Matthysse will have ‘no respect’ as he aims to beat Pacquiao

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Argentinian Lucas Matthysse will have “no respect” as he seeks to knock out Manny Pacquiao and defend his World Boxing Association welterweight title in Sunday’s showdown that could cap an illustrious career for the Filipino sports icon.

Both fighters were comfortably below the 147-pound limit when they stepped on a scale Saturday ahead of their match, dubbed the “Fight of Champions.”

An 11-time champion across eight divisions, Pacquiao weighed in at a trim 146 pounds while Matthysse tipped the scales at 146.7 pounds.

“I know Manny Pacquiao brings an intense energy in a fight, so we are ready for that. All we need to do is just to keep composed, make sure that he is ready to catch Manny at the right time and have no respect for Manny,” Matthysse’s trainer, Joel Diaz, told The Associated Press after the weigh-in.

The main advantage for Matthysse, known by his nickname “The Machine” for winning 36 out of his 39 matches by knockout, is his strength and ability to deliver power punches from both hands, Diaz said.

“All I can say is this…it’s not going to be an easy fight for Manny Pacquiao. If Lucas lands any punches on Pacquiao, he will hurt him because he hits real hard,” Diaz added.

“Lucas Matthysse is stepping up to the level of opposition. He’s fighting against a legend and he’s in the best shape of his life. Everything is at stake for him. He is defending his title and secondly, he knows by beating Manny Pacquiao, it will be in the history books.”

“Pacman” Pacquiao, who turns 40 in December, returns to the ring a year after his shock decision loss to Australia’s Jeff Horn in Brisbane.

Pacquiao, 39, has won 59 times, including 38 by knockout, and lost seven times (three by knockout) along with two draws.

Pacquiao was greeted by hundreds of excited Filipino fans as he flexed on stage Saturday after the weigh-in. He smiled and appeared relaxed in contrast to a grim-looking Matthysse as they posed for the cameras.

Pacquiao didn’t speak after the weigh-in but the words on his long sleeve t-shirt reflected his determination to seek a 60th victory: “Fight On.”


It will be the first time since 2001 that Pacquiao is fighting without longtime trainer Freddie Roach, who was dropped in the run-up to the Malaysian fight and replaced with former assistant coach and friend Buboy Fernandez.

A once impoverished rural boy who turned into one of the world’s wealthiest sportsman and now a Filipino senator, Pacquiao’s rags-to-riches story has inspired many in his country. His biggest supporter on Sunday will be President Rodrigo Duterte, who will arrive in Malaysia to watch the match ahead of an official visit.

Pacquiao is “110 percent fit” physically and mentally, his conditioning coach Justin Fortune told the AP after the weigh-in. The Australian said age isn’t a barrier for Pacquiao and that he has been able to juggle the sport along his political duties and other multiple interests.

“He’s in great condition. For 16 years, Pacquiao has been at the top, No. 1 of world champion. His longevity at this level in this sport is unprecedented,” Fortune said.

“Every fight for Pacquiao is the same way: very, very important fight. We take every fight seriously. Matthysse is a dangerous guy as was with every other fighter that Manny fought.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Saunders seeks to defend title in Lemieux’s back yard

Boxing champion Billy Joe Saunders hopes that new surroundings brings out the best in him as he puts his World Boxing Organization middleweight title on the line against David Lemieux.

The 28-year-old Englishman will fight for the first time in North America on Saturday as he faces the Canadian at the Laval Place Bell arena in Lemieux’s home province of Quebec.

“I’m used to fighting outside the U.K.. I’m a traveler of the world,” Saunders said. “I don’t care if there’s a million people (cheering for Lemieux). It’s just me and him in that ring, end of the story.”

Boxing promoter Frank Warren said Saunders won’t be intimidated by the atmosphere.

“This is a tough fight in the other guy’s back yard, but this is what Bill wanted,” Warren said.

Saunders (25-0, 12 KOs) is hoping to rely on his ring savvy and boxing skills to disarm the explosive punching power of Lemieux, who has 33 knockouts in 38 victories.

“(He’s been winning) against bums, knocking out old men,” Saunders said of Lemieux.

In his last fight in September, Saunders made his second defence of his title against Willie Monroe.

He won the WBO title by outpointing Ireland’s Andy Lee two years ago.

Saunders holds the only world title in his weight class that is not in the hands of Gennady Golovkin.

Golovkin is in talks for a rematch with Canelo Alvarez on May 5 and if the pieces fall together, the winner of Saturday’s bout could challenge in a unification fight against Golovkin or Alvarez in September.

Lemieux has recorded four straight wins since being stopped in the eighth round by Golovkin two years ago.

In his last fight, Lemieux (38-3, 33 KOs) outpointed Marcos Reyes at Las Vegas’s T-Mobile Arena in May.

Lemieux is so confident of a victory that he boasted it would take a low blow from a baseball bat for him to lose to Saunders.

“I don’t know how he can say that he will knock me out. He’s going to hit me in the crotch with a baseball bat? There’s no way Saunders is going to drop me. But if he somehow makes it to the end of the fight, I promise he’ll be in the hospital.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Pacquiao victorious in fight vs Vargas with Mayweather watching

LAS VEGAS—Manny Pacquiao put on a masterful performance to take the WBO World welterweight title from champion Jessie Vargas Sunday (Manila time).

Floyd Mayweather Jr. stopped by to see an old foe, and Pacquiao tried his best to give him a show.

With Mayweather watching intently from a ringside seat, Pacquiao dropped Jessie Vargas in the second round and bloodied his face Saturday night on his way to a lopsided decision that gave him a piece of the welterweight title once again.

Pacquiao won on all three ringside scorecards — 118-109, 118-109 114-113 — to take the piece of the title Vargas won in his last fight. The AP scored it 119-109.

It was vintage Pacquiao at times, even though he couldn’t stop Vargas like he desperately wanted to. And with Mayweather at ringside it certainly will stir talk of a second fight between the boxers who went at it last year in the richest fight ever.

That, of course, would depend on Mayweather coming out of retirement and Pacquiao being able to fight while still attending to his duties as a senator in the Philippines. Mayweather did not answer questions about a possible return to the ring shouted at him by writers at ringside.

“I came to take my daughter to the fights,” Mayweather said, with his daughter sitting next to him.

Just before the bell rang to start the fight, Pacquiao smiled and waved a fist at Mayweather. He then came out aggressive, trying to walk down Vargas and make it a short night.

But Pacquiao, who has not knocked out an opponent in seven years, wasn’t going to stop the younger Vargas in his hometown. Vargas had difficulty dealing with Pacquiao’s speed, but was more than willing to trade punches to try and lure him into a brawl.

In the eighth round he succeeded at doing that, hitting Pacquiao with a big right and punching his gloves together as if to tell him to stand and fight. Pacquiao went right back after him and they traded punches before staring at each other when the bell sounded to end the round.

Vargas was cut over the right eye by an accidental clash of heads in the eighth, and blood trickled into his eye but it didn’t seem to be a factor.

The taller Vargas landed some good right hands of his own, but they were infrequent and he rarely followed up on them. Still, they were enough to keep Pacquiao away at times and offset some of his advantage with speed.

Vargas fell again in the last round but it was ruled as a slip with 10 seconds left in the fight.

Mayweather took a ringside seat alongside his daughter to watch the man who helped make him untold millions when they fought in 2015. Mayweather won that fight, and Pacquiao’s performance was largely panned, though he claimed to have an injured shoulder.

Pacquiao acknowledged Mayweather after his in-ring interview with a smile as Money made his way out of the arena.

Pacquiao, fighting in his 22nd title fight in a pro career that stretches back to 1995, trained at night in the Philippines in the weeks leading up to the fight so he could tend to his day job as a newly elected senator. With the senate out of session, he was back in a more familiar place, with a crowd of some 16,132 nearly filling the UNLV campus arena to watch him take on Vargas, who was in only his second title bout.

Pacquiao, who earned a reported $100 million to fight Mayweather in the richest fight ever, was guaranteed $4 million plus a percentage of the revenue of the fight. Vargas got $2.8 million. With reports from Bong Lozada/INQUIRER.net

source: sports.inquirer.net

Magdaleno shocks Donaire, nabs WBO title

Jessie Magdaleno made a proper introduction into the boxing world after a stunning victory over Nonito Donaire via unanimous decision Sunday (Manila time) at Thomas & Mack Center.

The 24-year-old challenger walked away with Donaire’s WBO World super bantamweight title as he upped his undefeated record to 24-0 while the former champion slipped to 37-4 and saw his four-fight win streak come to an end.

Magdaleno, who was ahead in all three score cards, 116-112, 116-112, 118-110, pressed the issue in the ninth round when he pinned Donaire in the ropes and unleashed multiple combinations to the head of the champion.

Undefeated Magdaleno grew up in Las Vegas but was fighting with Mexico printed on his red and black trunks and was serenaded by chants of “Mexico, Mexico” several times during the fight.

Coming into the fight, Magdaleno was the number one contender, having won eight of his last 10 fights by knockout.

Donaire suffered just the fourth loss of his career despite doing well at the end of the rounds late in the fight.

In the 10th, the Filipino wobbled Magdaleno with good right hard punches at the begin and end of the round.

The two traded heavy blows in the 12th with the crowd on its feet for the final round.

“We definitely won the fight. Losing never crossed my mind,” said Donaire. “I never thought I could lose this. I had a great second half and I thought I controlled the fight.” Agence France-Presse

source: sports.inquirer.net

Crawford stops Lundy to retain WBO title

NEW YORK — Terence Crawford stood on the second rope, mouth open and tongue sticking out for the entire world to see.

Simply, it was the picture of a man enjoying his success.

“It’s real satisfying,” Crawford said after stopping Henry Lundy 2 minutes, 9 seconds into the fifth round to retain his WBO super lightweight title Saturday night.

“Glad I got the job done (and) put on a great show.”

The bout picked up where the fighters left off at their final press conference Thursday, when they exchanged words before Crawford shoved Lundy in front of photographers.

Crawford (28-0) drew blood in the fourth round, opening a cut along Lundy’s right eye. Crawford then dropped Lundy (26-6-1) for a standing eight count with a combination early in the fifth, and after the fight was restarted, Crawford’s assault continued until referee Steve Willis stopped the fight.

“I caught him with some good shots,” Crawford said. “I was picking up momentum.”

According to Compubox stats, Crawford landed 89 of 247 total punches, including 49 of 84 power punches. By comparison, Lundy connected on 47 of 211 punches, and 31 of 85 power punches.

“He got me with a good shot,” Lundy said.

Following the fight, Crawford and Lundy embraced in the ring.

“(He) hit me on the top of my head and threw (my) equilibrium off,” Lundy said. “Couldn’t recover.”

While the main event was explosive from the opening bell, the earlier semi-main event between Felix Verdejo and Willian Silva in the WBO Latino Championship Lightweight division was an exhibition of scientific boxing. Verdejo took a 10-round, unanimous decision over Silva to improve to 20-0.

“I felt very good,” Verdejo said. “This is a new learning experience for me.”

In the first four rounds, Silva and Verdejo used their feinting and movement in order to trade jabs. Verdejo slightly began to open up in the fifth with heavier shots, one of which staggered Silva late in the round.

But there was little in the way of a sustained attack from either fighter in the later rounds, which may have had to do with Silva’s philosophy of circling away from Verdejo.

“He moved a lot during the fight,” Verdejo said.

Verdejo landed more jabs (39), power punches (67) and total punches (106), but Silva disagreed with the judges’ decision. Only one judge, John McKaie, thought Silva won a round, the ninth. The remaining two judges, Alan Rubenstein and Robin Taylor, gave Verdejo all 10 rounds.

“I don’t care what the scorecard says. I thought I did enough to win the fight,” Silva said.

The Crawford-Lundy and Verdejo-Silva bouts highlighted a seven-fight card which drew a sellout crowd of 5,092 at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden.

Emanuel Taylor, Sean Monaghan, Christopher Diaz, Jean Carlos Torres and Julian Rodriguez all won their undercard fights. Taylor knocked out Wilfredo Acuna in the sixth round of a super lightweight bout; Monaghan improved to 26-0 with a fifth-round stoppage of Finnish light-heavyweight Janne Foreman; Diaz knocked out Angel Luna at the 2:42 mark of the fourth round of their featherweight fight; Torres moved to 4-0 by stopping Miguel Gloria (1-2) via third-round technical knockout, while Rodriguez took an eight-round, unanimous decision over King Daluz (12-3-2).

source: sports.inquirer.net

Pacquiao arrives in LA for press tour of 3rd match with Bradley

Sarangani Rep. and Filipino boxing icon Manny  Pacquiao has arrived in Los Angeles for the press tour of his upcoming rematch with Timothy Bradley in April.

Pacquiao was accompanied by his wife Jinkee to the Crystal Ballroom of The Beverly Hills Hotel, where the press tour will begin, a report by GMA News stringer Jayson Otamias said.

He will begin promoting what he stressed is his last professional fight.

In an earlier interview, Pacquiao said that he is ready to end his 21-year boxing career in order to focus on his political duties. He is running for senator in the May elections.

The press tour will be continued in New York City. Team Pacquiao and Team Bradley will be flying out to the city on Wednesday for the second press conference that will be held in The Theater at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 21.

Pacquiao left the Philippines for the tour on Monday.

Pacquiao will be facing Bradley to win the WBO Welterweight crown for the third time.

The match will be held at MGM Grand in Las Vegas on April 9. —Jessica Bartolome/KBK, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Donaire defeats Mexican, back as world champion

Nonito Donaire once again became a world champion after surviving a slugfest against Mexican fighter Cesar Juarez to capture the WBO junior featherweight title on Saturday (Manila time).

The Filipino Flash scored two early knockdowns in the fourth round but won via unanimous decision, 116-110, 116-110, 117-109.

With the victory, Donaire completed his year with three wins, bouncing back tough to clinch his first belt after losing to Nicholas Walters in 2014.

Earlier in the year, he defeated Brazilian William Prado and French Anthony Settoul both via technical knockouts. —ALG, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Donaire: 'KO to Walters was a blessing, I'm in a must win fight'

Nonito Donaire Jr. says there losing his WBA world featherweight title by knockout to Nicholas Walters last year had a positive effect.

Donaire, who just turned 33 last November, says the KO loss made him re-dedicate himself to the sport and regain the focus he once forgot.

"When I was down on the canvas in the Walters fight I thought to myself, 'this is a blessing.' It was a blessing because I had lost my way, not giving boxing the respect it deserves," Donaire quipped.

"I was searching for something. I was unsatisfied. I went home and re-dedicated myself to the sport. I worked harder in the gym. I got out of bed early in the mornings and did my running."

Donaire (35-3, 23KOs) is currently riding a 2-0 knockout win streak since that fateful evening.

Now back at the 122-pound division, Donaire is once again in contention for the world championship when he battles Cesar Juarez (17-3, 13KOs) on December 11 (December 12 PHL time) for the vacant WBO world super bantamweight title.

"My opponent is a tough guy and he is hungry like a wolf. My job is to beat the wolf.  He's actually ranked higher than me (by the WBO). He is no. 1 and I am no. 2," said Donaire.

"I must win on Friday night. I am out of setbacks. My speed has increased. I can feel my power is much stronger. I had a great camp. I must win." - JM Siasat/RAF, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Manny Pacquiao to Floyd Mayweather: 'It's time to say yes'

"It's time to say yes."

That's Manny Pacquiao's plea to Floyd Mayweather to finally make the much-awaited fight between the two top fighters in the world happen.

Pacquiao was coming off a rousing victory over Chris Algieri on Sunday in a one-sided fight that saw the American fighter hit the canvas six times.

Predictably, Pacquiao was asked about the possibility of finally fighting Mayweather just moments after his hand was raised. 


"It's a good thing that we talk about that fight. It's time to say 'yes,'" Pacquiao said in the post-fight press conference.

"It's been a long time since I wanted that fight."

Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank said the Mayweather fight was the top priority for their camp.

"Enough is enough. Let's make the fight happen," said Arum.

After years of frustration in making a fight between the two top fighters in the world, there was some light earlier this week after news leaked out that Mayweather was finally open to a fight, according to his network Showtime. No less than CBS Corporation CEO and president Les Moonves is reportedly spearheading the negotiations to make the fight happen. — JST, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com