Category Archives: boxing

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Emil Guillermo: In hashtag war, Filipinos say #PacMay, everyone else says #MayPac, but Pacquiao should win. Ali can’t be wrong. Justin Beiber can.

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Yes, that’s me and Pacquiao walking at the suites level at AT&T Park last Fall.  He’s not a great interview. But he likes to pray. And he likes to beat people up. We had just beaten up the cameraman here. (Wait a minute, this is a selfie…)

I’m taller than he is.

I still think he’s going to beat Mayweather.

Here are some Pacquiao quotes on the big fight (from fan rally at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, from Inquirer.net),

On being the underdog:

“My confidence right now is different than the other fights I had,” said Pacquiao. “I’m very excited. This is it. I had to prove something.”

“This is it. I like that (underdog),” said Pacquiao. “My killer instinct is back.”

On Strategy:

“We’re not depending on one strategy. We have two, three,” said Pacquiao.

“If he wants to fight, or if he wants to run in the ring,” I’m ready,” said Pacquiao, later changing the word ”run” to ”move,” grinning.

On Mayweather’s win streak against 47 fighters:

“I’m different from those 47. I’m faster, more confident for the fight. I believe he will lose.”

Pacquiao said Mayweather isn’t even the toughest fighter he’s faced, saying Oscar DelaHoya, Miguel Cotto and Juan Manuel Marquez were tougher.

I’ve seen just about every Manny fight. And the last two Mayweather fights.

In boxing terms, both are aging warriors and will have to rely on guile.  But Mayweather’s 38.  Pacman is 36. This isn’t a senior citizens affair.

Manny is slightly younger and has dealt with taller more aggressive boxers.

I think Pacquaio will have to knock him out to prevent an injustice like Bradley 1.

If it goes the distance,  Mayweather will win, thus setting up a re-match.

Money talks.

To win, Manny will have to do an Algieri performance-plus:  Knock him down and keep him down for the count. He won’t get six knockdowns. But he might get one good pop that rocks Mayweather.

Pacquiao  might have done it easily five years ago.

Now? It will be close.

 

 

blog, boxing, diversity, Filipino

Emil Guillermo: The Easter Bunny isn’t real, but that Pacquiao/Mayweather fight sure looks real now…

Especially at  $89.95 for the Pay-Per-View, according to reports.

And you bring your own lumpia.

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I’ve paid anywhere from $59-69 per fight.  But $89.95?

Fight of the Century?  It’s a young century.

With Showtime/Mayweather and HBO/Pacquaio, everyone wants to be paid.

At $89.95  so you can do your boxing karaoke in the privacy of your living, the fight is a relative bargain. That is, invite all your relatives and ask them to pitch in a few bucks.

May be the way to go, considering that tickets from brokers are going for around $4500  in the Baguio nosebleed sections.

But on the floor, people are asking for $20,000 and up.

I saw one site asking for $53,600!

Tuition alone at Harvard is $43,938.

Clearly, you’ll pay more for the School of Hard Knocks.

 

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blog, boxing, news, sports

Pacquiao-Bradley 2 (#PacBradley): Here’s how I see it, as it happens…

 

When we get past the undercard and all the pre-fight festivities,  I will type my impressions and score the fight in real time here.

Strange to hear Pacquiao described as the “challenger.” But he is.  Bradley is 31-0 and the WBO Welterweight champ.  Pac looks all business. No smiles. Bradley has his game face. The rumble begins.

Round 1: Pacquiao and B trade shots, P commands center of ring early. Both fighters keeping their distance while trying to show aggression. Bradley toward the end comes on with :12. Round goes to Bradley, 10-9.

Round 2:  Bradley pushed back on hook, recovers. Pacquiao aggressive, throws combination and B goes into ropes. B comes back with body punches, doesn’t give in. B. with hardshots to P head. B not backing down.  Close, but I’ll give that to P for getting B on ropes, 10-9.

Round 3: Pacquiao lands combo early. At 1:57, P lands solid lefts to B. B has P against ropes and lands to the body. P landing left to B.  B counters with rights to the body. Flurry of punches in this round, give it to P, 10-9. Compubox numbers on HBO give P the edge with 22 powershots, 7 more punches landed.

Round 4: Bradley gets in a shot that rocks Pacquiao. B needed that  as P was landing shots early. :30 left B shows he’s unrelenting. The B. right gives him edge here. Bradley, 10-9. Replay shows P lifted off his feet.  Punch stats still show P. landing more.

Round 5: Minute left, the round still contested with both fighters trading jabs. B had arms down in last :15 and Pacquiao may have stolen the round with action in the last seconds. Pacquiao, 10-9.

Compubox totals from HBO: P 14/42, B 11/46,  Powershots, P 9, B 8.

Round 6: Much slower round than previous. :40 left and seems even. A coasting round. P throwing pinches on ropes. B coaxes P to punch him, but round ends. End theatrics give round to P, 10-9. HBO Compubox totals, P- 12/53, B 8/50, P with  10-8 powershot advantage.

Round 7: Pacquiao gets a left in. Bradley lands a hard right, and some body shots. Tempo back to that of early rounds. Combos by P with :44 left. P adds more with B in corner. Big round for P. as B tries modified “rope-a-dope.” But P. tees off. Pacquiao wins that, 10-9.

Compubox gives P 26 landed out of 75 thrown. B, 14 of 56.

Round 8: Pacquiao cruising, but lands with his left several times. B. tries to mug, to show he’s not hurt. Not sure if that’s working. B. coming up top with the right. Close, but ring generalship gives round to P, 10-9.

Round 9:Compubox numbers have P ahead with 119 punches landed to 90-plus for B thus far….  P. rocks Bradley into ropes and seems hurt. Off-balance twice so far. P. with rights and combos to B.  B. is throwing 1 to P. 5 punches, it seems. Pacquiao wins the round 10-9, decisively.

Round 10: Pacquiao in last round had 14/24 to B 10/24 punch edge. This round starting with P. in command at the center and B. backing up.  B looks to be trying to find a knockout punch, but missing. P counters with combinations that have him outpointing B.  P with left seems to stun B and B counters wildly and misses. Pacquiao wins round, 10-9.

Round 11: Pacquiao outpunched Bradley 26-12 in previous round. P starts out round with solid left. B seems to be tiring as he’s not throwing as many punches. Pacquiao the aggressor, Bradley backing up. P lands a left with :40 left.  Round ends with B retreating and missing. Pacquiao wins round, 10-9.

Round 12: Compubox numbers continue trend. Pacquiao landing. Bradley’s head turned. Bradley never has had a KO past the 8th round, so unlikely here. P good defense catching B’s best. 1 minute left, B misses right. P at center in control :30 left. Time out due to accidental head but with :12 left.  B starts working but it ends. B lifts arms up, but why? I’ve got P winning this 10-9.   And have P winning 11 of 12 rounds. (Correction: On recount, I gave the 4th round to Bradley based on the “lift-up” punch he landed on Pacquiao. Wasn’t a knockdown, but was impressive.  So Bradley won 2 rounds, Pacquiao 10, in my estimation).

Bradley was tough early. But didn’t do enough by my eye.

Final scoring: Unanimous for Pacquiao. All three judges.

HBO’s numbers show P landed 198 to Bradley’s 141, and landed 35percent of his punches to Bradley’s 22percent.

Pacquiao also threw more power punches 148-109.

The placement of the punches: Pacquiao landed 176 of his punches to Bradley’s head.  Bradley landed 98 t0 Pacquiao’s head.

Bradley landed 43 punches to P’s body. P just landed 22 body punches to Bradley. Pacquiao was clearly going for a head snapping KO. Bradley tried, but that really isn’t his game.

In the end, Bradley good, but Pacquiao is just better.  Bradley is a toe-to-toe guy, not a knockout guy. Pacquiao may not have the kind of power he showed when he clicked off  Ricky Hatton, but he’s got a lot left.

This is a $20 million guaranteed pay day. And a relatively soft spot for Pacquiao.  He said he wants to go 2 more years. It may take that long before Mayweather stops ducking him.

That’s it for this live blog experiment. Check back for more analysis later.

SEE MY COLUMN in the  Philippine Inquirer:

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/102128/pacquiao-should-box-on

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

blog, boxing, diversity, news, race, sports

Pacquiao Bradley II: That’s not your prep school classmate, that’s the boxing match HBO can’t seem to hype enough

When I saw Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley fight for the first time on June 9, 2012, I was like most of the free world: Dumbfounded by the results.

Pacquiao clearly dominated the fight, though Bradley seemed to finish strong. Still, it wasn’t enough for a rally that actually could win the fight. How do you say: “Peex.”

Who needs an undercover camera? It was there for all to see. We knew who won the fight two years ago.

And now Pac Bradley 2 is back before Easter. For redemption?

Jim Lampley, the HBO announcer/sportscaster, on one radio show recently said the fight  wasn’t about a fix, but more about “bad judging.”

Lampley’s a good guy, but he has his biases working for the network that has a monopoly on the live fight.

There was something smelly about that fight, and two years doesn’t sufficiently deodorize the matter.

But we’re going to have to wait for someone’s deathbed confession before we get the real truth.

In the meantime, Pacquiao needs money. He’s motivated by taxes, and the peso/dollar exchange rate. And he has a whole barangay for an entourage.

ESPN has both fighters getting $6 million, but Pacquiao gets a guaranteed $20 million according to a report last week.

We also don’t have much time left to admire Pacquiao, in all honesty.

I’ve been saying he should retire now. But he’s on record saying “two more years.”

So for curiosity sake, I will lift my moratorium.

Pacquiao is the Filipinos’ alter ego, and I’m willing to suspend my disdain for pro boxing to watch him—just to see if he has anything left. The fight might be closer with two years for Bradley to get better and Pacquiao to get older.

Consider a graph with two lines:  If P is at a high level but  arcing down, and B is at a lower level but still rising, if the fight is taking place where the lines intersect it could be a toss up. If the  lines are close but not intersecting, then P should still have enough of an edge. That’s where I think we are.  Based on the last fights of both, Bradley gave Provodnikov a good fight. P gave Rios a beating. Based on that Freddie Roach puts Bradley as similar to Rios. But that Provodnikov fight of Bradley was better than that.  And let me not forget that Bradley/Marquez fight, where Bradley fought a completely different style. It all points to Bradley getting better, whereas Pacquiao is getting older. So we may be close to that P/B intersection, but not quite to make it a toss-up.

Prediction? Lots of rounds 10-9 Pacquiao, with Pac the ultimate winner.

(Live tweeting here at www.amok.com and on twitter@emilamok