Manny Pacquiao camp exuberant: KO Chiongbian first, Mayweather second -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner

MICHAEL MARLEY'S PHILIPPINE DIARY, PART 15:

GENERAL SANTOS CITY--It may turn out to be irrational exuberance in hindsight.

"I smell a big, big electoral triumph for Manny (Pacquiao)," promoter Bob Arum exclaimed at 4:35 pm Friday afternoon

We won't know, according to promoter turned political pundit Arum until about 7 pm, South Cotobato time, Monday night, two hours after the polls close in the Congressional battle between aspiring public servant Manny Pacquiao and entrenched power broker and billionaire Roy Chiongbian.

But, as I write this on a rainy Friday afternoon in Pacman's hometown, not far from the extremely rural Sarangani Province, the Pacman camp is growing louder and more confident about not only beating the Chongbian Family Machine but trouncing it.

"Maybe Wolf Blitzer on CNN will call the result based on exit polling," Arum said, joking as he tore through a tuna salad sandwich at the Royale Hotel.

"Seriously," Arum said, "we are looking at an independently done poll now which shows Manny as having 78 percent of the vote in the province with the balance for the opponent or not decided."

However, local experts tell me that the race is much, much closer than any landslide like that.

I spoke with a son of a former mayor of Gensan this morning in the hotel and he told Pinoy pundit Hammering Hermie Rivera and I that the race is "too close to call."

A local businessman who is also a personal friend of Pacman agreed with that assessment.

"It could go either way but nobody has 78 percent of the vote or any percentage close to that. It may be something like 55-45 but no more than that, either way," this man said.

One voice of caution in the Pacquiao camp is that of adviser Michael Koncz.

"I don't trust any of the polls," the Canadian said. "It depends on who they polled. I tell Manny, 'Every day, when you wake up, you've got think like a fighter who is losing a fight.' We cannot be overconfident because it is a tough fight here."

Pacman and his foe actually met face to face Friday at a Gensan radio station known as "Radio Bombo."

Koncz related what happened when the rivals crossed paths as Pacman finished an interview and Chiongbian was next to go on the airwaves.

"Roy said, 'Hey, champ, hey champ.' Manny went over to him and they hugged warmly. Manny said to Roy, 'You know, it is nothing personal for me, it is just politics.' So it was a friendly greeting on both sides."

Switching to boxing news, I read that Coach Freddie Roach has told an interviewer that Floyd Mayweather, not such a spring chicken anymore at age 33, has legs that could betray him during a super bout against the Pinoy Idol.

Roach is just expressing publicly what others around Pacquiao, including Bob Arum, have been saying privately.

Another boxing voice who thinks Mayweather's foot speed is not what it used to be, an independent voice, belongs to veteran trainer and Michigan native Stacy McKinley.

A former trainer of heavyweights Mike Tyson and Samuel Peter, Mc Kinley told me in Dallas at a Pacman-Joshua Clottey prefight press conference that he sees Mayweather as being not as nimble as he used to be.

"I've been watching Mayweather since his amateur days," the Ann Arbor native said. "Floyd has lost a step or two or three during that retirement period. They say the legs go first and his legs are going."

Those in the Pacquiao camp see the lessening of the foot speed as a reason why Mayweather got tagged and staggered by 38 year old Sugar Shane Mosley in their bout May 1.

"Manny will fight Floyd at a punishing pace, pursuing him relentlessly and working the body to wear him down. Now that he is less mobile, Mayweather's suspect chin really comes into play," said the insider who asked that his name not be used.

The legs go first is an old boxing axiom.

But now for Pacquiao, only age 31 and 32 come December, the balloting goes first.

Will he nip Chiongbian or will it be a Sarangani landslide?

I am betting a down to the wire, split decision sort of victory for Megamanny but I am no expert on New York or Cape Cod politics let alone Pinoy political matters.

I do know there seem to be thousands of different parties and "party list" candidates here.

I have talked to at least 10 Sarangani voters who either don't want to see their sporting idol in the muck and mire of politics or don't think he has any of the experience and education required to be an effective representative for them in Manila.

We shall see what we shall see.

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com

BORGES: C'mon Manny, Accept The Testing Protocol, And Fight Floyd -- The Sweet Science

By Ron Borges, The Sweet Science

How has it come to pass that so many people look at the drug testing issue that has separated Floyd Mayweather, Jr. from Manny Pacquiao more forcefully than Mills Lane would have as not Pacquiao refusing to do the right thing but rather Mayweather demanding the wrong thing?

Why is taking steps to insure a sporting event is clean (and as we’ve all sadly learned in recent years very few of them have been in quite some time) somehow the act of a cowardly lion?

The fact of the matter is nothing could be farther from the truth. Now if Mayweather was insisting on his opponent having to do something he’s unwilling to do, that would be different but that is not the case. As Shane Mosley admitted during the lead up to his fight with Mayweather, the half dozen random blood tests he was forced to take along with a similar number of urine tests were not a hardship nor did they impact him or his training in any way. In fact, he said he actually learned things by talking to the administrators of the test about natural substitutes he could use while avoiding certain medications he might innocently take for a cold or an infection that would lead to a positive test.

Generally, knowledge sets you free. In boxing, it sets people off. So why is testing no problem for Mosley and Mayweather but like scaling Mt. Everest in shorts and a T-shirt for Pacquiao?

An even larger question is why are so many in boxing trying to paint Mayweather as someone trying to duck Pacquiao by merely wanting both fighters to prove to the world they are clean and running on regular, not high-test?

All Pacquiao had to do to make a Mayweather fight happen was say “No problem’’ to random blood testing and the fight would have already happened. Somehow the fact that he refused has been turned inside out by many commentators, transforming it into a referendum on Mayweather’s willingness to fight rather than on Pacquiao’s?

Mayweather was right when he said after all but whitewashing Mosley on May 1 that, “I honestly believe I’m the face of boxing. I believe the right thing to do is to clean things up. There are too many enhancements going on in sports.’’

For boxing to step up and become a leader, for once, in something positive would be a blessing for a long-maligned and ridiculed sport. Exactly what’s the harm in it?

Truth be told there is none, and all these red herrings about whether the commission makes the rules or the fighters do is nonsense. The commissions establish weight classes and then let fighters make a mockery of them either by coming into the ring the night of the fight 15 pounds over the limit or by allowing one powerful fighter to force another to fight at a weight above, or well below the division limit. What about those rules being enforced?

Let Mayweather insist on something being done to insure a fair and level playing field and it seems much of boxing opposes it. That wouldn’t be because they dislike Mayweather, would it?

According to Pacquiao, he’s afraid of having blood taken too close to a fight because it makes him weak so he’ll agree to random testing but not up to the final days before the event, even though the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has said anything less compromises the accuracy of the results.

Pacquiao’s concerns about having blood drawn too close to a fight made me wonder about something. What does he do if he starts giving blood IN a fight? Dial 9-1-1?

Bob Arum keeps insisting he and Pacquiao will do what the Nevada State Athletic Commission demands, knowing they won’t demand rigorous random blood testing because the last thing it wants is to start seeing major fights fall apart in the final days because someone comes up dirty.

The whole thing, frankly, is ridiculous. Both fighters stand to make as much as $40 million if they face each other. The fight itself would be the biggest in boxing since Oscar De La Hoya fought Felix Trinidad and nearly as big as when Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson squared off.

It would be the Leonard-Hearns of its generation, a fight of major importance not only to the fighters but to the sport itself. Yet as long as Pacquiao refuses to agree to random blood testing it is not going to happen. Of that I am sure.

“No!’’ Leonard Ellerbee, Mayweather’s most trusted confidante, said firmly after the Mosley fight when he was asked if Mayweather might change his stance on this. “He (Pacquiao) knows what he has to do. He knows what it will take to make the fight. Either he agrees or we move on. Floyd is not going to fight guys who aren’t willing to do this.’’

De La Hoya stood at a podium after Mayweather had destroyed his company’s fighter, Mosley, over 12 rounds and seemed to agree that the idea of fighters acting positively to keep their sport drug free was something that deserved more than the attacks and ridicule Mayweather has had heaped upon him by some journalists, commentators and boxing insiders.

“We now know all fighters can be clean,’’ De La Hoya said. “They showed it on 24/7. If we can’t agree to that how can we make fights?’’

How indeed? Why is it an unreasonable demand to insist both fighters agree to the only form of testing for performance enhancing drugs that has been proven effective? How did that become a felony or proof that one fighter is ducking another?

“All roads lead to Floyd Mayweather,’’ Mayweather insists. “I pave the way. I’ve been undefeated since the ‘90’s. I wasn’t in no made up weight classes. I didn’t win no made up belts. But I’m closer to 40 (33) than to 21. If the fight happens it happens but I’m not out chasing any fighters.

“I’m doing it the old-fashioned way. I don’t need to take no enhancement drugs. I don’t need to do nothing.’’

All Manny Pacquiao has to do is one thing. The right thing. If he does, he’ll be standing up to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and standing up for the sport that has given him so much.

Source: thesweetscience.com

Cintron first on long list for Williams -- ESPN

By Dan Rafael, ESPN.com

Paul Williams a middleweight? A junior middleweight? Welterweight? Who knows? It all depends on which day you catch "The Punisher."

In his past five fights, Williams has fought in all three divisions -- welterweight, then at middleweight, then junior middleweight and then his last two bouts again at middleweight.

He's has had success in all three divisions. He's a former two-time welterweight titleholder, a former interim junior middleweight titleholder and, in his most recent fight in December, he beat the guy, Sergio Martinez, who would go on to win the middleweight championship in his following bout.

"I've been asked the same questions so many times about fighting in different weight classes, if I feel I am getting slighted, that sort of stuff, that my answers are almost like turning on a recorder and listening to it play, but only with my mouth moving," Williams said. "But, make no mistake, I don't mind getting the attention and all the questions. I am confident and comfortable fighting in different weight classes and I will continue to do so for as long as I can and it is feasible.

"Whatever the weight is, my mindset is -- and always has been -- to fight to the end. I think that is my greatest advantage. I'm satisfied with the way things are going."

Williams is returning to junior middleweight to tangle with big puncher Kermit Cintron (32-2-1, 28 KOs), a former welterweight titleholder, in a scheduled 12-rounder Saturday night (HBO, 9:45 ET) at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. HBO will open the telecast by replaying last Saturday's Floyd Mayweather-Shane Mosley pay-per-view bout.

But which division is really home for Williams (38-1, 27 KOs), who has bounced around the three weight classes in an effort to find the biggest fights?

Even though the lanky Williams is 6-foot-2, he and his team insist he can make the 147-pound welterweight limit and they are sick of hearing and reading that he can't, even though he hasn't fought in the division since drilling Carlos Quintana in the first round in their 2008 rematch.

Trainer George Peterson is probably more sick of the comments than anyone.

"Paul is saying, "Give me a 147-pounder and let me show you that I can make 147 pounds,'" a slightly annoyed Peterson said. "And if you are still that much in doubt then watch us eat breakfast before the weigh-in."

Promoter Dan Goossen said the only reason Williams has moved up and down in weight is because none of the top welterweights will give him the time of day, even though it's the division he prefers to fight in.

"With the welterweight division, it's getting harder and harder to find takers out there mainly because of the size discrepancy," Goossen said. "But it's not Paul's fault that he's 6-foot-2 and has a longer reach than the Klitschkos. But what has never left us is that we're looking to crack that superstardom, and the way to do that is to make the super fight. It's been no secret that's Paul's best weight is 147."

Like every other welterweight on the planet, the dream matches are against Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

"You throw any of the top welters out there and they've gone by the wayside now," Goossen said. "The [Miguel] Cottos, the [Antonio] Margaritos. I mean, Paul got rid of Margarito [in 2007] when no one wanted to. Cotto was dispatched by Margarito. So there are three welterweights that are out there today and they should all be mentioned in the same breath and that's Pacquiao, Mayweather and Williams. When everything is said and done, Paul is a 147-pounder. To be the best and to be the greatest and to be No. 1, I don't believe anyone can really say that until they get in the ring with Paul Williams. It may not be today or it may not be tomorrow but eventually Paul Williams will get his opportunity to show what we've been saying for the past two or three years. It will all come to fruition."

In his last bout, Williams eked out a majority decision against Martinez in a tremendous action fight. Williams had hoped to either face Martinez in a rematch or challenge Kelly Pavlik for the middleweight title in a fight that had already been called off three times previously. But when Pavlik and Martinez made a deal, it left Williams looking for another fight, and Cintron, whom Williams almost fought a few different times over the past few years, got the call.

"This fight has been in the works since 2006 when he was WBO champion and I was IBF champion. We were supposed to fight a unification fight back then," Cintron said. "There've been talks three or four times since, but the time wasn't right. Now, for me, the timing is perfect and I am very confident. You can call Williams a 'feared' fighter or whatever, but he's just another fighter for me. This will be an interesting fight because we've both overcome some obstacles to get here. Stylewise, it could be the fight of the year."

Cintron has fought his past three bouts at junior middleweight after a career at welterweight, so Williams is moving down to face him and enjoys confounding folks with his division hopping.

"To me, it's kind of fun," Williams said. "People can't really categorize me. It's hard because you can't get anybody to fight you. It takes discipline because once you finally pick a weight you've got to get up or down in weight. I kind of like it. [Moving divisions] isn't killing us so far. Everything's good. So if it's not broke don't fix it."

"Right now, Cintron is my main focus. The guy right in front of me is always my main focus. I don't think about any other possible fights. If I'm asked, I'll talk about it, but otherwise my sole concentration is my next fight. But my thing is I'll fight anybody if the money is right."

Donaire-Darchinyan rematch implodes

The proposed rematch between junior bantamweight champ Vic Darchinyan and interim titlist Nonito Donaire, slated for Aug. 21 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., is off.

Donaire scored a sensational fifth-round knockout of Darchinyan in a 2007 upset and there has been talk about a rematch since. They got close, but it fell through.

According to Darchinyan promoter Gary Shaw, it came down to a disagreement over international television rights and Darchinyan's team was tired of waiting for Donaire to sign the contract for which talks began almost six weeks ago.

"It was an easy fight to make and Showtime bought it right away and I have the Home Depot Center on hold," Shaw said. "I have nothing bad to say about Top Rank but the breakdown was on the international rights. Every day I would get calls from Vic's manager and be bombarded by e-mails to either make the fight or move on. I said let's be patient. Then I got an e-mail from Team Darchinyan saying they weren't going to wait. They said it shouldn't take five weeks to make a fight between 115 pounders who say they want to fight each other."

Top Rank's Carl Moretti, however, said the foreign TV situation had been ironed out and only after Top Rank agreed, did Darchinyan's management tell Shaw to pull the plug.

Shaw said Darchinyan will still fight Aug. 21 on Showtime on a telecast that is slated to also include the Carl Froch-Arthur Abraham Super Six bout from Europe.

Shaw said Darchinyan is interested in facing unified bantamweight titlist Fernando Montiel; the winner of the May 22 bout between bantamweight titlist Yonnhy Perez and Abner Mares or moving to featherweight to face the winner of the May 22 main event, the fourth bout between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez.

Darchinyan won't get Montiel, according to Moretti. Top Rank co-promotes him with Fernando Beltran and they have no intention of giving Darchinyan the fight because Montiel-Donaire is a fight they'd like to do.

"That's a distinct possibility for the fall," Moretti told ESPN.com.

Moretti and Shaw worked for weeks to get Donaire-Darchinyan done but, said Moretti, "At the end of the day, it just couldn't be made. Life goes on. Darchinyan has the belts at 115 and knows he may never get to avenge a terrible beating. Besides, I'm dealing with bigger issues like my daughter's senior prom this weekend. Her date is a 6-foot-2, 220-pound all-county linebacker."

Moretti said Donaire could probably would fight in July before the possible fight with Montiel.

Familiar face

In September 2008, before Amir Khan claimed a junior welterweight title, he was blown out in 54 seconds by Colombian's Breidis Prescott (21-2, 18 KOs) in a lightweight bout. It was a shocking upset, although Khan rebounded to win his next four fights, including a 140-pound title against Andreas Kotelnik.

Now, Khan will see Prescott, who is 1-2 since his big win, again next week in New York. The reason? While Khan is slated to defend against New York's Paulie Malignaggi on HBO next Saturday at the Madison Square Garden Theater, Prescott faces Jason Davis on the undercard now that he's signed a co-promotional deal with Lou DiBella, who also promotes Malignaggi. Obviously, a rematch with Khan could loom in the future.

"Breidis still needs a little more work, but he punches like a mule and he holds a win over one of the hottest guys in the division, which means there's a big rematch for him down the road," DiBella told ESPN.com. "I don't know how big it will be after Paulie beats Khan but I'm sure it's a fight that Khan, a proud, young kid wants to avenge."

Dan Rafael covers boxing for ESPN.com.

Source: espn.go.com

Antonio Margarito: 'I Want to Prove Everybody Wrong' -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

If Antonio Margarito defeats Roberto "La Amenza" Garcia in Saturday night's 10-round, junior middleweight (154 pounds) clash at La Feria de San Marcos , in Aguascalientes, Mex., the 32-year-old fighter will open himself up to a plethora of career options.

At least three of them involve fighters who are his promotional stablemates under Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank Promotions.

Arum has said that Margarito "could be a potential opponent for" seven-division titlist, Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs), "if Margarito wants to come down to welterweight," possibly at The Dallas Cowboys Stadium, where Pacquiao debuted boxing with a March 13, unanimous decision over Joshua Clottey (35-4, 20 KOs) before 51,000 fans.

There is also the potential for Margarito (37-6, 27 KOs) to face the winner of a June 5 WBA junior middleweight title bout between former three-time world champion Miguel Cotto (34-2, 27 KOs) and champion, Yuri Foreman (28-0, eight KOs) to be fought at the new Yankees Stadium in New York.

Another potential bout involves a rematch with Lou DiBella-promoted, southpaw WBC junior middleweight king, Sergio Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KOs), whom Margarito knocked out in the seventh round in February of 2000.

Martinez is coming off of last month's unanimous decision over Kelly Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs), whom he dethroned as WBO and WBC middleweight (160 pounds) champion.

Before losing by disputed majority decision to three-time titlist, Paul Williams (38-1, 27 KOs) in December, Martinez had gone 28-0-1, with 18 knockouts since the loss to Margarito.

"I have been working in the gym for over one year, but it is not the same as getting into the ring and fighting before a crowd, and without headgear," said Margarito, who will headline Top Rank Promotion's Latin Fury 14. "Saturday night can't come soon enough for me."

That's because it has been more than a year since Margarito has been in the ring, having been suspended by the California State Athletic Commission after a January, 2009, ninth-round knockout loss to Shane Mosley dethroned him as WBA champion.

Margarito's ring exile resulted from Mosley's trainer, Naazim Richardson's discovery that the Mexican's fist wrappings included a plaster-like substance that was subsequently removed and confiscated prior to the fight.

A native of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mex., who resides in Weslaco, Tex., Garcia (28-2, 21 KOs) is riding a five-year, 14-bout unbeaten streak that includes 10 knockouts.

"This is a big fight. which is why I left my home in Texas to work with Freddie Roach at the Wild Card in Hollywood, California. I had six great weeks of hard training and unbelievable sparring," said the 30-year-old Garcia.

"Freddie had me in the ring with Alfredo Angulo and other great fighters," said Garcia. "I am ready to get it on in the big bullring in Aguascalientes and play matador to Margarito."

During a recent video interview with Elie Seckback of FanHouse, Garcia, stood next to co-trainer, Eric Brown, held up his bare right fist and extended it toward the camera.

"You see these? These rocks are natural. You see? There's a difference," said Garcia, who has stopped his past four opponents. "These ain't Plaster of Paris. They're natural. They don't need to be loaded."

Margarito claims no knowlege of the illegal wrappings, instead blaming his trainer, Javier Capetillo, for the substance in his gloves.

Still, there is speculation that Margarito's gloves may have been loaded against vanquished rivals such as Cotto, and, Kermit Cintron, whom Margarito savagely and bloodily defeated before scoring knockouts. Margarito stopped Cintron twice.

"I think he had stuff in his gloves, but that's just my opinion," said Cintron, who was stopped by Margarito in April of 2005, and, 2008, in five, and, six rounds. "You look at those losses, and I don't know how it happened. You guys saw what he did before they caught him."

Margarito has been unable to successfully regain his license with the CSAC, whose verdict has been supported by U.S. commissions in general -- hence, his fighting in Mexico.

"I've always had the strength to hit as hard as I do, and I'm just ready," Margarito told Elie Seckback. "I want to prove everybody wrong, without anything in my hands."

Margarito received at least one vote in his favor concerning speculation as to whether or not his gloves were loaded during his July, 2008, 11th-round knockout of Cotto, whom he dethroned as WBA welterweight king after beating him bloody over the course of their bout.

That assertion came from none other than Keith Kizer, director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission which oversaw Margarito-Cotto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

"I know that he wasn't rigged during the Cotto fight because we had our inspectors check him out and everything, as did Cotto's people. He was fully checked out. One of our referees, Jay Nady, was back there, we had our inspectors back there. Cotto's guy was back there. They all checked him out and everything was fine," said Kizer of Margarito, whose very next fight was against Mosley.

"They felt the hand wraps and everything, and we have an inspector who I've seen check the hand wraps before, and he checks them out thoroughly," said Kizer. "He watched the hand wraps that night. If you don't have experienced inspectors, you can probably slip something through."

Speaking while attending a press conference promoting last Saturday unanimous decision by Floyd Mayweather (40-0, 25 knockouts) over Mosley, Kizer said he would, nevertheless, proceed with caution before granting Margarito a license to fight in Las Vegas.

"I would not feel comfortable at this point simply granting Margarito a license to fight here in Nevada," said Kizer, adding that he would consider doing so only after Margarito endured a hearing before the commission chairman and a panel that would thoroughly review his case.

"I would have some questions that he would need to answer from me," said Kizer. "And if he doesn't answer them truthfully, then I would recommend not granting a license to him."

Regardless, Garcia's manager, Julio Marines, is confident that his man will emerge victorious.

"Margarito has been off too long and is not going to win this one. Look at what happened to Shane Mosley - off way too long. In fact. Margarito has been off as long as Mosley, and Mosley paid the price," said Marines of Mosley, who ended a 16-month ring absence against Mayweather.

"Sorry, but that's what will happen to Margarito too," said Marines. "Ring rust, that kind of stuff. I know in my heart RobertoGarcia will win on Saturday night."

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Manny Pacquiao Begs Voters: 'Give Me One Chance' -- FanHouse

By Nancy Gay, FanHouse

KIAMBA, Philippines – In a muddy, muggy, coconut palm-shrouded clearing a mile or so from the gated house that Manny Pacquaio calls home in his Philippines campaign district, the pound-for-pound boxing superstar stood on a crude stage on Thursday, microphone in hand, and appealed to his fans to view him differently.

Not as their sporting icon, who grew up from dire poverty. Not as the fighter who, so far, is creating a massive stir for refusing to fight welterweight Floyd Mayweather because of a request of Olympic-style blood testing to rule out steroid use.

"Give me ONE chance! One chance to show you all what good governance really is!" he bellowed in the region's local Cebuano dialect to the packed gathering of impoverished Kiamba townspeople, a crowd of about 750 that wept, cheered and appeared far more interested in adoring Pacquiao, the Sports Hero rather than Pacquiao, the Congressional Candidate.

A bilingual Kiamba resident provided translation of Pacquiao's words, which included promises of more reliable electricity, better schools and supplies, perhaps even a hospital. This far southern province of about half a million residents on Mindanao island doesn't have a single hospital bed.

So why doesn't Pacquiao, with his many millions earned in the boxing ring, just build the hospital himself? Why rely on a political seat to bring badly need resources to one of the poorest regions of a country where half the population lives on less than $2 a day?

"There are bills already in Congress that I can help push through [for that]," Pacquiao said in an interview at his Kiamba compound minutes before jumping into a bulletproof Chevy Tahoe for the short drive to the political rally in what passes for a park in the impoverished Suli barangay [neighborhood].

Promoter "Big Boss" Bob Arum, as he is known in the Philippines, put it in simpler terms.

"Even Manny doesn't have enough money to get a hospital built in this remote area, let alone buy all the equipment needed to run it," said Arum, who sat onstage with Pacquiao as a visiting celebrity and supporter. "Nobody does anything in the private sector in this country. Too much red tape. It's impossible."

Pacquiao's rousing political stump was delivered amid a spate of other speeches from local candidates running on the political ticket he created, the People's Champ Movement (PCM). The wealthy athlete known throughout the world sported the same official blue campaign vest that his other party candidates wore onstage.

Then again, Pacquiao can make promises that the others running for local office can't really deliver.

The translator said Pacquiao told the Suli neighborhood crowd that he would deliver $500,000 Philippine pesos (about $11,000) in local "aid" if they elected everyone on his PCM party ticket.

Was that vow a show of corruption or simply the way politics are run in the Philippines? The latter is more like it.

This is a country where politicians reach public office because of their vast wealth, their ability to intimidate the opposition into retreating, and their powerful family ties.

For rural illiterate voters who must rely on pictures to select a candidate on the country's new electronic voting machines, it's easy to buy their loyalty and their vote with a promise of a few pesos or a bag of rice.

Pacquiao may not hail from a billionaire family like his opponent, 61-year-old Roy Chiongbian. But he has celebrity clout and fame. And Pacquiao is vowing he'll represent transparency and honesty, traits he hopes will convince these simple people that he'll be a legitimate public servant rather than just another money-skimming politician.

Did the people believe him? Hard to say. The crowd seemed more star struck by the presence of their beloved "Pacman" and the foreigners he brought to the rally, rather than enthralled by the campaign message he tried to deliver.

In these final days before the May 10 national elections, Pacquiao's feverish daytime campaigning throughout Sarangani has slowed considerably, more in line with the fighter's customary nocturnal pace when he is in his home country.

A small group of international media, including a reporter from FanHouse, the Los Angeles Times, the Asia bureau of the Times of London and a reporter from Examiner.com, joined a substantial TV crew from ABS-CBN broadcasting to tail Pacquiao's Thursday campaign. The day was to include the rally at the cramped Suli neighborhood clearing, which was scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.

The media convoy, along with Arum and Pacquaio adviser Michael Koncz, made the winding, 90-mile drive south from General Santos City to the boxer's adopted (for election purposes) Kiamba home.

In broad daylight, there was little to fear despite widespread concerns about campaign violence or random attacks from the Muslim separatist group Moro Islamic Liberation Front, or MILF.

Abiding by the latest edict from the Philippine Commission on Elections (Comelec), only two of the multiple Philippine National Police officers assigned to protect the convoy from terrorists were permitted to carry firearms.

Ironically, the three-car caravan traveled the well-constructed highway built by the family of Pacquiao's congressional challenger, Chiongbian, a deeply entrenched clan that employs most of the working people of Sarangani Province.

Once in Kiamba, the wait began.

Pacquiao, as is usual in the middle of the day, was fast asleep.

"We're on Manny Time now," quipped longtime Philippine sports media personality Ronnie Nathanielsz.

In an utterly bizarre but perfectly Filipino scene, Arum and the media were herded by the police through a large iron gate and upstairs inside Pacquiao's home, past a throng of townspeople who huddled indoors to escape the pelting rain. The poor lined the downstairs hallways and the Pacquiao family kitchen, waiting for food and cash handouts.

Pacquiao, his wife Jinkee said, always allows townspeople onto their property and into their home.

"I have to get used to it," she said with a sigh, admitting she is exhausted by all the media attention and complete lack of privacy in their family life due to the campaign.

It was 2 p.m. The foreign visitors and media parked themselves on an upstairs couch, just a few feet from the bedroom where Pacquaio snoozed with Jinkee behind a closed door.

The 3 p.m. start time for the rally came and went. Pacquaio remained asleep.

The media group then retreated downstairs to the dining room, the only air-conditioned place in the packed house, to wait for the boxer/candidate to emerge. He finally did -- at 4 p.m. -- and conducted a few minutes of interviews with reporters.

The public rally eventually began 90 minutes late. On Manny Time.

"These people here, these little children, they don't care that he's nearly two hours late," said Nathanielsz, gesturing to the rain soaked people crowding the stage at the political rally. "This is the most exciting thing that will ever happen to them in their miserable lives."

While he campaigns, boxing fans in the United States and other parts of the world are far more interested in debating whether Pacquiao will ever enter the ring against Mayweather, who is fresh off a dominating 12-round decision over Shane Mosley in Las Vegas.

Arum traveled here on Wednesday to support his top fighter's campaign bid, and the media-savvy promoter did all he could to avoid directly addressing a future Mayweather matchup.

"I'm not even here to campaign for Manny. I'm just here to support him," Arum said. "So why would I start negotiating a fight like that when I'm thousands of miles away [from the U.S.]? It's ridiculous. It's a non-issue right now with Mayweather.

"Sure, it's the fight everyone wants to see. We all know that. The world wants to see them in the ring. But that's not what we're here for, to talk about that. This about Manny getting elected and that's all we're focused on."

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Williams, Cintron take aim at greatness -- Orange County Register

By MARK WHICKER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SHERMAN OAKS – When Paul Williams walks into The Home Depot Center ring Saturday night, will he overlook Kermit Cintron?

Of course. Williams is 6-foot-3, at least. Cintron is 5-foot-11, or thereabouts. Every time Williams comes to receive the instructions, he's overlooking somebody. Everybody but Rick James has called him a "freak of nature."

But when Williams showed up at Sisley Restaurant here Wednesday, promoter Dan Goossen and trainer George Peterson started talking about Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Since Williams is 38-1 with 27 knockouts and has roamed through three divisions spreading havoc, they feel that a fight with either Magic or Bird, boxing version, is Williams' destiny.

"I think they're looking over me," Cintron said, "but I keep myself pretty quiet when it comes to that. Come Saturday it will be a hell of a fight. I'm ready to go 12 hard rounds."

Right, which is why Williams had better pull down the periscope and look straight at Cintron. Besides, how can Williams look past Cintron when he knows exactly who's behind him?

If Cintron can make Williams go 12 rounds, or even beat him, that will not enhance the marketability of a fighter so dangerous that nobody wants any part of him anyway, and so lightly recognized that every time you mention Williams, promoter Bob Arum sneers, "He can't sell a ticket."

Williams has only two knockouts in his past seven fights. Although he generates better punch stats than anybody, he needs to do something You Tube-able to make himself attractive to either Mayweather or Pacquiao and the pay-per-view accountants.

That is pressure, because the act of defeating Cintron has eluded all but one man.

That man, Antonio Margarto, did it twice, but Cintron is coming off a draw with Sergio Martinez, now the middleweight champ after he conquered Kelly Pavlik, and an impressive victory over Alfredo Angulo.

"Kermit shouldn't have fought Margarito the first time because he had been off for a year with a broken hand and they just threw him in there," said Ronnie Shields, who has trained Cintron in his past four victories. "The second time, I didn't see him throw a jab. I didn't see body shots. Kermit just tried to overpower him, and you don't do that to Margarito."

Cintron made a reputation with his large right hand and his uppercut. Now, he says, he's learned to move as well as stick.

"I need to be smart in the ring and be myself," Cintron said. "I used to be concerned with what the media said, with the stupid comments people make. People wanted me to knock everybody out. It's in my nature, of course, but it's not always gonna happen."

Williams is favored because he beat Martinez and Margarito, and because his nonstop offense has served as his best defense. But if somebody can slip inside that car-wash attack, there are some ribs there to be punished.

"Paul doesn't fight to his height," Cintron said. "And people always have the wrong game plan. They don't put pressure on him. They try to box him and move him around. What you have to do is step on his foot and move him back. It'll be interesting to see if he can take my punches. We'll throw the uppercut in there as well."

"Paul has a bigger name but Kermit is a better fighter," Shields said. "He just had to be more than Kermit The Knockout Guy. I train guys to fight 12 rounds. If you don't knock the guy out in the third round, then what? You got nine rounds left.

"But Kermit came to the sport late. He didn't fight in the amateurs as soon as Paul did. In comparison he's really a younger guy."

Even by the calendar, the 30-year-old Cintron is only three months older, even though his years have been harder.

When his mother died, 8-year-old Kermit and his family moved from Puerto Rico to Warminster, Pa., where he lived with his uncle, a former fighter named Ben Serrano. Cintron's father died five years later. Cintron became a noted high school wrestler and was 10th in a junior college wrestling tournament before he turned to boxing at age 19.

Now he can impress boxing's revitalized fan base. The Mayweather-Pacquiao dealings have stimulated the general appetite, even in the wake of Mayweather's repetitive romp over Shane Mosley.

"It was boring," Shields said. "Shane looked like he was 50 years old. But Floyd can do that. He's a great fighter."

Yeah, like 41-0 great. They say every fighter is a sucker for someone else's style. Where on earth can we find someone whose style trumps Mayweather's?

"Kermit Cintron," Shields said, with a smile. "Strong guy with a jab. That's what you need."

mwhicker@ocregister.com

Source: ocregister.com

Floyd 'n Pac to rack up £180m -- The Sun

By COLIN HART, The Sun

FANS worldwide are dying to find out if Floyd Mayweather Jnr or Manny Pacquiao is the premier pound-for-pound fighter of this generation.

If the two of them ever get to fight it out for that mythical yet symbolic title, it would result in a financial tsunami.

There is not the slightest doubt it would become the richest scrap in history by far.

Not since Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns had their classic confrontation 29 years ago has boxing cried out for two welterweights to settle an argument that has intense global interest.

But unfortunately, as things stand, there is only a 50-50 chance of a Mayweather-Pacquiao punch-up.

They were supposed to clash in March until negotiations broke down when Mayweather demanded Pacquiao take random blood tests to prove he was drug-free.

An incensed Pacquiao angrily rejected that proposal and filed a lawsuit against Mayweather claiming defamation at the insinuation he is taking performance-enhancing substances.

Floyd's stance on this issue was made clear after his landslide points victory over Sugar Shane Mosley last weekend.

Before leaving the Las Vegas ring, Mayweather said: "If Manny takes the test, we could make the fight happen. If he doesn't we don't have a fight."

Nothing will be resolved until after Monday's Philippine elections where Pacquiao is bidding to become a member of parliament.

But one of promoter Bob Arum's staff told me: "Bob and Manny are adamant they are not going to let a little s*** like Mayweather dictate terms to them.

"Manny is gagging for this fight because he can't wait to shut Mayweather's big mouth."

Projected figures for what would certainly be considered the fight of the 21st century are mind-boggling.

It makes the previous richest, the Mayweather - Oscar De La Hoya encounter, three years ago, seem like piggy bank money.

Then, the pay-per-view audience totalled 2.15million in the States, which raked in an unprecedented £80million. A live gate of 16,000 paid £12.5m.

Arum's idea is to take Pacquiao-Mayweather out of Las Vegas and stage it at the fabulous new Dallas Cowboys 100,000-seater stadium, which would make the live gate worth at least £30m.

It is not too far-fetched to forecast the pay-per-view would attract at least three million subscribers to send incomes soaring to £180m.

With those remarkable sums Money Mayweather and the Pac Man could be sharing a £70m fortune.

That is why it is hard to believe a compromise between the two bitter rivals won't be reached over drug testing and any location problems.

If not, we will be arguing for an eternity about who would have won.

Source: thesun.co.uk

Pacquiao and Mayweather-Two Warriors. One Path -- Eastside Boxing

By Joey Mills, Eastside Boxing

Floyd “Money” Mayweather stood proudly in the sweat-drenched ring, soaking up the praise, the applause and the post-match acclaim. Plaudits rained down on him from the sold-out crowd at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand arena, from post-match interviewer Larry Merchant and from his opponent, the legendary Sugar Shane Mosley. And yet there will have been a nagging voice in the ear of the self-proclaimed greatest of all time. That voice has a Filipino accent, and belongs to Manny Pacquiao.

Pacquiao and Mayweather are two claimants to the same crown, the almost-mythical “Pound for Pound Number One”.. No matter the majesty of the achievements of the two warriors, and the recent form of the pair has been majestic indeed, their legacies look destined to only be fulfilled by fighting each other.

Floyd, perhaps the brashest character in an industry of braggadocio, would tell you he doesn’t need Pacquiao. He would point to his 41 fights without defeat, his multiple world championships and his ring style that has seen scarcely a glove laid on him. Mayweather would also point to bigger challenges, at least in stature, that await him if he chooses to pursue them.

The 147-pound fighter has spoke of making a jump up to 160 to face the World Middleweight Champion Sergio Martinez. While this seems like quite the step-up, Floyd has proven he can cope with large opponents, as he did when winning a decision against Oscar De La Hoya at 154 pounds. Martinez also offers less of the finesse and craft that colours De La Hoya’s work, and Mayweather would be the favourite to win over the distance. However as impressive as claiming a middleweight championship would be, to many it is a victory that would ring hollow if it was attained at the expense of a Pacquiao fight.

It is strange that the two top combatants in boxing really don’t have that many options. With Mayweather having eradicated the one meaningful foe either of them could face, it has got to the point where surely all they can do is fight. This possibility has been precluded in the past by Floyd’s insistence on Olympic-style drug testing, and while this is a lofty request, Manny’s insistence that giving a tiny amount of blood will weaken him borders on the ridiculous. The Olympics have for centuries been the peak of physical competition, if there was any chance of the drug-testing hindering the ability of the athletes involved it would surely have come to light by now.

The only sensible thing for these two giants of the sport to do is to climb in a ring and settle arguably boxing’s most anticipated rivalry since Marvin Hagler and “Sugar” Ray Leonard. As ridiculous as it seems for two men who share 11 world championships between them, neither man’s legacy will be complete without this battle. And while both are understandably shy of losing, a creditable performance, even in a loss, would read better on their record than an avoidance of their defining foe.

Source: eastsideboxing.com

Mormeck decisions Oquendo -- FightNews

FightNews.com

Former two-time world cruiserweight champion Jean-Marc Mormeck (34-3, 22 KOs) of France defeated USBA and NABA heavyweight champion Fres Oquendo of Puerto Rico (32-5, 21 KOs) by unanimous decision. Official scores were 96-95, 96-95, 96-94. The bout was promoted by Mormeck’s J3M Management in association with Roy Jones, Jr.’s Square Ring Promotions and took place at the Halle Carpentier Arena in Paris, France.

Source: fightnews.com

Mayweather in charge after big PPV win -- Miami Herald

By Lyle Fitzsimmons, The Sports Network

About a minute into round two of Saturday night's mega-event in Las Vegas, anyone waiting years for Floyd Mayweather Jr. to face real adversity in a ring got their wish.

Courtesy of two booming right hands from Shane Mosley -- the second of which noticeably buckled his knees -- those with a notion the former five-division belt-holder was simply a combat-averse frontrunner who'd feasted on subpar competition had their day in in-ring court.

In Mosley, they said, a Hall of Famer who'd ruled two divisions before earning lineal championship status at welterweight, the caustic windbag known as "Money" would hardly be permitted to employ the shoot-move-grab techniques that had maddened 39 previous challengers.

It was a fight he never wanted, they insisted, and, presented with a similarly quick and more powerful foil, Mayweather would either be compelled to dig into an unexplored bag of tricks, or, more likely, exposed in its absence as a mouthy made-for-reality TV wannabe.

And at the moment the second right landed and momentarily lowered their stricken villain's backside toward the canvas, you could almost hear blissful clicking as keyboard soothsayers far and wide readied their pithy "See, I told you so" submissions.

But then, just as quickly... the moment passed.

Not only had Mayweather regained any lost equilibrium by round's end, he spent a majority of 30 remaining minutes beating an insistent drum both on the left side of Mosley's head and on any remaining logic that he's somehow unworthy of the title "best pound for pound."

He's a jerk. He's a punk. He's a loudmouth.

But he can fight as well as anyone. Foreign or domestic.

And as the evening faded, more people were acknowledging the fact.

Notably, as one-sided rounds piled up on cards belonging to Harold Lederman and three official ringside judges, some previous high-profile doubters -- at least in the forms of HBO blow-by-blow man Jim Lampley and analyst Emanuel Steward -- had begun the buy-in process.

Both Steward, who'd given Mosley a strong chance at an upset; and Lampley, who'd drawn notice for a wordy Pacquiao pep rally two months ago in Dallas; were complimentary enough of Mayweather to wonder aloud if a fight between the two would actually be in Manny's best competitive interest.

Larry Merchant stayed predictably in character as the crotchety old man, grilling the winner with a flawed "so, you think everyone else is on drugs" assertion before revising widespread pre-fight opinion to claim "everyone knew" Mosley had no chance to win in the first place.

Everyone, that is, not named Pacquiao, Bert Sugar, David Avila, Bobby Cassidy, Paul Williams, Kermit Cintron, David Haye and Angelo Dundee... among others.

Still, Merchant or no, the dismantling nature of Mayweather's triumph triggers a subtle shift in a public relations battle that initially surrounded failed negotiations for a March 13 get-together and has raged via media barbs since while the two camps salved wounds in divergent directions.

Because Mosley, a past user of performance enhancers, was willing to endure the irritation of stringent testing to prove himself clean, the question of "Why won't Manny agree to it?" is being asked louder than before, when it was drowned out by those with a "Why is Floyd asking for it?" viewpoint.

Additionally, now that Mayweather has overcome brief difficulty to thrash a legitimate title-holding welter, any stubborn posturing by Team Pac in pursuing other competitive options would similarly result in more momentum for the "Floyd is the real P4P champ" mindset.

Recent win streak and tremendous fan zeal aside, would anyone really be happy with the Filipino and his handlers if 147-pound retreads/offenders like Cotto or Margarito were suggested for traditionally-tested matches before a USADA- monitored meeting with Floyd?

Especially if Mayweather -- as he hinted early Sunday morning -- would really consider tasty prey like 154/160-pound champion Sergio Martinez if Manny and Co. chose not to toe the line?

While I haven't asked them all directly, the two I queried Monday leave me confident most swimmers in the "prospective Mayweather opponent" pool would gladly sign off on a few extra blood draws if it yielded the chance at extended 24/7 exposure and the accompanying windfalls it yields.

"It doesn't matter to me if we take the test or don't take the test, just make the fight," said Cintron, who'll face ex-welterweight claimant Williams this weekend at 154 pounds in California. "Whatever happens happens. Just make the fight."

Williams' trainer, George Peterson, agreed.

"Paul Williams is a fighter. He wants to fight," he said. "Regardless of the prerequisites, he wants to fight. This is a guy who wants to be considered the greatest."

Promoter Dan Goossen finished Peterson's statement with "I think that's a yes."

And ultimately, it's that reality that'll get the bigger fight made first.

Seeing potential for an immediate post-Mosley cash-in, cooler adviser heads will almost certainly prevail -- as was hinted on last week by Robert Morales, who quoted Freddie Roach saying "I'm sure negotiations can be made somewhere along the line" to bridge the testing gap that now exists.

Even promoter Bob Arum -- No. 1 contender to Merchant's irascible senior citizen crown and well-documented Floyd loather -- was said by Roach to have desired a Pacquiao match with Margarito "after Mayweather" rather than before.

Grudges notwithstanding and violated superstitions aside.

And even more so after Saturday night.

Simply, it's an event no businessman of Arum's acumen and no competitor of Pacquiao's prowess would walk away from based solely on shoddy principle or unreasonable voodoo, lest they be branded forever as "the ones who sabotaged the biggest fight in history."

It's my guess neither of them want that sort of title.

For boxing's sake... I hope they're both as smart as I think.

This week's title-fight schedule:

No fights scheduled.

Last week's picks: 2-1 Overall picks record: 188-68 (73.4 percent)

Lyle Fitzsimmons is an award-winning 21-year sports journalist, a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and a frequent contributor to sports radio talk shows throughout the U.S. E-mail him at fitzbitz@msn.com, follow him at twitter.com/fitzbitz and read more at fitzbitzonfights.wordpress.com.

Source: miamiherald.com

Khan: I can beat Pacquiao -- ESPN Star

ESPNStar.com

Amir Khan says he'll be ready Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr in a year's time.

A fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather - victorious over Shane Mosley last weekend - remains the match the whole of boxing wants to see.

And if that happens Khan hopes to put himself in line to face the winner.

Amir defends his WBA light-welterweight title in his Stateside debut against Paulie Malignaggi at Madison Square Garden on May 15.

And he says he has the belief he could beat Pacquiao - his stablemate and occasional sparring partner at Freddie Roach's Wild Card gym.

He told GQ magazine: "Yes, you have to believe that, and I do. In the Wild Card gym, all the guys there want to knock your head off, so you have to be mentally as well as physically prepared. Freddie Roach said it was like watching a cockfight when I sparred with Manny, because we were so quick."

When asked if he'll fight Pacquiao in the future, Khan responded: "I think so, yes. In 12 months from now. I will be ready for him - and Floyd Mayweather Jr."

If Pacquiao and Mayweather do finally agree on drug-testing prodedures and get it on inside the ring, Khan believes it's the Filipino ace who would prevail.

"That's a tough one, but I would say Manny. He's more aggressive and I think he would take Mayweather into an uncomfortable zone where he hasn't been for a very long time. Floyd likes to control a fight, but so does Manny, and he has a higher work rate."

Khan, full of confidence after recovering brilliantly from that knockout loss by Breidis Prescott, says timing his step up to fight the likes of Manny or Floyd is crucial.

He explained: "You have to know the best time to have these big fights in your career. If you look at Oscar De La Hoya, he fought all the best fighters when they were on the way downhill, and not at their best. I want to catch these guys when they have come off their peak. But I have to be careful because there might be a younger version of me coming up who wants to do exactly the same to me."

Source: espnstar.com

Pacquiao, Philippines: Fantastic fighter, fantastic country -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

MICHAEL MARLEY'S PHILIPPINE DIARY, PART 14:

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL IN SARANGANI WITH MANNY PACQUIAO

SARANGANI PROVINCE—I have one but one regret after one night in Manila and six nights in General Santos City and envirions.

I am only sorry I waited this long to visit this marvelous archipelago and to meet and greet its friendly, smiling citizens.

The weather great, the food is terrific and the ice cold San Miguels go down like mother's milk.

But it's the people, from the richest to the poorest, who make this country rich emotionally.

It is their radiant souls which put the sun in the national flag so to speak.

Manny Pacquiao is obviously a once in a lifetime fighter, this generation's answer to the fabled Roberto Duran only in a southpaw stance.

But Pacman is also a humble person who came from the most humble of beds.

One of Gensan's exclusive hotspots is Pacquiao pal Clem Asencio's "Wherelse Bar" hard by Royale Hotel. Pinoy journalists Edwin Espejo, Mindanao Today, and Hammering Hermie Rivera mix it up with WG Michael Marley and our gracious host, his lovely wife and some Pinoy pals.

His religious beliefs, his Catholicism, runs deep.

Manny should not be trying to meet up with The Pope, it should be the other way around.

Pacquiao is a noble fellow, if an imperfect person like us all, in a brutal business.

His wife, Jinkee, is beautiful, smart and gracious.

For the most part, the people around Pacman are a pleasure to deal with.

Mabuhay ka Manny! Mabuhay ka Pilipinas!

That's the proclamation, no make that the exclamation of your White Gorilla after just one week.

I've got about six days to go, including Monday's Election Day, and I feel like I did not give myself enough time to explore the island nation.

Btw, did I mention that they seem to genuinely like “kanos” meaning Americans here?

So next time I visit, I will really see Manila. Next time around, I will go to Bohol and to Boracay and maybe up to the strawberry patch in Baguio.

Hopefully, I will have my balut and meet psychic Madame Auring before I leave for Hong Kong en route back to New York.

Now I'd like to share some of the faces and places I've been so lucky to see...

Like Gen, MacArthur famously said, "I shall return!"

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com