez will meet again and it won’t take four years this time,’’ boxing’s finest young trainer said from his Wild Card Gym in Hollywood during a long conversation about that fight, Pacquiao’s future and the way Roach looks at the sport that has been his life since he was a young boy trying to master a sometimes brutal art form in gyms around New England.

“People criticized us for giving him a rematch because his style makes life difficult for Manny. A lot of people asked me why I wasn’t satisfied with a draw (which is how their first fight ended). I don’t like controversy. I like to win. We looked at that draw like a loss.

“Now they’re asking me why we’re not satisfied with a win. It was too close. A lot of people think Marquez won and rightfully so. It was very close (one point on one card making the difference). It could have gone either way. There’s controversy. I still don’t like controversy.

“If those guys fought 10 times in a row there would be one point between them either way. They’re both such good fighters and they come in such great shape because they know what the other guy’s capable of.

“But Manny is my baby. I want to see him improve. I want to see him fight the best he can and I know he didn’t do that. We made some tactical errors in that fight. Manny moved into his right hand all night. That was something we worked on not doing all camp and we ended up doing it all night. I don’t know if Marquez made that possible or Manny couldn’t see it but I know it’s correctable.

“I thought Manny won by a little bit but a lot of the rounds were hard to score. Marquez deserves the rematch. He’s a great fighter. He had something to do with our problems, which is why we want the rematch. It will be good for boxing.’’

Roach quickly followed that thought up by making clear that Pacquiao had fought his last at 130 pounds however. He will, as expected, move up to 135 to challenge lightweight champion David Diaz later this year, probably in June if the cuts he suffered heal properly, and Roach has his own dream fight in mind for Pacquiao after that doesn’t involve Juan Manuel Marquez. It’s a fight he knows isn’t likely to happen but he can hope, can’t he?

“My dream fight for Manny is with Ricky Hatton at 140,’’ Roach said. “That would be a great fight for Manny. Hatton’s not that big a guy and with their styles it would be all action but Golden Boy (Oscar De La Hoya’s promotional company, which has signed Hatton) already told me they’re going in a different direction with Hatton.

“They told me not to even think about it but if Manny wins the title at 135 it would make a fight with Hatton at 140 legitimate. Boxing purists love Juan Manuel Marquez because he’s so technically sound. Hatton-Pacquiao would be more of a brawl but fans would love it. It would just be for that one fight. We certainly wouldn’t stay at 140, that’s for sure.’’

Instead they would return to the lightweight division and possibly even down to a catch weight of 133, where they know Juan Manuel Marquez will be waiting. More than likely, he won’t have to wait for long.

Although Marquez’s advisors have already begun to lobby for a rubber match, Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, has said a third fight needs to “bake’’ for a while and has told journalists in the Phillipines Pacquiao would have to get between $8-to-$10 million to make the fight.

Considering that he got $5 million for the second fight (to $1.5 million for Marquez) it is a number that seems a bit steep but Roach isn’t concerning himself with such matters. That’s up to Arum and Golden Boy, who represent the two sides, but one thing is for sure. That third fight will happen.

“They’ll negotiate it out,’’ Roach said. “Arum’s got to be realistic. It’s a fight me and Manny want. Nobody likes controversy. We want to settle this. I know Manny can fight a better fight. I don’t think Marquez can.

“The two of them are so competitive I can really put my foot down with Manny and show him why it was so close. It’s so simple to make adjustments but maybe it’s not now that I think about it because Marquez had a lot to do with Manny’s problems.

“People kept asking me why we didn’t land the right hand more when we worked on it for so long but Marquez kept throwing lead right hands. By not using his jab so much he took our right hand away. He really does know how to fight. He’s a dream come true for a boxing purist.

“He’s intense. He’s tactical. He’s sound. He never gets rattled. You have to admire him. When Manny put him down I didn’t think he was going to get up but he did. Manny hurt him two more times in the fight but we couldn’t get him out and the cuts he had didn’t bother him at all even though they had a lot of trouble closing them. When Manny gets cut he doesn’t handle it so well. Luckily (cut man) Joe Chavez got it under control and we had a plastic surgeon stitch it up real nice so it shouldn’t bother him in the future.’’

What will bother both him and Roach is living with the questions fans and boxing insiders have over the outcome of both fights. The draw came despite Pacquiao dropping Marquez three times and more than a few people felt Marquez had actually fought his way back to victory despite a disastrous first round.

Pacquiao’s win in the rematch came by the smallest margin possible, one point on one judge’s card, or it too would have been a draw on a night where, again, many left the arena feeling Marquez had come out on the wrong end of the decision.

There is only one way to settle this of course and Roach is hoping it will happen soon, although nothing can happen until Pacquiao faces Diaz, a hard-nosed southpaw Roach feels will present them some difficulties. Not like the ones Marquez poses but problems all the same, problems that will have to be solved.

“Manny doesn’t like to fight southpaws,’’ Roach said, “but when we fight a guy who’s hittable Manny does well. People tell me David Diaz is an easy fight. I say he’s a world champion. The last time I looked they didn’t give those belts away.

“It will be a tough fight. He’s aggressive. He’s tough. He comes to win. And we don’t know yet how moving up in weight will affect Manny. It was a little bit difficult for him making 130. He struggled but not tremendously so we have to look good at 135 and then see what’s next.’’

One possibility has been talk emanating from De La Hoya’s camp that boxing’s Golden Boy would dearly love to finish his career against Pacquiao. Roach laughs at the suggestion because of the obvious size difference, although he knows he can’t totally dismiss it.

“That’s a pretty big jump (from 130 to 147),’’ Roach said. “I guess De La Hoya and Manny don’t like each other but I don’t know. I think it’s more likely we go to 140 if we can get Hatton and then back to 135. What we want is to win the lightweight title and then fight Marquez again but he’ll have to come up to 135, or at least a catch weight of 133. One thing we know about that fight, it will be competitive.’’

Which, frankly, is how Freddie Roach likes it.

“I get jacked up for fights like the one with Marquez,’’ Roach said. “We all like the competition. When the bell rings we trainers go sit down but the strategy of it is important to us.

“I’m a competitive person. Nacho Beristain (Marquez’s trainer) is one of the great trainers in boxing. If we can make adjustments to negate their guy’s strategy that makes us get excited. I enjoy that.

“The only thing that bothered me about the last fight really was what they said after they lost. If we’d have lost that fight I wouldn’t have cried about the decision. I know that’s easy to say because we won but when the fight’s that close you can’t cry about losing by a point. It takes away from it. That fight was great for Manny and for Marquez and it was great for boxing. We were all winners.’’

Close winners in the case of Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao. So close they want to do it again. Soon. Unless, of course, Ricky Hatton calls first.

By Ron Borges, The Sweet Science

Who's next for Pacquiao?

Finally Pacquiao did it again, who's next for Manny Pacquiao? Hatton is next according to Coach Freddie Roach.

The Filipino star will remain at junior lightweight and challenge beltholder Juan Manuel Marquez for the 130-pound world title March 15 at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay, Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank announced Thursday.

Manny Pacquiao, left, and Juan Manuel Marquez are set to do it again March 15 in Las Vegas.
"This is the one everybody wanted to see," Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer said.

The bout, which will be televised by HBO PPV, is a much-anticipated rematch of their dramatic May 8, 2004 brawl. Pacquiao (45-3-2, 34 KOs) knocked Marquez (48-3-1, 35 KOs) down three times in the first round of the featherweight championship fight, but Marquez battled back and the slugfest was ruled a split draw.

Pacquiao, the star of the division, easily outpointed Marco Antonio Barrera in a rematch Oct. 6 and was considering either the Marquez rematch or moving up to challenge lightweight titlist David Diaz.

Ultimately, he decided to take the Marquez fight.

"Manny is going to knock him out," Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said. "Manny feels that he has really improved dramatically since that first fight with Marquez and that Marquez has gone backwards."

Diaz will defend his 135-pound belt on the undercard, Arum told ESPN.com. He said that if Diaz and Pacquiao both win, he would match them in July. A win by Pacquiao in July could lead to the ultimate showdown in September: A welterweight mega fight against Golden Boy Promotions boss Oscar De La Hoya in De La Hoya's career finale.

Arum said a news conference to bring Pacquiao and Marquez face to face was being scheduled for Dec. 20 in Los Angeles. Arum added that Pacquiao would remain in the U.S. after the press conference and begin training in Los Angeles in early January.

"Marquez-Pacquiao II will be one of those 'must-see' fights for boxing fans," HBO PPV's Mark Taffet said. "Kudos to the promoters and fighters for continuing to make the fights that boxing fans want to see and for continuing the sport's momentum well into 2008."

Pacquiao was supposed to meet with Arum at his Las Vegas home on Thanksgiving to discuss the options and then make a decision. However, Pacquiao didn't make it to Las Vegas and they ended up meeting a few days later in Los Angeles, where Arum laid out the scenarios for him.

"I really left it up to Manny," Arum said, noting that trainer Freddie Roach was on board with either Marquez or Diaz. "[At first] the money wasn't quite right on our side for Marquez as it was against Diaz. But then Schaefer really went to work and did a really great job with Marquez, and that enabled me to tell Manny that it was going to be virtually the same money for him to fight Marquez as it would be to fight Diaz with an upside on a Marquez fight that could be larger, because it would be trumpeted as a bigger fight."

Terms of the deal were not disclosed but Schaefer said that Marquez wanted the fight badly and took the short end to get it done.

"The credit really goes to Marquez because he really, really wanted this fight," Schaefer said. "He knows there is unfinished business between them. Manny, he wanted to fight the guy he could make the most money against. But Juan Manuel Marquez really did his part to make this fight. He agreed to accept the terms which really are heavily in favor of Pacquiao.

"For Marquez, this was not about money, no question about it," Schaefer said. "It was about him standing up there and showing all the Mexicans that, 'Hey, you know that this guy [Pacquiao] beat two legends, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, but now I'm going to show Pacquiao what Mexican fighters are all about.' That is what motivates him. He knows with a victory over Pacquiao that his name will be considered right there with Morales and Barrera."

Pacquiao has defeated six Mexican fighters in a row, including Morales twice and Barrera, whom he sent into retirement last month. Diaz sent Morales into retirement in August.

Marquez, who defeated Barrera in March to win his belt, routed Rocky Juarez for a unanimous decision in his first defense Nov. 3.

Arum credited Schaefer for structuring a deal for Marquez that made the fight possible.

"He worked it out very cleverly with Marquez," Arum said of his one-time bitter rival. "He did a very good job. I commend him, otherwise the fight wouldn't happen."

After Schaefer and Arum closed the financial gap, Pacquiao had to decide on the weight. Marquez wanted the fight so badly that he was willing to fight a nontitle bout between 131 and 135 pounds.

Pacquiao struggled to make 130 pounds for the Barrera fight, but part of the reason for that was because he did most of his training in the Philippines before traveling the United States and had problems taking off the last couple pounds.

"I asked Manny, 'Do you really have trouble making 130?' He said no and that he would train here in the U.S. and that he wouldn't have trouble making it," Arum said. "So I said, 'Why don't you fight at 130 for the title?' He said he didn't want to pay the [WBC] sanction fee. I said, 'Twenty years from now when they talk about you beating every 130-pounder out there, wouldn't it be nice if you were 130-pound champion?' He agreed and will fight for the WBC title."

Although Marquez holds the WBC belt, the match will also be for the vacant Ring magazine title, which, in an era of four main organizations, recognizes the "real" champion in each division and doesn't require any sanctioning fees.

If Pacquiao defeats Marquez and then Diaz in July, the fight with De La Hoya, who says he will fight in May and then his career finale in September, is a serious possibility.

Arum said part of his discussions with Schaefer while making Marquez-Pacquiao II included talk about an eventual fight with De La Hoya.

"We all know it's a huge fight," Arum said.

Schaefer confirmed that they've discussed the match.

"That's certainly a possibility," Schaefer said. "Bob and me did discuss it. He's discussed it with Manny and I have discussed it with Oscar. At first they were both laughing but each guy said [of the other], 'Is he serious?' Then they stopped laughing when they found out that the other guy was serious. Both guys are open to it."

But first things first: Marquez-Pacquiao II.

Student Tecnologist and Entrepreneur of the Philippines

Student Tecnologist and Entrepreneur of the Philippines

While Barrera says farewell to boxing, Pacquiao ready for new challenges

LAS VEGAS - Marco Antonio Barrera quietly signed autographs for eager fans, holding a pen in his left hand and his youngest daughter in his right arm.

Barrera's daughter curiously poked at the still-fresh cut on her daddy's right eye, fiddling away until the Mexican champion flinched ever so slightly.

Barrera wants to spend more time with his kids and less time in recovery. That's why the 33-year-old fighter, still a world-class competitor, but past his best nights, vows he's finished with boxing after losing a unanimous decision Saturday night in an entertaining rematch with Manny Pacquiao.

"This is my last fight inside this beautiful sport," Barrera said Saturday night while his trainer, Sendai Tanaka, quietly wept a few feet away. "I say goodbye to this beautiful sport, but I fought the best fighters. I fought my best tonight. I'm happy."

While many a brash boxer has reneged on a threatened retirement, Barrera doesn't seem to be bluffing. He's a serious, wealthy man who has never pretended to walk away before. Plus, Barrera probably sees he's not up to the lofty standard set by Pacquiao despite the Mexican champion's valiant effort in the rematch of their 2003 bout.

"He is a great champion," Pacquiao said. "I am very honoured to beat him."

In front of a spirited, nationalistic crowd at Mandalay Bay, Pacquiao failed to put Barrera on the canvas, the first time that Philippines' favourite son didn't register a knockdown in seven fights since his last loss to Erik Morales in March 2005.

Barrera never hurt Pacquiao, except for a shady blow while the referee separated them in the 11th round, leaving Pacquiao momentarily woozy against the ropes. The slight was forgotten when Pacquiao led the standing ovation for Barrera at their post-fight news conference.

Pacquiao's victory was another boon to his native Philippines, currently bedeviled by battles between government troops and Marxist and Muslim insurgents. Some troops were drawn away from combat duties so they could watch the bout, while millions of fans emptied Manila's usually packed streets.

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, was content with almost every aspect of his easily distracted superstar's effort, though it's easy to sense Roach's mild frustration with the minor weaknesses that prevent Pacquiao from being essentially perfect.

"Manny's in-and-out motion and the feints slowed (Barrera) down a lot," Roach said. "Manny's footwork was too much for him. He was fighting a smarter fight. Speed and power is not enough to stay in this game forever. I want him to keep working."

While Barrera's skills might have slipped a bit, Pacquiao still seems to be at his peak, and he has plenty of options for his next step, including a move up to lightweight.

"We've been talking about it," Roach said, adding that Pacquiao gained 14 pounds between Friday's weigh-in and fight night. "I think he definitely can fight at 135. It's getting a little harder to get down to 130, and I think he's ready to step up."

Pacquiao's most intriguing future prospect at 130 pounds might be a rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez, who fought Pacquiao to an entertaining draw in 2004.

Pacquiao knocked down Marquez three times in the first round of that fight, but Marquez rallied fiercely. Marquez faces Rocky Juarez on Nov. 3 in Las Vegas in a bout that was postponed from Sept. 14. Since promoters Oscar De La Hoya and Bob Arum have settled their long-standing legal battles, Pacquiao might be eager to take on another Golden Boy power.

Joan Guzman also appeared at Saturday night's news conference to publicly challenge Pacquiao, though Arum said Guzman should be worrying more about his 130-pound fight with Humberto Soto on Nov. 17.

Both would be compelling matchups for Pacquiao, as would David Diaz, the WBC champion who knocked Morales into retirement in August.

"I'll be happy whoever I fight," Pacquiao said. "I don't want to compare my talent. I just think I'm an ordinary fighter, that I can fight a good fighter or the best fighter. I don't think I'm the best."

Pacquiao does heavy workout on Good Friday

On a Good Friday, Manny Pacquiao put on a dazzling show for his fans and the media, and looked all set to conquer San Antonio once more.

The Wild Card Gym was almost packed as Pacquiao held a two-hour public workout, unlike the previous one where the entrance door was closed and video cameras shut off.

Pacquiao did his usual stuff — the usual stuff that could make an ordinary athlete faint.

He did a couple rounds of shadow boxing, a few more pounding the mitts with trainer Justine Fortune, longer minutes on the speed ball, double-end bag, punching bag and skipping ropes, plus the icing on the cake – around 500 crutches and sit-ups.

At times, Pacquiao just won’t stop.

Fortune had to remind him that he needed only two rounds on the punching bag, and Pacquiao would say "I want three!" and when Pinoy trainer Nonoy Neri would call for a break, the hard-punching boxer would counter "What break? No break!"

As he wrapped up the day’s work to his favorite Latino beat of Shakira, the crowd, including fans both young and old, gave him a round of applause.

And the familiar voice of Wild Card resident Macka Foley rang out: "Manny Pac-queeaow! The best pound-for-pound! Move over May-weather!"

More applause.

"He’s ready. He’s 95 percent," said Fortune, the beefy Australian ex-heavyweight who supervised Pacquiao’s training at Wild Card the last three weeks.

Buboy Fernandez, the other trainer, said Pacquiao is fit to climb the ring any day, any minute. So far after close to seven weeks, they’ve logged close to 120 rounds of sparring.

Pacquiao needed another hour before exiting the gym, granting interviews with the foreign and local press, and planting his signature on boxing gloves, t-shirts, caps, posters and even cellular phones.

"Salamat sa inyo. Salamat po (Thank you)," he would often say.

Saturday will be his last day of training at Wild Card as he flies to Texas Sunday morning for the final push toward his April showdown with undefeated Mexican Jorge Solis.

Pacquiao said he can’t wait to get there, and relive his sensational 2004 victory over Marco Antonio Barrera, also at the Alamodome.

"I’m excited for this fight. This will be a good fight. This fight is for our country. Not for anything else," he said.

Manny has hands full in buildup to Texas bout

Manny Pacquiao’s itinerary in San Antonio, Texas is out.

Top Rank big boss Bob Arum said the 28-year-old Filipino superstar will be quite busy once he arrives in San Antonio in the week heading to his April 14 fight with Jorge Solis at the Alamodome.

Pacquiao and his entourage of around 30, including his wife Jinkee, will fly to San Antonio from LA on Sunday morning, and is expected to take a rare day-off from his daily training.

Then on Monday he will hold a public workout shortly after lunch and will go straight to his hotel for some rest. In the evening, he’ll be off to the AT&T Center to watch an NBA game.

Arum said Pacquiao will be the special guest at ringside when San Antonio Spurs of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Robert Horry host the Portland Blazers of Zack Randolph and Brandon Roy.

"We know he loves basketball," said Arum of his fighter who once tossed the ceremonial pitch in a California Angels Major League game in his run-up to a 2005 clash with Hector Velasquez at Staples Center.

Tuesday will be the regular training and a meeting with San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger. The fight press conference is set Wednesday, probably the last day of training for Pacquiao.

On Thursday, Arum added, Pacquiao will have a satellite interview with the international press, and the day after will be the official weigh-in at the Alamodome where the Pinoy icon knocked out Marco Antonio Barrera in 2003.

"Then Saturday is fight night," said Arum.

And Pacquiao can get rid of Solis, fly back to Los Angeles the following morning, and back to Manila in an evening flight on Philippine Airlines.

Pacquiao raring to go

If there’s one guy at the Wild Card Boxing Club who knows Manny Pacquiao other than Freddie Roach, that’s Australian conditioning coach Justin Fortune.

Fortune is Wild Card guru Freddie Roach’s chief assistant, caretaker whenever Roach is away and he’s been in all of Pacquiao’s most memorable fights on US soil.

On Saturday afternoon, Fortune saw one significant sign that he knew is an indication of Pacquiao’s readiness for this week’s showdown with unheralded but dangerous Mexican puncher Jorge Solis.

"Once he does that, he’s ready," said Fortune after watching Pacquiao’s final and five-round sparring session in preparation for Solis, referring to the Filipino southpaw’s full display of antics against regular sparmate, the tall and rangy David Rodela.

Pacquiao and his team depart for San Antonio via American Airlines at 2:25 p.m. The non-stop flight will last three hours and he will be welcomed there by the first wave of Team Pacquiao members that will leave at 10:15 a.m. using LAX airport with a brief layover in Dallas.

On the eve of his departure for Texas, site of his epic knockout win over Marco Antonio Barrera in November 2003, Pacquiao looked superb in his workout.

"He (Pacquiao) doesn’t want to stop (training)," said Buboy Fernandez, who will help out in the cornerwork.

Pacquiao struck Rodela at least twice with his two fists, reminiscent of what the late action king Fernando Poe Jr. did in beating up countless villains in his movies.

On two occasions, Pacquiao rushed towards Rodela’s corner and threatened to whale away in reckless abandon without the startled sparmate’s knowledge and Pacquiao broke into laughter upon seeing the reaction on Rodela’s face.

"I knew that I was ready for this fight when I did 12 rounds of sparring last week," said Pacquiao as he was having a dinner of chicken tinola, fried fish and steamed rice at his apartment unit at the Palazzo, where members of his entourage and visitors congregate everyday after training.

Still, Pacquiao went serious a few times and whenever he opted to change his demeanor, he threw punches as though the guy in front of him was someone who stole his retirement money.

While Pacquiao’s mood was very relaxed, there was a brief moment just before he went down the ring to change that he became serious.

The fighter bowed his head in the corner where he usually gets pointers from his trainers and mumbled a prayer and the Wild Card’s chief of security, Rob Peters, had to politely ask everybody to pause for a moment of silence.

Pacquiao then thanked everyone in attendance as in the past and the crowd applauded the simple gesture.

Fight fans crave for Pacman-Barrera tiff

A rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera is still a fight many fans would like to see. And if everything falls into place, Pacquiao and Barrera will end up locking horns anew.

"That is still an attractive fight," said Top Rank chief Bob Arum on the prospects of matching the two this year.

In fact, Barrera is even reportedly attending Pacquiao’s bout against Jorge Solis of Mexico on Saturday night at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

Although Barrera lost to Juan Manuel Marquez last month on points, Arum believes Barrera, who suffered a savage 11th round knockout to Pacquiao in 2003, still has a huge following.

"Marquez doesn’t have a fan base," said Arum, noting that "Marquez is an anti-draw."

"We use to promote him and we would put on a show in a ballroom that has 3,000 seats and we could not fill them," said Arum, who once had Marquez under his promotional outfit before the Mexican signed up with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions (GBP).

Arum also revealed that the camp of another marquee name in the superfeatherweight category, Joan Guzman of the Dominican Republic, has sent word that it is also interested in seeing the undefeated Guzman rumble with Pacquiao.

Arum said Sycuan Promotions has a say in Guzman’s affairs even though he is promoted by GBP.

Top Rank had wanted to get Barrera for a Pacquiao rematch but Barrera turned down what Top Rank said was an attractive offer and opted to fight Marquez instead.

There is no definite timetable yet on Pacquiao’s fight after Solis since the Filipino icon has to go back to the Philippines and concentrate on his political bid as he is running for congressman in the first district of South Cotabato on May 14.

"It would all depend on the (result of the) elections," said Arum during a recent visit to the Wild Card.

Pacquiao leaves for San Antonio

FILIPINO boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao is set to leave Los Angeles for San Antonio to acclimatize himself with the Texas weather barely a week before his scheduled 12-round super featherweight clash with Jorge Solis of Mexico at the Alamodome.

The Alamodome, home of Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs, is the site of Pacquiao's career-defining triumph over Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera in November of 2003.

Now, over three years later, the Filipino southpaw will be back again in the place of that memorable victory against an undefeated boxer in Solis.

Pacquiao had his last sparring session at the Wild Card gym Saturday and his trainers, led by Justin Fortune, declared the boxer ready to fight.

If plans push through, Pacquiao is scheduled to watch the Spurs play in a home game, before the fighter takes care of his own battle atop the ring on April 14 (April 15 in Manila).

Pacquiao and Solis met for the first time Thursday when the Filipino bomber visited the Mexican during training at the Pound4Pound Gym in Los Angeles.

Pacquiao thought Solis is not that tall as the Mexican was earlier described to be.

Solis, who is 32-0 with 23 KOs, had earlier vowed to beat Pacquiao and shock the world.

Pacquiao trainers ‘fight’

WITH less than a week to go before his fight against Jorge Solis, a coup is seemingly in the offing within Manny Pacquiao’s camp.

Pacquiao, who had Freddie Roach in his corner in his epic trilogy with Eric Morales, is now being handled by Roach’s protégé Justin Fortune.

And according to Philboxing.com, Fortune doesn’t want Roach back in Pacquiao’s corner for the April 15 (RP time) fight at the Alamodome in Texas.

Roach is currently in Puerto Rico training Oscar dela Hoya against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Incidentally, dela Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions is locked in a legal battle with Bob Arum’s Top Rank, the promoter of the April 15 fight.

“Well, Freddie chose the bigger fighter (dela Hoya) and he can’t have both,” Fortune said in a report posted at Philboxing.com
According to the report, Fortune said he could handle the fight with Filipino trainers Buboy Fernandez and Nonoy Neri and that Roach can handle Pacquiao’s corner again when the Filipino icon gets a bout against marquee fighters like Marco Antonio Barrera.

Both Fortune and Manny Pacquiao have also told a press conference early in the week that they are not sure whether Roach will be in Texas for the fight.

However, Roach told boxingconfidential.com, “There is no doubt. I told both Manny and Justin I will be there. I am coming in on the day before the fight. Both Manny and Justin know very well that I am going to San Antonio. They both know for sure, no doubt, that I will be there to do my job just like I always do.”

Inconsistent

Still, two days after Roach’s interview, Fortune told a teleconference that he still wasn’t sure whether Roach would be in the fight.

For his part, Arum shot down Roach’s plan to attend the fight.

“You have to understand that Freddie is with dela Hoya. And, dela Hoya for the last month has been doing his damnedest to stop this fight. So, I mean, it’s really inconsistent with Freddie coming. Freddie is down there in Puerto Rico,”

Sparring partner feels Pacman’s wicked punch

No one knows better how strong Manny Pacquiao’s punches are these days than his sparring partner.

"He hits like he’s got metal weights in his hands," said Mexican David Rodela Saturday after sparring with Pacquiao for five hard rounds at the Wild Card Gym.

Pacquiao engaged Rodela in a thrilling workout that was held behind closed doors. At times the left-handed superstar tried to play around, unleashing moves made famous by the late Filipino king of movies Fernando Poe Jr.

In the last two rounds when Pacquiao turned on the heat, and in the final 30 seconds it looked like he was going for a knockout, catching Rodela with a long flurry that got almost everybody inside the gym up on their feet.

"When Manny does that I know he’s ready," said Justin Fortune, calling the shots in Pacquiao’s training in the absence of Freddie Roach who’s with Oscar dela Hoya in Puerto Rico.

"Puwede nga siya hindi tumama eh (I could’ve made him miss all day). Kaya sa last round, binugbog ko na (That’s why in the last round, I clobbered him)," said Pacquiao.

It was the last sparring session for Pacquiao,. who flies to San Antonio, Texas Sunday, just six days before he locks horns with unbeaten Jorge Solis at the Alamodome.

At 8 a.m. Pacquiao will hear mass at Christ the King, just five minutes away from his $5,000-a-month La Palazzo apartment unit, and will probably go for an early lunch in a nearby restaurant.

Pacquiao and his entourage, the size of a baseball team, will board a three-hour American Airlines flight to San Antonio at 2 p.m.

Pacquiao trained more than three weeks in Gen. Santos City and another three at the Hollywood gym. He’s logged close to 150 rounds of sparring, just about his normal routine heading for a fight.

In San Antonio, Pacquiao will no longer spar, according to one of his trainers, Nonoy Neri. Lined up until Thursday are light workouts in a gym to be provided by Top Rank. On the side, Pacquiao will watch the San Antonio Spurs vs the Portland Trail Blazers at the AT&T Center on Monday evening.

"I’m okay. I knew it since the day I sparred 12 rounds last week. The 12th round felt like the first round to me," said Pacquiao, as he finished a bowl of chicken soup Saturday.

There’s no problem with his weight, too. The last time he was asked, a few days ago, he stood at 134, just four more than the limit of 130 for super-featherweights.

"No problem with the weight," said Pacquiao as he put his right hand around his left wrist. "This is how I measure my weight. I can tell by just doing this."

And one luxury Pacquiao’s been enjoying is the fact that he need not undergo diet to make the weight. He still enjoys a plateful of rice with his favorite "tinola" or "bulalo" along with fried salmon and fruits.

"This is my third full meal for the day. I had one in the Thai restaurant, another with Jinkee outside Universal Studios, and this one," he told Pinoy scribes who visited him in his apartment.

Z Gorres falls victim to bum decision

The smell of cheating was so pervasive Saturday night that diehard boxing fans thought the WBO stood for World Boxing Odor, and not as World Boxing Organization.

The Puerto Rico-based governing body came under fire following Z Gorres’ controversial defeat at the hands of WBO super flyweight Fernando Montiel of Mexico at the Cebu City sports complex.

The Filipino challenger dominated the first eight rounds of the scheduled 12-rounder, but still ended up the loser by split decision.

While Gorres appeared to have lost steam in the closing rounds, the skillful Mandaue native piled up enough points with precision-punching in the first eight rounds that not even the two-point deduction could have made a difference if the two judges saw it fair and square.

Montiel won on the scoresheets of Chuck Giampa (114-112) and Raul Caiz (115-111), while Gorres triumphed in the scorecard submitted by Denny Nelson (115-111).

The Bulletin had Gorres winning a close decision.

Referee Samuel Viruet, a Puerto Rican from New York, slapped a point each against Gorres for holding in the 10th and 12th rounds without prior warning, drawing the ire of Tony Aldeguer, Gorres’ chief handler.

"The referee should have warned Gorres first before deducting a point," Aldeguer argued.
Aldeguer organized the world-class boxing card that could rival Las Vegas.
With the way the two judges handled the scoring, Montiel would have still retained the crown by split draw even if there were no deductions.

Still, Aldeguer could not hide his disappointment even if all of his other fighters emerged triumphant.

Rey ‘Boom Boom’ Bautista secured a place on the May 5 Oscar dela Hoya-Floyd Mayweather show with a vicious third-round demolition of last-minute replacement Marino Gonzalez of Mexico while fast-rising super-fly AJ ‘Bazooka’ Banal flattened Komrith 3k Battery in less than a round with a hybrid left hook-uppercut.

In the other title match, Jimrex Jaca stopped Simson Butar-Butar of Indonesia in seven rounds to claim the WBO Intercontinental superfeather crown.

In a four-round special attraction, Bai Elorde, grandson of the late-great world junior-lightweight king Flash Elorde, defeated Joseph Mateo in the two fighters’ pro debut.
For his brave effort, Gorres would still remain the No. 1 contender status, officials of the WBO assured his handlers. Montiel will go home with a purse of 0,000, while Gorres will savor every cent of his ,000 paycheck.

Reality Bites for Z “The Dream” Gorrez

Mexican world champion Fernando "Cochulito" Montiel proved to be a classy champion from the day he set foot in Cebu. On fight night, Filipino challenger Z “The Dream” Gorres turned out to be the more skillfull fighter.

But when the verdict was announced, the 24-year-old Gorres’ hard work went for naught as two of the three judges tallied controversial scores that spoiled a virtually masterful performance by the worthy Filipino title challenger.

The southpaw Gorres, a huge underdog going into the fight, demonstrated a brilliant, all-around performance that baffled a usually cool and calculated Montiel to the delight of more than 20,000 Filipino fight fans at the Cebu City Sports Center.

However, judges Raul Caiz and Chuck Giampa contentiously gave three crucial rounds to Montiel that were clearly won by Gorres.

Caiz had a final mark of 115-111 while Giampa had it 114-112, both for Montiel.
Denny Nelson saw it 115-111 for Gorres while this writer penned it 114-112 for Gorres.
Referee Sammy Viruet deducted a total of two points from Gorres, one each in the 10th and 12th round for excessive holding as the Filipino challenger tried to hang on after being caught by a solid right straight by Montiel middle of the 10th round.

“The referee should have given Gorres a warning before any deduction was made. It’s an instinct for fighters to clinch if hit by a real good punch,” said boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao who witnessed the fight at ringside.

Meanwhile, the contentious scoring happened in the 5th to 7th rounds that can actually be considered as Gorres’ best rounds.

In the fifth canto, Montiel looked clueless after being peppered by Gorres’ stiff combinations. Gorres’ fluid defense made the Mexican miss a good number of his usual deadly hooks and counterpunches.

Giampa and Nelson gave the fifth to Gorres while Caiz went for Montiel.

Gorres continued his dazzling show in the 6th as he made Montiel miss some body attacks. The Filipino sensation also connected some well-timed left straights and counter blows.

Despite Gorres ample executions in the 6th round, Caiz and Giampa gave it to Montiel.
In the 7th round, Montiel connected some body shots and occasional right punches but Gorres never wavered by whacking the Mexican with his own left straights and significant jabs.

Again, Caiz and Giampa ignored the efforts of Gorres by giving the 7th to Montiel.

Had Caiz and Giampa given the fifth to seventh rounds to Gorres, the Filipino would have won the fight unanimously.

“He can be a world champion soon. He did a great performance tonight,” was all Montiel could say when asked by reporters about his thoughts on the verdict.

The 27-year-old Montiel, who had a bad cut on his left eyebrow as a result of Gorres' crisp punches, defended his crown for the fourth time since winning it from compatriot Ivan

Hernandez in April 2005.

Before scoring the controversial win against Gorres, Montiel lost a 12-round split verdict to Jhonny Gonzales for the WBO world bantamweight crown May of last year.

Montiel’s accessibility to media and fans made him also a favorite for Filipino autograph seekers.
Montiel improves to 33-2-1, with 24 KO's while Gorres drops to 26-2-1, 14 KO's.

Montiel not keen on Gorres rematch

AFTER disposing of his mandatory challenger Z "The Dream" Gorres, Fernando "Cochulito" Montiel is moving on to his next target – compatriots Jorge Arce or Christian Mijares to unify the super-featherweight belts.

I want Arce or Mijares. I want to unify all the titles,” said Montiel through his interpreter Maha Farner during the victory dinner held at the Marriot Hotel, Saturday evening.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007

However, he only wanted to fight Arce if the later will become champion.
Arce and Mijares will fight for the WBC 115lb belt on April 14, underneath the Manny Pacquiao-Jorge Solis fight at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

With this plan, Montiel is not keen now in giving Gorres a rematch.

“No, I want to move on to another fight. But I am a fighter and I will always fight. If there will be a rematch then I will fight Gorres, anytime, anywhere. Even in the moon, I’ll fight him again,” said Montiel.

Montiel also dismissed talks he will vacate his title to move up to the heavier bantamweight division.

Being the first world champion to successfully defend his belt in the Philippines, Montiel feels proud and honored but admitted he had a tough time against the busy-unching Gorres.

“We pushed him (Montiel) hard and it was his heart that made him win because there was no other way. We only had four days to train against a southpaw and it was a very difficult for us,” said Montiel’s father-trainer Manuel Sr.

Last Saturday was Montiel’s second time to defend his belt in the country of his challenger. The first was in Germany when he fought Zoltan Lunka.

However, it was here when Montiel felt welcome.

“I really appreciate the way the Filipinos treated us. And I wish I could return some to stay. I feel at home here,” Montiel expressed.

Meanwhile, Golden Boy Promotions vice president Eric Gomez is now planning to hold a Montiel-Gorres rematch in the boxing world cup, which will be held here in August.

“I want to rematch this fight in the Boxing World Cup. We will have a lot of things to talk about regarding this but we will surely work on a rematch,” Gomez explained.

According to him, he had Gorres winning eight rounds over Montiel but two judges—Chuck Giampa and Raul Caiz saw otherwise.

Aside from the controversial two points taken away from the scorecards of Gorres by referee Samuel Veruet, Gomez is impressed with the way SGG Sports Promotions and ALA Boxing Gym organized the event.

“This is a very well organized promotion, and I liked what I saw with regards to the attendance and the way they handled the event. This could even get bigger during the World Cup,” said Gomez.

With Boholano sensation Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista groomed to be the main event of the World Cup Boxing, Golden Boy Promotions and Cebuano promoter Sammy Gello-ani is now back to the drawing board to work on their next big project for Cebu.

The Battle of Cebu Boxing (Moment of Truth)

In the night's first bout, Weng Haya prevailed on a unanimous decision over Romnick Rapista, 39-37 from all three judges.

In the night's second bout, Bai Elorde looked impressive in a four-round unanimous decision over a taller Joseph Mateo. All three judges saw the bout 40-36 for a one-sided win.
In the third bout, ALA Boy Joseph Omanz dominated Markyll Taroja, scored a knockdown in the first, before prevailing on a unanimous decision over four rounds.

Bert Batawang knocked down Indonesia's Sofyan Efendi twice in the fourth round to score an impressive TKO win at the 2:12 mark.

At this point, superstar Manny Pacquiao arrives with his big entourage, and receives both boss and cheers from the crowd. Must be due to his political aspirations.
Alex John Banal unleashed a big left to Thailand's Komrith Evereadygym to win by KO in the first round.

JACA DETHRONES SIMSON BUTAR-BUTAR

Jimrex 'The Executioner' Jaca stopped the very durable Indonesian Simson Butar-Butar to snatch the WBO Asia-Pacific superfeatherweight crown on a seventh-round knockout.

MONTIEL RETAINS CROWN OVER GORREZ BY SPLIT DECISION

Fernando Montiel retained his WBO superfly title with a somewhat controversial split decision over Filipino Z 'The Dream' Gorres.

Raul Caiz scored the bout 115-111 for Montiel, Denny Nelson penned it 115-111 for Gorres, while Chuck Giampa saw it 114-112 for Montiel.

Referee Sammy Viruet made two deductions on Gorres throughout the fight, a decision which may be questioned by the Gorres camp.

Bautista Stops Mexican Gonzales in round 3

Undefeated Boholano Rey 'Boom Boom' Bautista continued his undefeated streak, stopping Mexican Marino Montiel Gonzalez in the third round of their scheduled 12-rounder in Cebu City last a few minutes.

Bautista unleashed a huge left to the midsection in the third, sending Gonzalez down on his knees for good as referee Bruce McTavish tolled the count and waived off the fight.
In the first, Bautista scored an early knockdown with a big right that sent Gonzalez on his knees for the first time.

By the second, a confident Bautista continued to press the attack, although the Mexican countered with shots of his own to somehow keep himself in the fight.

The win improved Bautista's unblemished record to 22 wins, no loss with 17 KO's, and lines him up for a big May 5 bout with Argentina's Sergio Mediana in a 12-round WBO superbantam title eliminator.

"I am very thankful to the support. See you on May 5," said Bautista in an interview with the media after the fight, referring to the huge 'The World Awaits' card featuring Oscar De la Hoya against Floyd Mayweather Jr. where he is fighting on the undercard.
Golden Boy Promotions international matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz, in an interview, said that De la Hoya himself had personally picked Bautista to be included in the card, and up to this writing, only the Filipino star is a lock for the card.

AJ BANAL ANOTHER SPECTACULAR WIN OVER THAI Lukkuongmuekol

AJ "Bazooka" Banal registered another spectacular knockout win after he made short work of Thai visitor Komrit Lukkuongmuekol during last night's 'Moment of Truth' boxing event at Cebu City Sports Complex here.

Banal (12-0-1 10 KOs), who stopped ten of his 12 victims inside the distance, disposed Komrit (15-3-0 11 KOs) in 2:11 of the first round with a vicious left that sent the Thai sprawling to the canvas and stayed their for a good few minutes after failing to beat the count.

Komrit, also known as 3K Battery Eveready Gym, is himself a dangerous knockout artist having stopped 11 of his 15 victims, 8 of them Filipinos including Banal's stablemate Sherwin Paro. Paro, fighting Komrit on Sep. 2003, had racked 11 successive wins by then including 8 knockouts and was looked up as Cebu's fast rising prospect when he was stopped by Komrit in the 5th round.

Thus 'Bazooka' Banal avenged Paro's loss and continues to blast the opposition amazingly against a very tough lineup which was thrown at his very young career. The 18-year-old Banal have now battled and disposed 5 Thais and 2 Indonesians, knocking all of them out except one.

Banal sports a solid defensive stance which is very hard to penetrate in addition to an awesome one-punch KO power from both hands and a highly technical boxing and counter-punching abilities.

Golden Boy Promotions Vice-President Eric Gomez, watching at ringside, disclosed after the fight that he will work for Banal to fight in the undercard of the Oscar de la Hoya-Floyd Mayweather superfight on May 5 in Las Vegas.

Matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz, on the other hand, said that Banal might fight for a world title as early as this year.

Boom Boom Bautista erases smile of clowning Andrade in Round 4

Published on page A35 of the December 4, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

TAMPA, FLORIDA -- Top Filipino prospect Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista kept his unbeaten record with a smashing fourth-round technical knockout victory over Brazilian Giovanni Andrade yesterday in their scheduled 12-rounder at the St. Pete Times Forum here.

Taking the initiative in front of some 13,825 spectators, Bautista forced a battered Andrade to give up at the end of the third round, prompting referee Jorge Alonso to wave off the fight.

Bautista, the former World Boxing Organization Asian Pacific bantamweight champion, swept all three rounds in the scorecards of the three judges before the stoppage.

Bautista, of Candijay town in Bohol province, pressed the action right at the get-go, chasing Andrade around for most of the round as the Brazilian showboated while riding on his bicycle.

Bautista continued his onslaught in the second round, although he got tagged by a right which landed on his right forehead, forcing the Filipino to backpedal. Bautista recovered to still win the round.

Andrade started to tire in the third, and was reduced to clowning around as the very well-conditioned Bautista continued chasing him with hard body attacks.

“He hit me with too many body shots, and every time they landed, I felt like I was being stabbed,” said Andrade in a post-fight interview at ringside.

The bout was an undercard to the Winky Wright-Ike Quartey battle, and was aired on national television with millions watching on Solar Sports, RPN9 and closed-circuit venues. Wright won the mainer by decision.

With the win, Bautista improved his unblemished slate to 21 wins and 16 KOs, and solidified his position as next in line to challenge WBO super bantamweight king Daniel Ponce De Leon of Mexico.

Top Filipino promoter Sammy Gello-ani is currently working on a boxing “World Cup” to take place in the Philippines in February, pitting Mexican world champions against Filipino challengers.

“I was also hurt in the second round when Andrade caught me with a good shot,” Bautista said after the fight. “But I recovered amazingly fast, thanks to my conditioning.”

The young fighter then went on to thank his manager, Antonio L. Aldeguer, and promoter Oscar De la Hoya for their support, as well as his parents and Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Neri Lim.

After a short meeting among Golden Boy Promotions fighters and staff presided by De La Hoya, the post-fight press conference was held on the same ring where the fights were held.

Bautista is set to fly back to Los Angeles today, then proceed to Manila tomorrow. He is expected to be home on Dec. 6.