Posted by Tommy Hackett on 10th January 2010
Pictured: Manny Pacquiao carries the flag of the Philippines at the 2008 Olympic Games.
It’s tough to look at the above picture: Manny Pacquiao leading a group of athletes, who unlike himself, were willing to submit to Olympic-style drug testing.
Last week, talks finally appeared to break down for good for Manny Pacquiao’s proposed bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr., with the “sticking point” of Olympic-style blood testing finally leaving the two parties unable to reach an agreement. It’s a bad blow for the sport, which seemed to finally accumulating momentum for the first time in ages, to lose the climactic bout which we had been leading up towards.
It’s particularly a blow to a guy like me.
I’m really gutted — because as much as I’m not fan of Floyd Jr, his classless interviews and unprofessional antics — I have to sadly place blame at the feet of Manny Pacquiao for this “bloody mess.” Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Tommy Hackett on 15th November 2009
Congratulations to Manny Pacquiao and his supporters for another dominant win last night. As predicted, within a few rounds we learned whether or not Miguel Cotto could counter Pacquiao’s vaunted speed advantage. Unfortunately, I didn’t predict the correct answer. That advantage would prove key, and eventually lead to a 12th round T/KO stoppage.
So I was wrong, but I’m not interested in finding a Filipino preparation for crow right now (crow adobo?). Call it damage control if you want, but in attempting to handicap the bout, I maintained that no outcome would surprise me much — as it was a pairing of two guys who had never seen anything like the other. It won’t surprise anyone that I still feel that way. But here’s something Total-MMA readers may find surprising:
Right now, I couldn’t be prouder of Miguel Cotto.
(Well, other than the use of Kanye West for his ringwalk…)
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Posted by Tommy Hackett on 14th November 2009
Miguel Angel Cotto is hours away from entering a Las Vegas ring an almost three-to-one underdog against Manny Pacquiao in their catch-weight bout at 145 lbs. To the Puerto Rican’s chagrin, it seems many find it a foregone conclusion that the night will end with Pacquiao earning a knockout victory at his expense. In fact, Pacquiao himself is reportedly so confident that he has scheduled a concert performance directly after the bout, where he will sing material from his own two record albums at Mandalay Bay.
Unfortunately for the Filipino’s supporters, I think Pacquaio will be singing the blues instead of his beloved ballads, as heard here (painfully) on Jimmy Kimmell Live…
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Posted by Tommy Hackett on 10th October 2009
Anyone excited about next month’s fight between Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao got a treat yesterday as Pacquiao vs. Cotto: Face Off, a fantastic interview segment between the two conducted by Max Kellerman, popped up online. In fact, it’s a treat for anyone who just enjoys a bit of class and respect being shared between two proud sons of their native countries. (Yes, Puerto Rico is really a commonwealth of the US, but you know what I mean.)
If you’re anything like me and find yourself forgotting what sportsmanship looks like sometimes, please enjoy…
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Posted by Dave Walsh on 20th September 2009
Oh the irony of it all. Last night saw UFC counter-program the return of boxing’s Pretty Boy; Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Floyd, the oft-controversial performer came back after a two-year retirement after seeing Manny Pacquiao take his place on the top of the food chain in the media’s fickle eyes after destroying Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. Floyd saw this and saw dollar signs, while UFC saw this as their chance to take another jab at the sport they and their rabid fans see as a dying art and proclaim dominance that they could do well against boxing’s biggest star.
The numbers aren’t out yet, but the results are in, and they can be weighed against each other. UFC saw no real surprises on their main card; Cro Cop is washed up, Hermes Franca isn’t very good, Martin Kampmann was overrated and Vitor Belfort when he trains for a fight can beat a gatekeeper handily (with illegal blows to the back of the head). The undercard was just rather dull and the card featured some of the worst preliminaries UFC has offered on a PPV. The card was easily the least entertaining since UFC 55; Andrei Arlovski vs. Paul Buentello.
Mayweather vs. Marquez on the other hand saw a lively undercard as Chris John took Rocky Juarez all twelve rounds for a decision, Michael Katsidis overwhelmed a scrappy Vincente Escebedo and Cornelius Lock devastated Orlando Cruz with a left hook. All three of these bouts were incredibly exciting and put on this card to prove that they can not only compete with UFC quality-wise, but put on a better overall show.
A lot of talk right now from UFC fans is that the Mayweather fight was a “multi-million dollar sham” of a fight; Mayweather was fighting a lighter fighter who stood no chance against him. The truth of the matter is, after coming back from a two year layoff, taking on a fighter like Manny Pacquiao would be a giant risk, as would a fight with Shane Mosley. Plus, from a business perspective, a multi-million dollar warm-up fight before the big fight makes perfect sense. Instead of people asking the question “does Floyd still have it?” there will be no doubt that he still has it when he goes into his next fight against whomever it is.
Posted in Boxing, Dave Walsh, UFC | 8 Comments »
Posted by Tommy Hackett on 19th September 2009
Again, fight fans are faced with a choice between offerings from the biggest players in MMA and boxing tonight, as UFC goes head to head with HBO PPV. Hey, it’s not the worst problem to have; and in fact I think we’ve got a pretty clear decision here.
I can already hear the arguments against it, and I’ll admit UFC 103 will probably be enjoyable enough. I’ll even concede that the welterweight bout between Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr and Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez may have lost a bit of luster with Mayweather’s issues at the scale. (See this ESPN report if you haven’t already.) But Mayweather and Marquez still offer a great pairing of two pound-for-pound entrants, and the bout’s winner will be primed for an even bigger night against Manny Pacquiao or Miguel Cotto next year. Let’s be honest: Vitor Belfort and Rich Franklin are very good and their catch weight bout that will likely be entertaining, but win or lose it will really do little for either guy’s standing. Plus, it’s a weak undercard, while HBO PPV is (uncharactaristically) offering several excellent bouts in support of the Mayweather/Marquez main.
So, as in June, when Miguel Cotto vs. Joshua Clottey outshone UFC 99, score the round for the Marquis of Queensbury. Here’s my take at what fight fans should be watching tonight:
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Posted by Tommy Hackett on 22nd August 2009
More than a month has passed since his death in Brazil, but sadly, we still don’t know what really happened to Arturo “Thunder” Gatti. It remains uncertain as of this writing if he died of suicide, as Brazilian authorities ruled, or if a full autopsy which has begun by Canadian officials will reveal he was murdered by his wife, as was first suspected.
What is clear is that he will be missed in many circles, one of which includes the opponent Gatti was most associated with, “Irish” Micky Ward. Last year, Ward was the subject of a book from longtime Boston sportscaster Bob Holloran, Irish Thunder. It offers a strong if not quite perfect portrait of its strong but never perfect subject, and particularly of the trilogy with Gatti which defined Ward’s career.
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Posted by Alan Conceicao on 7th August 2009
From Dan Rafael’s update today on ESPN.com:
Top-level live boxing on Versus looks to be about done. Other than two more club shows that the network will air before the end of the year under a deal with Golden Boy, Versus will burn off the remaining live card it owes Tournament of Contenders from its deal to broadcast “The Contender” reality series. The Sept. 17 show will be headlined by a decent junior middleweight main event featuring former titlist Verno Phillips against former welterweight titlist Carlos Quintana, according to DiBella, who is doing the show with TOC’s Jeff Wald. The co-feature will pit “Contender” runner-up Ehinomen Ehikhamenor against ticket-seller Dewey Cooper in a cruiserweight fight in Primm, Nev. Decent show, but certainly nothing to get too excited about. Versus could have been a huge player in boxing but bungled it from the beginning with a misguided exclusive contract with Top Rank. If this is the way it’s going to end, what a shame.
Any time an outlet for combat sports decides to step out of the running, its sad. Versus though has had a number of truly awful fight cards over the years that they vastly overpaid for. There was a market for better fights out there and Top Rank (and the Contenders series) effectively killed it. Just another sad reminder of boxing’s propensity to eat itself.
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Posted by Tommy Hackett on 4th July 2009
This week’s news of the passing of four-division champion Alexis Arguello has hit the boxing world hard. For those who missed it, the Hall of Famer’s body was found early morning Wednesday in his hometown of Managua, Nicaragua. Reports from Associated Press describe the cause of death as a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the heart.
Eulogies have poured in from around the world. Barry McGuigan published one of the best today, “Let The Bells Ring in Honour of Alexis Arguello,” for Britain’s The Mirror. A former world champion in his own right, McGuigan describes “El Flaco Explosivo” (The Explosive Thin Man) as “the kind of fighter that I aspired to be but never quite made it…”
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Posted by Tommy Hackett on 11th June 2009
In what is seen in some circles as an ongoing battle between MMA & boxing, this Saturday fans will get their choice between offerings from the sports’ two biggest players.
HBO Boxing offers what many are hailing as a possible fight of the year candidate, as Ring Magazine’s #2 & #4 rated welterweights square off at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Puerto Rican Miguel Angel Cotto (33-1, 27 KOs) dons the gloves only a day before NYC’s Puerto Rico Day Parade (!) to fight a risky bout against Joshua Clottey of Ghana (35-2, 20 KOs). Clottey is a skilled inside technician who will bring a size advantage and a high work rate similar to Cotto’s. Cotto brings a better jab, but both have excellent left hooks to the head and body. It’s a tough fight to call, but it’s looking like a memorable action bout in front of a raucous and partisan (not to mention, last I checked, a near-sellout) crowd.
The same night, ZUFFA counters with an offering of… well, I don’t even know what this UFC 99 in Cologne, Germany offers. (OK, I’ll admit Caol Uno vs Spencer Fisher sounds fun, but is it really worth a PPV?) This show’s problems have been chronicled here and elsewhere, including poor sales and possible loss of its carrier on British TV. Maybe Wanderlei Silva will surprise me and have a great fight vs. Franklin after having lost four of his last five (three by brutal KO, if you’re keeping track)… maybe Kongo vs Valasquez will be something to remember besides a slew of groin shots that Kongo now admits he throws intentionally (surprise!)… maybe the German crowd will sing “Danke Schoen” and make it all worthwhile.
Maybe, but I’m not banking on it. Score one for the Marquis of Queensbury. The noble art of pugilism wins this round. Here’s my breakdown of the fight you should be watching this weekend: Read the rest of this entry »
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