Ceblogger's Sports Blog » Boxing

Manny Pacquiao’s Hennessy Commercial

ceblogger — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 05:15:11 +0000

Some say it’s controversial. Others say it is just part of the job. What would you have to say considering that Manny already proclaimed that he’s already a changed man and quotes Bible verses every now and then?

Here’s a glimpse of the commercial of Manny Pacquiao with Hennessy:

According to reports, the video is being aired mainly on digital screens in Times Square, New York, and is seen by thousands of locals and tourists everyday. There are also billboards relating to the campaign where Pacquiao appears.

Controversy

Where does the controversy lie? In an interview with ABS-CBN News on April 4, Pacquiao defended himself ”It’s not about the alak; it’s about inspiration on how to become successful.” Good thing he did not mention Jesus’ miracle at the wedding at Cana, where he turned water into wine. That would be out of context.

The controversy is in the association. Hennessy is a popular and expensive cognac brand. Its alcohol content is many times higher than that of the regular beer. Alcohol means vice. What has vice and alcohol got to do with a clean image Pacquiao is trying to set up?

On the other hand, an expensive wine (or cognac for this matter) is not to be drunk for the drunken sake. It is a symbol of prestige and power. And definitely not vice.

Manny Pacquiao – A Changed Man

ceblogger — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 06:22:20 +0000

The news came to my attention early this year. But because I was busy with other things, I wasn’t able to write about it. I read articles from various journalists and sportswriters. Some were even skeptical of Pacquiao’s newfound passion for the Bible. Is he for real?

A New Man

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” 2 Cor 5:17 (NKJV).

We heard that Pacquiao had quit gambling and womanizing. He even sold his fighting cocks and his shares in casinos and in other establishments that promote vices. Not only that, Manny shares bible verses every now and then. I witnessed him doing that in his “Manny, Many Prizes” show. In this country, it is not easy for famous men to accept they have sinned and changed their ways.

According to renowned journalist Ronnie Nathanielsz, “Manny has touched the lives of millions by his incredible achievements in the ring, earning respect and redemption for our country which was long denied the recognition it richly deserved. Beyond that, outside the ring, he has been a picture of humility and an individual, who cares for his people like very few others do. It somehow pains when people suggest that Pacquiao is using God and religion to further his political ambitions, because it does seem terribly unfair. If anything at all, we sincerely believe that God is using Manny to spread His word because whenever Manny speaks, a multitude listens.”

I think that some people are just allergic to God’s name being mentioned by famous athletes. Blasphemy may be alright to them but to credit God for the win, or for the opportunity of losing a game, it’s incredulous.

Some are asking, “Is he going to change religion?” Manny has not directly answered that yet, but as of this moment, I think he is comfortable with the fellowship of bible-believing believers.

Retirement Plans

Pacquiao said that in a dream, God told him to retire. “I will not stay long in boxing because He (God) said: ‘You have done enough. You have made yourself famous but this is harmful,’” Pacquiao is quoted telling radio station DZMM.

The message sent chills to boxing fans who only cared for the Pacman’s fist and power in the ring. “What if he loses his killer instincts and go soft against his opponents?” they asked. We all know that this coming June 9, it will be a Pacquiao vs Bradley brawl at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

What about Mayweather? Isn’t a Pacquiao vs Mayweather fight we’ve all been waiting for? Is he going to retire without facing the ultimate boxer? For Pacquiao, he doesn’t need Mayweather to prove himself. We might just have to accept the fact that our hero may not kick the butt of Mayweather. The latter is just too evasive with his demands.

Future Plans

Some are saying that Manny wants to become President someday. Who are we to challenge that? But at this time, Manny held on to the famous verse in Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

His mission now is very clear to him. It is no longer about boxing but in spreading the good news. And he doesn’t need to become the President of the Philippines to do that.

Pacquiao vs Bradley Boxing Fight Results Prediction

ceblogger — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:17:21 +0000

Manny Pacquaio vs Timothy Bradley this coming June 9, 2012 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas will be another exciting fight to watch. The two will go for each other’s head for the first time and sports fans’ predictions on the results are varied, though most are leaning toward the Filipino pound-for-pound king.

How Will Timothy Bradley Win?

How will Timothy Bradley win against Pacquiao? The 29-year old WBO Lightwelterweight Champion is undefeated at 29 fights, with 12 wins via KO. He fought and defeated boxers like Devon Alexander, Lamont Peterson and Joel Casamayor. The immaculate record will speak of itself and obviously posing a danger to the Filipino’s camp.

Timothy Bradley is hungry. He knows he is not yet up there in the pedestal of the boxing world with the likes of Pacquiao and Mayweather, but he is hungry for wins, recognition and of course, money. He will surely fight it out with all his heart as the reported $5 million pay is his biggest. Opportunity like this does not come by everyday. He has to make good or else he will be forgotten.

What do you say he’ll use his head? With Bradley notorious of charging head first, a head butt will most likely happen. Too many of them will result to an ugly fight, as sometimes, fights are ended prematurely due to head butts. Or maybe, Bradley has a plan. “I’m going to expose some things, other fighters haven’t done yet against Pacquiao… the difference is I have a plan,” Bradley told www.boxingsocialist.com in an interview last week.

Pacquiao’s Heart

They say that Pacquiao will no longer have those killer instincts that put many opponents to sleep because of his new found belief. Too soft, eh? But Freddie Roach is predicting that his fighter Manny Pacquiao will knockout unbeaten Timothy Bradley.

In an interview with Boxingtalk.com, Roach said “I think Manny will have a spectacular win. The fans want to see a knockout. I want to see a knockout. Bradley is aggressive; he comes to fight and will be fighting until the end but I think Manny will catch him coming in, and knock him out in the later rounds.”

Of course, no one knows a fighter better than his trainer. Or he could just be hyping it up just like he did in the recent Pacquiao – Marquez III. No trainer will say his fighter is going to lose.

Had Pacquiao dominated Marquez in their recent fight, most would have the fearless foreast of a Pacman domination. And do you think Pacquiao is serious in his coming fight against Bradley? Watch this video to find out.

Pacquiao vs Bradley Results Prediction

Bradley is slick, fast, young and hungry. Though it is hard to believe he passed up a chance to fight Amir Khan, he is surely up to something big in his coming fight with Pacquiao. Big bucks is most probably the reason. It’s due him, anyway.

As to Manny Pacquiao, there is still the usual distraction. It won’t be vices and women this time around. But I just hope he still keep his head and fist intact despite the challenges in politics and personal life. He should not be looking at Mayweather just yet because there is this other undefeated fighter in front of him.

My prediction is that Pacquiao will beat Bradley by unanimous decision. There will be lots of fists flying around from many angles. But both are intelligent fighters and will continue to size up each other until the bell at the final round sounds.

Pacquiao Wins, Marquez Cries “Robbery”, Fans Argue

ceblogger — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 02:56:13 +0000

I tried to focus on the Pastor’s sermon as I sat at the back pew. “Encourage one another” he says. My mind rushes to and fro the Pacquiao – Marquez 3 fight but I knew that the main card will happen past 12 noon here in Philippines, an hour after the Sunday service. So I shutoff my twitter-connected celphone and listened intently to the preaching.

Right after service, I opened my laptop. Since the free livestream site that I used to frequent is down, I had no choice but to watch the match through Twitter’s eyes.

Pacquiao Wins

To my surprise, lots of people have become boxing experts, tweeting here and there that Marquez won this and that round. They even lambasted HBO’s Lederman for scoring it Pacquiao’s way. “Is he watching a different fight?” they asked.

My dad even proudly predicted a Marquez victory soliciting nods from his uninformed audience. I dared not oppose him at that point. Twitter users seem to agree with him though, so I just waited till the twelfth round is over.

Prior to the last round, a lot said that Pacquiao needs to knock out Marquez in order to win and the best he could do is salvage a draw. I refused to believe that because for a challenger to win, his victory must be emphatic – either a complete domination or a KO. Pacquiao is the title holder and experts are saying that the fight is close and could go either way.

Personally, I wanted Pacquiao to finish off Marquez within six rounds. But Marquez had solved the Pacman conundrum. He even appeared to be leading in the audiences’ eyes. So I have to see the fight replays, and good thing someone was swift enough to upload some videos in Youtube. However, before the views reached 100, these were taken down by the uploader, just right after I finished watching most rounds.

Obviously, Pacquaio was the aggressor and Marquez was counterpunching. Both landed solid punches. It could not be denied that Marquez won a few rounds, but the bout is a twelve rounder. Paquiao’s fault was that he wasn’t able to knock out Marquez, as promised. The Mexican was also quick in his retaliatory punches – connecting even.

When the result was announced, it sent shocks worldwide. The judges scored it 114-114, 115-113, 116-112 in favor of the Champion and pound for pound king, Manny Paquiao.

Robbery for the third time?

Marquez claimed he was robbed again. The first encounter was a draw, the second was a loss, and now this third? Days before, he proudly declared that he will not let the fight go to the judges’ table. But he failed to impress and the scores were left to the judges for the third time.

“They robbed me again,” Marquez said. “It’s hard when you’re fighting your rival and three judges, too… I’m frustrated. I’m really, really frustrated.”

Fans Divided

Some thirty Facebook friends of mine posted something about Manny Pacquiao. One says that Marquez deserves a win. It drew 9 likes. Perhaps he’s right. He deserves to win a medal of courage for standing toe to toe with the boxing phenom called the Pacman.

In twitter, some Filipinos wanted Pacquiao to admit that he lost. Nonsense! Paquiao admitted that it was his toughest fight so far. But to disagree with the judges, no way! The judges, who had the best seat, saw it clearly. In some boxing websites, experts who were also keeping tabs were divided. Some gave it to Pacquiao, some to Marquez.

My officemates today even argued of the results. Maybe even the Pacquiao camp, though thankful for the victory, may have second thoughts on the decision.

But we all have to agree that Marquez deserves another rematch.

Donaire vs Narvaez Boxing Fight Results: Nonito by UD

ceblogger — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 05:17:07 +0000

Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire defeated Argentina’s Omar “El Hurican” Narvaez in an unanimous decision to retain his WBO and WBC bantamweight title belts at the Theater in the Madison Square Garden.

Donaire wasn’t able to show his flash and excellent power and skills as the 5’3″ Narvaez was unwilling to engage throughout the fight. Remember the Pacquiao vs Clottey match? Seems like the Argentinian champ came up only for the money.

All the judges scored the bout for Donaire, 120-108. Now it’s time for Donaire to move up and find a worthier opponent.

Pacquiao vs Marquez 3: Fight Preview and Results Prediction

ceblogger — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 07:21:36 +0000

Pacquiao vs Marquez 3 this coming November 12, 2011 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Most preview and results predictions favors the Pacman over the Mexican warrior. They just could not agree on what round. Will Marquez last the distance now that they are fighting at 144 lbs, a weight that favors Pacquiao?

Pacquiao vs Marquez I and II

The first fight was a draw, though most observers believed Pacquiao won. One judge admitted later his scoring mistake, and that could have been the difference.

In the second fight, despite being knocked down in the first round, Marquez fought his way back garnering the admiration of fans and boxing experts. In fact, he won on many unofficial boxing scorecards, including that of Yahoo!. But the judges looked at it differently and those opinions and unofficial scorecards didn’t matter at all. In my book, Manny Pacquiao won them all.

Juan Manuel Marquez

Juan Manuel Marquez (53-5-1, 39 Knockouts) is a Mexican-born boxer who won eight world titles in three different boxing weight classes. Currently, Marquez is the WBO, WBA and Ring Magazine Lightweight Champion. He fought Pacquiao twice. Some quarters believed he won both, though officially, he drew the first and lost the second.

Marquez had long wanted to get a rematch with Pacquiao. After their second encounter Golden Boy immediately offered the winning camp $6 million for a trilogy. But Bob Arum wanted it to be baked for a while. Pacquiao even stated that the “business” was over, obviously referring to their catchy promotional title “Unfinished Business”.

Marquez attempted to move up at welterweight and fought Floyd Mayweather Jr., in the latter attempt for a comeback. But the Mexican’s effort was put to null as the undefeated Mayweather showed more class and executed his more superior boxing skills. Marquez lost by unanimous decision.

Manny Pacquiao

Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Pacquiao (53-3-2 38 by TKO) is an elite boxer who is an eight-division world champion. He started fighting at the light flyweight when he was sixteen. He moved up in weight and captured titles after titles. He is the first boxer in history to win ten world titles, win in eight weight divisions, and win the lineal championship in four different weight classes.

Ring Magazine rated him no.1 Pound-for-pound boxer, above the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr, and Sergio Martinez. The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) also named Pacquiao as the “Fighter of the Decade” for the 2000′s. Accordingly, he is also a three-time The Ring and BWAA “Fighter of the Year”, winning the award in 2006, 2008, and 2009.

Pacquiao vs Marquez 3 Preview and Prediction

On paper, Pacquiao has the advantage at the heavier weight. He fought bigger guys like Cotto, Margarito and Mosley. His speed and power never deteriorated. Unlike Marquez, who admitted he lost the speed he wanted when he fought Mayweather at Welterweight, Pacquiao is at his best at 144 lbs.

A lot of boxing experts also pointed out that Marquez has a superior boxing intelligence, and it will be his key to victory against the Filipino fighter. Of course, Pacquiao fans will refute that. They were witness to what Manny did to erstwhile champions and future hall of famers like De La Hoya and Mosley. You can’t say intelligence will send you to victory when it’s the punch that will put you to sleep.

Age, speed and power will matter most here. Before Marquez can calculate his next strategy, Pacquiao will knock him out and put him to sleep not later than 3 rounds. Marquez should have believed Pacquiao when he said, “Business is over.”

Mayweather Schooled Ortiz in Round Four

ceblogger — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 01:16:14 +0000

Floyd Mayweather Jr. knocked out Victor Ortiz in the fourth round of their WBC Super Welterweight championship match in the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas Saturday night. But it wasn’t the conventional knock-out. It was obviously a controversial 1-2 punch that was, in the words of many observer, unfair and unsportsmanlike.

Ortiz, after charging an intentional headbutt, was apologetic in approaching Mayweather while referee Joe Cortez was instructing the judges of point deductions against the Champion. Ortiz’ hands were down, when Mayweather sprang his left hand then finished it with a straight right on the face before the young boxer could ever utter a word of complaint towards the referee.

Then Cortez counted Ortiz, even if it was obvious he wasn’t aware what happened prior to the knockdown. Then the crowd chorused in a loud uproar and boos cascaded down.

The fight was over when Ortiz failed to beat the count. What Mayweather did was basically legal. Unsportsmanlike, ugly, unfair,cowardice, so Gayweather, whatever you call it, Floyd was just living up to his reputation as the baddest and meanest undefeated boxer of them all.

Cortez, to justify his call, said afterward, “Time was in. The fighter needed to keep his guard up. Mayweather did nothing illegal.”

The first thing Mayweather said in the ring afterward was, “You have to protect yourself at all times.” True.

So there! Ortiz got schooled as he was not using his head the right way, and he put his hands down.

There won’t be any rematch unless the money is so big. But we all doubt it. Ortiz doesn’t have it. At least, the big O is still reserved for someone worthy.

Sugar Shane Mosley Should Retire

ceblogger — Wed, 25 May 2011 03:57:18 +0000

We’ve read lots of write-ups calling for the old warrior to retire. That was not the battle-scarred prizefighter Sugar Shane Mosley we know of fighting Manny Pacquiao the other weekend. It was more like a chicken dancing inside the boxing ring, unwilling to engage, unwilling to give a fight. Fans’ resounding boos could not even move him. What has happened to this once great fighter who fought heroic battles against the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Winky Wright, Vernon Forrest, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, and lately, Floyd Mayweather Jr?

Pacquiao, noticing the opponent’s lack of will to fight, had this to say at the post fight press conference:

“I was expecting him to fight toe to toe with me for at least five rounds so we can test our power but he just ran and ran.”

Yeah, we all expected him to fight, to engage, and box toe-to-toe. That’s what Shane Mosley said before the fight. He said he would shock the world, and promised a good show. I expected that his game plan would be to trade punches early just like what he did against Mayweather. Sugar-sweet talk eh! His head trainer, Naazim Richardson, also boasted of a strategy to beat Pacquiao. Every opponent of Pacquiao actually does that. The world is waiting for that secret formula to beat the Filipino Champion. So far, only Marquez came close. And that’s probably why there will be a third fight – to clear the air and erase all doubts.

Did you hear Mosley’s excuses? Lame, lame, lame! Who would believe he got blisters on his feet when he was running for 12 rounds? You can still throw punches, right? At least Margarito did better. Though bloodied, he engaged. Mosley wasn’t willing to let his girlfriend Bella Gonzalez see him battered and bruised after the fight. A boxer should box, right? So much for the record of not being knocked out!

If you saw the fight of Bernard Hopkins vs Jean Pascal yesterday, you should say the “Executioner” is fighting like he’s still on his prime. At 46, and fighting a champion 18 years his junior, he taught the young man how to box, and box to win. You cannot say that of Mosley who is younger than Hopkins by 7 years. Man, Mosley should learn from his ex-business partner.

“I thought I did a pretty good job.” Shane Mosley was quoted as saying after the fight. What good job is he talking about? My respect for the man has gone out of the window. Sugar Shane Mosley should hang up his gloves for good. That will be good for boxing too.

Morales vs Maidana Results: Majority Decision Win for Maidana

ceblogger — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 05:33:38 +0000

The Morales vs Maidana boxing fight results is out. Erik Morales fought his best but it was not enough as the judges scored a majority decision victory for Marcos Maidana. One judge drew it at 114-114, while two other judges scored it at 116-112.

The picture above showed Morales’ swollen right eye. Maidana (30-2 27KOs) inflicted the damage in the first round.

Some observers thought that El Terible Morales (51-7 35KOs) could have won the fight as he gallantly stood before the raging Argentine, and had connected punches midway and towards the end of the fight. The later rounds showed that Maidana lost steam, but he had conserved enough strength to survive the last round and put the decision on the judges table.

Despite the loss, Morales is still one hell of a fighter, as he displayed tremendous boxing skills despite the odds and being the underdog going into this fight.

Fight Camp 360º: Pacquiao vs Mosley Episode 1 (Video)

ceblogger — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 16:51:41 +0000

Fight Camp 360º Pacquiao vs Mosley is Showtime’s presentation inside the lives, outside the ring of two of the world’s top boxers today as they make preparations for their WBO Welterweight match this coming May 7, 2011 at Las Vegas Nevada.

Here’s the CBS trailer of this four-part documentary:

The premier show was televised in April 2, 2011. Below are the videos I found in YouTube of Fight Camp 360º: Pacquiao vs. Mosley:

Pacquiao vs. Mosley Fight Camp 360º Episode 1 (part 1)

Here’s part 2 of the Episode 1

There’s a lot of giggling and laughing here. Shane Mosley oftentimes looked serious by telling everybody that he’s going to knock out Pacquiao. But the latter just laughed it off. Who will get the last laugh when they square it off in the ring?