PacMans' Sparring Session

Watching two upper-tier fighters/contenders spar while preparing for an upcoming fight is the highlight of any activity in a boxing gym. Sparring was my favorite part of training back in the day. So much so, that on the days I didn't spar I felt as though my workout was incomplete and was one day further away from getting to where I wanted to be. There's only one way for a fighter to improve and that is for him to spar and fight.


The most intense sparring I've ever witnessed was between former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champ, Dwight Muhammad Qawi, and former light heavyweight contender Jerry "The Bull" Martin in the early eighties. The closet parallel I can make to describe the rounds they logged is to suggest imagining Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez weighing 185 pounds wearing training gloves and head gear while going at it five or six rounds a day. I would've paid to see them spar each other every day of the week if that's what it took just to have the pleasure of watching them work together.


When it comes to sparring, I've never read nor have I had it conveyed to me by any fighters or trainers stories like the ones that surface about Manny Pacquiao's sparring. Has anyone reading this ever heard of Pacquiao getting his butt kicked in the gym even once? Or heard of someone who has even held their own with him? If it's happened during the last four or five years, it seldom has surfaced. Yet there's a flood of reports pertaining to his sparring on a daily basis after almost every workout. And that's nowhere near the case pertaining to Paul Williams, Floyd Mayweather, Edwin Valero, Chad Dawson or either of the Klitschko brothers when they train and spar in preparation for a big fight.


Pacquiao's legendary sparring further illustrates just how much he truly loves to fight. It's rather apparent that Manny brings the same kind of passion and joy to his sparring sessions that he seems to bring to every aspect of boxing -- and he genuinely seems to be a man who loves what he's doing for a living.


Earlier this week Pacquiao said, “I am ready to rumble (referencing to his March 13th bout with Joshua Clottey). I can’t wait to get into the ring. I am feeling very good and I am excited to put on a memorable show for the boxing fans. I want to make them happy again.”


Pacquiao reiterating that he wants to put on a good fight for the fans no doubt endears him to them a lot, and I believe that he means it to a point. But more than that Pacquiao projects from his deeds in the ring that he really loves ring combat and can't wait to glove up on fight night, in much the same way Roberto Duran and "Smokin" Joe Frazier did. I'm sure there may be a few reading this and saying to themselves that I forgot about Mike Tyson... and they'd be wrong.


Tyson had a presence about him that projected he couldn't wait for the bell to start the fight, and when he was having his way with his opponent he looked as if he loved being inside the ring. However, when Mike was met with resistance like he was when he fought Buster Douglas, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis, he wasn't nearly as willing and stopped letting his hands go and began thinking about possibly losing leading to him being more measured offensively.


That's the polar opposite of Duran and Frazier who actually got stronger and became more confident and willing as the fight got tougher and intensified. And Pacquiao is cut from the same cloth as they were and relishes the joy of physical combat. In his previous two fights against Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto, both tried to bring it to him only to realize they were confronted by what must've seemed like a school of piranha who raised them one.


Hatton tried to jump on him early hoping to assert himself physically, and was met by a buzzsaw who made him pay for his deed. Cotto, after seeing what happened to Hatton, tried to go about it a little more measured. When Miguel felt Pacquiao was stepping back to reset, he tried to impose himself physically and not only did Manny oblige him to do so, he let him have a few free shots at his body and literally fed off of Cotto not doing any real damage when he landed with his Sunday left-hook in succession.


For his WBO title defense against Clottey, it's been reported in several Philippine newspapers that Pacquiao has worked with Jamie Kavanagh, Mike Dallas, Dave Rodela, Ray Beltran, Shawn Porter, Jose Benavidez, Abdullay Amidu and Steve Forbes as his spar-mates. Forget what their records are, they're all in good shape physically and present him with something unique. Some are small and quick, others are a little bigger and more physical and present varying styles. And the reports coming out of Pacquiao's training camp all indicate that he's had his way with every one of them. And it seems as the fights gets closer Pacquiao is looking better every time out and is once again peaking at the right time. Which confirms that team Pacquiao knows exactly how to get the most out of it's sparring work as they ready Manny for his upcoming bouts.


Maybe because we're in the midst of a media explosion and almost everything is on YouTube, at least for a little while before it's taken down, Pacquiao's sparring as he prepares for his major bouts have drawn a lot of attention, more so than any fighter in recent memory.


David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer

Read More

Baltic's Beauty

 A dozen centuries-old shipwrecks — some of them unusually well-preserved — have been found in the Baltic Sea by a gas company building an underwater pipeline between Russia and Germany.

The oldest wreck probably dates back to medieval times and could be up to 800 years old, while the others are likely from the 17th to 19th centuries, Peter Norman of Sweden's National Heritage Board said Tuesday.

"They could be interesting, but we have only seen pictures of their exterior. Many of them are considered to be fully intact. They look very well-preserved," Norman told The Associated Press.

Thousands of wrecks — from medieval ships to warships sunk during the world wars of the 20th century — have been found in the Baltic Sea, which doesn't have the ship worm that destroys wooden wrecks in saltier oceans.

The latest discovery was made during a search of the seabed east of the Swedish island of Gotland by the Nord Stream consortium, which is building a 750-mile (1,200-kilometer) pipeline in the Baltic Sea.

The 12 wrecks were found in a 30-mile-long and 2-mile-wide (48-kilometer-long and 1.2 kilometer-wide) corridor, Nord Stream spokeswoman Tora Leifland Holmstrom said.

The heritage board said three of the wrecks have intact hulls and are lying upside-down at a depth of 430 feet (130 meters).

Swedish marine archaeology experts analyzed pictures of the wrecks and determined that they could be of a high historic value.

"The content can tell us a lot about everyday life during that time," Norman said.

It's unclear whether any of them will be salvaged but the board said it hopes they will be explored by divers — though Norman added many of them are at a depth that would require very advanced and costly diving operations.

The Nord Stream consortium, which plans to start construction in April, has promised to make sure its activities don't damage the wrecks. The area where they were found is in Sweden's economic zone, but not in the planned route of the pipeline, Leifland Holmstrom said.

The Nord Stream project, in which Russia's OAO Gazprom holds a 51 percent stake, has uncovered scores of other objects during seabed searches of the route, including about 80 sea mines and a washing machine, she said.

Last year, parts of a 300-year-old ship were salvaged from Germany's Bay of Greifswald to clear a path for the pipeline, which expects to carry some 1.9 trillion cubic feet (55 billion cubic meters) of natural gas a year.

Sweden's most famous maritime discovery, the royal warship Vasa, is housed in a popular museum in Stockholm where visitors can admire the ship's details, down to the flashing teeth of the carved lions that adorn its elaborate exterior. The Vasa was raised from the Stockholm harbor in 1961, 333 years after it sank on its maiden voyage

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer

Read More

Pacquiao's American Dream

It was a sunny June morning in 2002 and the Memphis International Airport was busier than usual. The night before, heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis had knocked out Mike Tyson in a fight that was the highest grossing pay-per-view event in history at the time.

As long lines of fans and media members shuffled slowly toward the departure gates, a slender boyish-looking man sat alone, a tiny suitcase at his feet, unrecognized by the crush of travelers. He too had fought the previous evening, savagely knocking out Jorge Eliecer Julio on the undercard, but Manny Pacquiao remained anonymous among the rush of humanity, just another guy waiting for a plane.

Flash forward to the early hours of Nov. 15, 2009, as a gathering of approximately 5,000 revelers at the Mandalay Bay Event Center waited patiently for their hero to arrive. And when Pacquiao bounded onto the stage and launched into an ass-kicking version of “La Bamba,” the crowd went bananas.

If it wasn’t for the bandage wrapped around his head, partially hidden by the small fedora he wore at a rakish angle, you wouldn’t have known that just a few hours earlier Pacquiao had engaged in a brutal prizefight with Miguel Cotto. The bruises under his eye had almost disappeared. Maybe the lights and makeup had something to do with it.

This wasn’t Rinty Monaghan belting out “Danny Boy” in the ring after a fight. It was a full-blown production, complete with flashing lights, a crackerjack band and dancing girls.

The juxtaposition of the evening’s two events was deliciously surreal. As promised, Pacquiao sang eight songs, some in Tagalog and some in English – “So everybody can understand" – ranging from up-tempo rockers to the schmaltzy ballads Filipinos adore.

When he segued into “Sometimes When We Touch,” the Dan Hill tune he sang on the Jimmy Kimmel Live a few weeks before the fight, the rapturous squeals from the female members of the audience almost drowned out the band.

Boxing’s latest savior was celebrating his 50th victory in his own unique manner. And if he didn’t sing anywhere near as well as he fights, nobody cared. They just wanted to be part of the incredible thrill ride that is Manny Pacquiao, a ride that has taken him from abject poverty in an Asian backwater to the cover of Time magazine and the bright lights of Las Vegas.

Who could have imagined on that long-ago Sunday morning in Memphis that such a thing was possible? Maybe not even Pacquiao dared to dream so spectacularly.

Today he is the centerpiece of a growing economic and political empire, an international personality whose life and exploits have eclipsed the sports page and become the stuff of legend.

Even for the Cotto fight, seen by many as his most difficult challenge to date, Pacquiao’s business obligations meant a helter-skelter training camp of barely eight weeks. Nonetheless, he was in magnificent physical condition and seemed as full of energy in the final round as he was in the first.

By the time Pacquiao leapt forward and landed his final two punches of the night, referee Kenny Bayless was looking for the opportunity to stop the fight. When Pacquiao gave it to him, poor Cotto was mercifully lowered from the cross, and the Manny Pacquiao bandwagon rolled on.

As improbable as it all seemed seven years ago in Memphis, it’s now possible to look back at what’s happened. See how all the pieces of this man and the history of his people dovetailed together to create the international phenomenon he has become.

Of course, none of the incredible fame and fortune would have been possible if Pacquiao weren’t a great fighter. That’s the foundation of everything. But it should not be forgotten that he comes from ancient warrior stock. This is something that is often overlooked by contemporary observers, who forget that when Ferdinand Magellan took on Filipino chief Lapu-Lapu in the Battle of Mactan, it was the Portuguese explorer who ended up dead, riddled with poisonous arrows.

Centuries of oppression under the thumb of foreign invaders and corrupt leaders have not taken away the fighting spirit of the Filipino people. It has instead been sharpened by the kind of desperation that leads to a what-have-got-to-lose mentality. And that’s exactly the mindset Pacquiao needs to fight with the passion that has carried him to unprecedented success.

True, he’s many years and many millions of dollars away from his boyhood days hustling cigarettes on the street. But those formative years, the years of not knowing for sure where the next meal was coming from, molded the boy who became the man who now has the boxing world in the palm of his hands.

Pacquiao’s sunny disposition and humble demeanor, which contrast so vividly with his merciless ferocity inside the ring, is also a product of his roots. Among Filipinos, humility and hospitality are the most admired traits, and when Pacquiao told reporters at the postfight press conference that he thought of himself as an “ordinary fighter,” he wasn’t kidding.

Sure, he knows he’s much more than that. But it took a blatant prod from trainer Freddie Roach for him to admit as much, and even then Pacquiao acquiesced in a way that paid homage to the teacher not the student.

“You’re not ordinary,” said Roach.

“Sorry, Master,” Pacquiao replied, flashing a grin of Cheshire Cat proportions.

Pacquiao is more than happy to leave the talking to Roach, especially when it comes to prefight trash talk. Many of his opponents have found him as endearing as the rest of us do – before the bell rang anyway. That was the case leading up to his fight against Joshua Clottey on Saturday at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Roach predicted a knockout, Pacquiao has been polite.

That undoubtedly would be the formula even for what seems to be an inevitable showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr., which also presumably would present unusual challenges in the ring. But before we plunge headlong into the future, let’s pause briefly and try to absorb everything that the Pacquiao juggernaut has wrought to date.

With each victory Pacquiao’s legend grows, but the massacre of Cotto was an outcome that many critics had considered highly unlikely.

“Wait until Pacquiao gets hit by a full-fledged 147-pounder,” said the nonbelievers. “The first time Cotto nails him with his left hook it will be over.”

Well, Pacquiao did get hit quite a bit in the early rounds, and Cotto’s frightening left hook found the mark more than once. But Pacquiao just blinked and continued to do his thing. Later, he revealed to ESPN’s Brian Kenny that Cotto’s punches had indeed hurt, but that he “pretended” that they had not.

That Pacquiao is eager to share his success with his people, while remaining one of them, is an essential ingredient in the mix that creates the magic. When he says he wants to put on a good fight to “make the people happy,” it sets him apart from so many sporting prima donnas who typically have more selfish motives behind their striving.

The commercial spin-offs from Pacquiao’s Hall of Fame boxing career now consume the majority of his time and energy. Dire predictions that his career will be derailed by his lifestyle and/or outside interests have been a staple of media coverage since the beginning of his rise to prominence.

His singing career is a relatively small part of his extracurricular activities. Check out the number of Pacquiao commercials on YouTube. The variety of products he endorses seem endless – Nike, San Miguel Beer, McDonald’s, Talk ‘N Text, Head and Shoulders dandruff shampoo, Magnolia dairy products – you name it, Pacquiao has probably plugged it.

Then there are the movies. Pacquiao has appeared in seven movies since 2000, starting in secondary roles and graduating to leading man in 2005’s Lisensyadond Kamao, in which he played a boxer whose mother and sister are kidnapped by thugs while he’s training for the big fight. In 2008’s Anak ng Kumander, Pacquiao was a rebel hiding out in the mountains with a band of men, wreaking havoc on the corrupt officials who oppressed the people.

There is a cornball charm to these low-budget Filipino productions, and Pacquiao just might of have hit his stride with his latest effort, Wapakman. In this flick, he’s a superhero, complete with a cheesy red costume and numerous superpowers.

While one must suspend all disbelief in order to enjoy such guilty pleasures, in the boxing ring the critics have retreated, their skepticism replaced by incredulity.

And if the bean counters insist a fighter is to be measured by the amount of money he generates, the extraordinary pay-per-view buy rate for the Cotto fight puts Pacquiao at the elite level. According to HBO, the fight sold approximately 1.25 million pay-per-views, roughly 200,000 more than the Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez fight in September. Moreover, the live gate was $8.84-million, which also topped Mayweather-Marquez by around $2-million.

Many people who care about him wish that Pacquiao would slow down, stop spreading himself so thin, and abandon his political aspirations. But that’s not about to happen, not yet anyway. Right now, the Pac-Man Express is going so fast, he couldn’t get off if he wanted.

Whether the next stop is Floyd Mayweather, Pacquiao’s destiny is rushing headlong into the unknown—all we can do is hold on tight and enjoy the trip.
David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer

Read More

Bobcats' Impressive Comeback over Heat

Stephen Jackson scored 17 points, Raymond Felton added 15 points and 11 assists, and the Charlotte Bobcats used a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Miami Heat 83-78 on Tuesday night in a key game for playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference.

The Bobcats (31-31) reached .500 at the latest point in their six-year history and moved into a tie with Miami (32-32) as they both tangle with Chicago for the last two playoff spots.

Charlotte moved to 3-0 against Miami and clinched the tiebreaker by rallying from nine points down with 9 minutes left.

Dwyane Wade scored 27 points, but passed up a tying shot in the final minute, then clanged a tying 3-point attempt in the final seconds for the Heat, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.

Trailing 80-78 in the final minute, Miami forced a shot clock violation and Wade then got the ball at the top of the circle. He whipped a pass into the corner for Udonis Haslem, who missed a baseline jumper.

Felton then hit just 1-of-2 free throws with 7.2 seconds left, giving Miami another chance. But Wade's 3 in the left corner bounced off the rim.

The Heat fell apart offensively, managing 12 points in the fourth quarter and 30 in the second half after a quick start gave them a 14-point lead.

The Bobcats, who won their third straight — all at home — recovered from a sluggish start.

Down by 13 midway through the third quarter and 72-63 early in the fourth, the Bobcats stormed back behind D.J. Augustin. His four-point play and four free throws in an 8-0 run cut the lead to one.

After three failed chances with the ball down a point, Felton drained a 3-pointer with 3:32 left to give Charlotte its first lead since 6-4.

Charlotte was able to hold on despite just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting from Gerald Wallace, who did grab 17 rebounds. Felton committed only three turnovers and outplayed Miami's backcourt.

Carlos Arroyo again got the start at point guard for Miami, while coach Erik Spoelstra said before the game the team still hadn't heard from Rafer Alston outside text messaging.

Alston, who was benched from Thursday's win over the Lakers, failed to show for Saturday's game against the Hawks and was suspended indefinitely.

Spoelstra wouldn't say if Alston will be released, but said the Heat are "moving forward with the guys we have in this locker room."

That combination looked pretty good early.

With Jermaine O'Neal dominating Theo Ratliff inside and Wade scoring on nifty drives, Miami led 48-34 before Charlotte closed the first half with five straight points.

About the only amusing first-half moment for Charlotte's home crowd was during the game's first timeout. Curly Neal, in town to promote an upcoming visit by the Harlem Globetrotters, came over to embrace Bobcats owner-to-be Michael Jordan.

Attending his fourth straight game since agreeing to buy the club, Jordan grinned and slapped some high-fives after Charlotte improved to 23-8 at home.

O'Neal finished with 19 points, but wasn't as effective in the second half, while Wade needed 26 shots to get his points.

Michael Beasley had 11 points and nine rebounds, but played only three minutes in the fourth quarter.

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer

Read More

Cebu Pac Acquires Airbus

Gokongwei-led Cebu Air, Inc. will use the bulk of funds to be raised from a share sale to buy up to 20 more aircraft within five years, an executive of the budget airline’s parent said on Tuesday.

Cebu Air, which operates budget carrier Cebu Pacific, has yet to set the date for its first-time listing on the stock exchange, from which it plans to raise P12 billion. It has obtained clearance from regulators.

“It’s going to be for capital expenditures for purchasing airplanes. We have a purchase order from Airbus for 15 Airbus A320 in the period of 2010 to 2015 and an option to buy five more," said Bach Johann M. Sebastian, senior vice-president for corporate planning of listed JG Summit Holdings Philippines, Inc.

Documents showed the carrier needed to make P9 billion in advanced payments to increase its fleet to 49 by 2014.

Sebastian said going public is only one option, and that the company could also borrow from export credit agencies. Cebu Pacific can also tap the lease market, he said.

The airline is planning to list 125.3 million new common shares with a par value of a peso each, to be offered to big investors for up to P95 apiece. A total of 110.3 million secondary shares will be listed at the same price.

JG Summit will also list 35.3 million shares it owns. About 18.4 million more shares will be listed as part of an employee stock option plan.

The company originally planned to go public in 2008 but postponed the listing due to difficult market conditions.

Cebu Air turned around last year by posting a net income of P3.184 billion, from a net loss of P3.259 billion in 2008. Operating income almost doubled to P3.164 billion from P1.727 billion in 2008.

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer

Read More

Another Toyota Problem

Relatives of the three Filipino Americans and of California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor who were killed in an August crash that initiated the recall of millions of Toyota vehicles filed a lawsuit March 2, blaming the giant Japanese carmaker for the deaths.

The lawsuit filed in San Diego Superior Court also named Bob Baker Lexus as co-defendant. The El Cajon-based car dealership loaned Saylor a 2009 Lexus ES-350 sedan the morning of August 28, after Saylor took his car in for service.

Saylor, who was 45 at the time of his death, was driving with his wife, Cleofe Lastrella Saylor, also 45; their 13-year-old daughter, Mahala; and his brother-in-law, Christopher “Chris” Lastrella, 38, of Vallejo (Solano Co.), when the sedan accelerated out of control and crashed at about 120 miles per hour where state Route 125 meets Mission Gorge Road in suburban Santee in San Diego.
Investigators later said a wrong-sized floor mat trapped the gas pedal on the Lexus ES-350 that led the vehicle to speed out of control.

The lawsuit was filed by Fe and Cleto Lastrella of Vallejo—parents of Saylor’s wife and brother-in-law—and his (Saylor’s) parents, John Saylor and Joan Robbins.
They accused Toyota of product liability, and Bob Baker Lexus of negligence, for the ghastly accident.
They are seeking an unspecified amount of money in damages.
About a minute before the crash Chris placed a frantic 911 call from the vehicle. He told an emergency dispatcher that the accelerator pedal was stuck and that his brother-in-law, Saylor, was unable to slow the car down.

"We're in trouble. . . There's no brakes. End freeway half-mile," Chris said during the recorded conversation.
Others in the car are heard yelling "hold on" and "pray" as the call ended.

Witnesses said the Lexus slammed into a Ford Explorer, plowed over a curb, and rammed through a fence before it flipped and burst into flames, killing Saylor and his relatives instantly.
Lastrella testimony
Last week Fe Lastrella, mother of Cleofe and Chris, gave a tearful testimony about the family tragedy before a hearing of the US House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
"We do not like another person, another family to suffer like we are suffering," Lastrella told the hearing as she appealed to Toyota and federal officials to ramp up their safety efforts in the face of mounting complaints of accidents related to Toyota's recall of nearly 10 million cars worldwide.
The moving Lastrella testimony, captured on national television, gave a tragic face to the series of recalls launched in late January by the troubled Japanese carmaker.
Lastrella, who was accompanied by her husband, Cleto, were immigrants from Nabua, Camarines in Bicol who settled in Vallejo, California. Their children Cleofe and Christopher both grew up in Vallejo where they went to elementary and high school.
The Lastrella matriarch was among the final scheduled witnesses in a day of testimony that also featured US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Toyota president Akio Toyoda, grandson of the automaker's founder.
Toyoda repeatedly apologized for the accelerator problems and later met privately with the Lastrella family.
Congressional hearings
The crash that killed Chris and the Saylors, who lived in Chula Vista, was the emotional centerpiece of the congressional hearing.
“We now know that the terrifying deaths of this family were not caused by a freak accident,” said committee chair Edolphus Towns (D-New York), in his opening statement. “It turns out that people from all over the country had been complaining about sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles for years.”
“Prior to today, we cannot say that Toyota was a great company, perhaps not even a good company,” declared Representative Darrell Issa (R-Chula Vista), and the committee’s ranking member.
San Diego County Sheriff's investigators said the crash likely was caused by the gas pedal becoming stuck in an all-weather rubber floor mat designed for a larger vehicle but placed by the Lexus dealership in the sedan loaned to Saylor.
The accident report said "other avenues of unintended acceleration could not be explored," mechanical or electrical, due to severe damage to the vehicle.
The report also revealed that another driver who had been loaned the same car a few days earlier told investigators the vehicle raced out of control on him when the gas pedal jammed in the floor mat. He managed to free the errant acceleration pedal after placing the gear shift into neutral.
He complained to a dealership receptionist when he returned the car, and the receptionist told investigators she alerted the detail specialist on duty, but the detailer claimed never to have received such a complaint, the report said.
Toyota has recalled more than 5 million vehicles in the United States for slipping floor mats. Another 2.2 million US recall notices were issued for sticking accelerator pedals.
Rising death toll
Deaths from vehicular accidents attributed to possible unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles have risen to 58, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The Detroit daily also reported on Tuesday that the number of complaints to US auto safety regulators related to sudden acceleration also has more than doubled to 3,300 since the series of recalls by Toyota in late January.
These vehicular accidents have triggered a spate of lawsuits against the troubled Japanese giant carmaker, but the San Diego is the most highly publicized of these cases.
Already, the world' biggest automaker is also confronted by a barrage of federal suits across the nation that attorneys hope will be certified as class action lawsuit.
A hearing by a special panel of federal judges on whether those suits will be consolidated into one and assigned to a single federal court judge is scheduled for March 25 in San Diego.

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer

Read More

Top Filipino Boxers

 

10: Greatest Filipino boxers by decade

1910s – Pancho Villa: First great Filipino boxer was 15-0 in the decade
1920s – Pancho Villa: Became one of the greatest flyweights ever but died at 23
1930s – Ceferino Garcia: Middleweight title claimant was in many huge fights
1940s – Little Dado: Title claimant at flyweight and bantamweight
1950s – Dado Marino: World flyweight champion from 1950 to 1952
1960s – Flash Elorde: Hall of Famer held junior lightweight title from 1960 to 1967
1970s -- Ben Villaflor: Two-time junior lightweight titleholder
1980s – Dodie Boy Penalosa: Titleholder at junior flyweight and flyweight
1990s – Luisito Espinosa: Held titles at bantamweight and featherweight
2000s – Manny Pacquiao: Became No. 1 fighter in the world pound for pound
David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer

Read More

Pacquiao - Clottey Update

Jerry Jones was one of the nearly 70,000 people who packed the New Orleans Superdome to watch the 1978 heavyweight title fight between Muhammad Ali and Leon Spinks.
The energy of the massive crowd, the roars cascading down from the upper deck and the sense of being part of something so big and grand has never left him. The Dallas Cowboys owner has seen fights everywhere from the Las Vegas Strip to small halls in his native Arkansas. Each is unique, he says.
Yet, as you might expect with Jones, now the prototypical Texan, bigger just always felt better.
“The larger the crowd, the more impact every punch, every tackle, is,” he said Monday. “It magnifies every act in sports.”
Jones is bringing “big” back to boxing Saturday when his new Cowboys Stadium hosts the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey welterweight title fight. In doing so, he is making a move to reconnect the sport with its mostly blue-collar base, 45,000 fans at a time.
It’s not often you build a palatial, $1 billion-plus facility and are hailed as a man of the people. But that’s what’s happening.
There’s nothing quite like the electricity of a big fight in Vegas. There, however, the high costs of tickets and travel have made it something only the well-heeled can experience. Fight weekend is mostly geared to the wealthy.
This is different.
The fight is in suburban Arlington, Texas, smack dab in the middle of the nearly seven-million-population Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and centrally located to millions more in the nation’s second largest state.
Jones has set up the seating configuration for 45,000. Tickets are as low as $50, and with 40,000 sold, according to Top Rank, some are still available. If they sell out, officials can add more seats to keep the secondary market from soaring.
While fifty bucks is nothing to brush off, it’s fairly reasonable considering it’s a chance to see the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter live. If this fight was taking place in, say, the 12,000-seat Mandalay Bay Events Center in Vegas, the cheapest tickets would have gone for about $150 – and those would’ve been snapped up quickly.
“It doesn’t take a mathematician to realize the more numbers you put into the building, the less you have to charge,” Jones said.
“We’re excited about the makeup of our fan base,” he added, noting the region’s large Hispanic community.
Jones built his stadium to bring any number of events to Texas. He’s already hosted an NFL season, major college football games and a six-figure crowd to watch the NBA All-Star game. Boxing is just one of them, but it’s special to him. In 1984, his pre-Cowboys days, he even promoted a fight in Little Rock.
“One of the early renditions of the interior [of the stadium] had the seats around a boxing ring,” he said.
It was one of the reasons he installed the signature 11,520-square-foot high-definition television screen above the field of play. It can be raised and lowered based on the event. Saturday, it’ll hang 40 feet above the ring and assure that anyone inside the building will see every bit of the action.
“Every time a bead of sweat pops up on the shoulder of Manny Pacquiao or Joshua Clottey,” Jones said, “everyone is going to see it as clear – or clearer – than someone sitting in the first row of seats.”

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer

Read More