You are here: Home / Archives for Sports News

Colonial Golf Tournament 2010 from 27; Mickelson May Replace Tiger Woods As No. 1

May 27, 2010 By

TIGER WOODS remains No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings for the 259th week in a row, and for the 601th week in his career.  World top ranker Tiger Woods of USA have 10.60 points while world number 2 Phil Mickelson also from USA having 9.62 points.

The Masters champion Phil Mickelson needs only to win to become the World’s No.1 ranked player with a victory at the Colonial this week and to become the 13th player to occupy No. 1 since McCormack, the late founder of IMG, devised the ranking system in 1986.

Tiger Woods along with his 14 majors, 82 official victories and more than $100 million in earnings worldwide. Whereas, Mickelson has never been No. 1 at anything in a career that has been second to one. Despite his 40 worldwide victories and four majors, he has never won the money list, player of the year.

Last year, defending champion Phil Mickelson withdrew from Colonial after his wife, Amy, was diagnosed with breast cancer, barely a week before the commencing of the tournament. CJ: thomosp, Merinews

Filed Under: Recreation & Sports Tagged With:

Pacquiao Mulls Politics But Open to Mayweather Bout

March 25, 2010 By

Manny Pacquiao is still open to fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. but is waiting for the challenge to come from the other side and for promoters to iron out a row over drug testing.

“I came this far in my boxing career without Mayweather, so I see no need to call him out,” Pacquiao told reporters Monday. “He needs me to bolster his career.

Manny Pacquiao reacts upon spotting someone from the crowd as he carries his daughter Princess upon arrival to another hero’s welcome early Monday in Manila.

“I am open to him fighting me anytime he wants to.”

Pacquiao returned to thousands of cheering fans in Manila to celebrate his latest victory over Joshua Clottey in Dallas. He’ll now focus on a bid to enter politics, campaigning for a seat in the Philippines’ House of Representatives in the May 10 national elections.

Mayweather’s insistence on Olympic-style testing was the primary reason negotiations fell through in January for a megafight against Pacquiao. Mayweather wanted blood tests up to 14 days before the fight, while Pacquiao claims he feels weak after drawing blood and would not agree to testing within 24 days.

The negotiations quickly deteriorated, and Pacquiao signed to fight Clottey while Mayweather turned his attention to welterweight champion Shane Mosley.

Mayweather will face Mosley in Las Vegas on May 1 after both agreed to undergo an unlimited number of unannounced blood and urine tests before and after the fight.

“He should win against Mosley. If not, Mosley and I will fight,” Pacquiao said.

Pacquiao is now concentrating on the national elections. His 2007 campaign fell short, but this time Pacquiao said he is better prepared.

“I have prepared for my political plans even before I faced Clottey last week,” he said. “I am ready to campaign.”

The two-month campaign starts later this week. Apart from running for his own seat in southern Sarangani province, Pacquiao is also campaigning for presidential aspirant Manny Villar, a senator and the richest politician in the country.

Villar raised Pacquiao’s hand after welcoming him at a hotel Monday, before the boxer headed for a church service and a courtesy call in the presidential palace.

Asked if he plans to retire from boxing if he wins at the election, the 31-year-old Pacquiao said he was undecided.

“My own mother asked me to stop boxing. We’ll talk about it,” he said. Wall Street Journal

Filed Under: Health & Fitness, Recreation & Sports Tagged With: ,

Pacquiao Readies For Big Stage

March 3, 2010 By

Manny Pacquiao ran roughshod through four sparring partners this week, and boxing’s pound-for-pound king plans to churn through just as many today.

He’s been peppering the speed bag, pounding the heavy bag, and doing enough running to make Usain Bolt fall over in a heap. Under the watchful eye of trainer Freddie Roach, Pacquiao is putting himself in position to knock out Joshua Clottey when they fight March 13 in Dallas.

“Manny is getting better all the time,’’ Roach marveled after a training session yesterday at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles. “I know Clottey is a big, strong guy. I respect him, he’s a great fighter. But Manny I feel is going to overwhelm him with his speed and combinations.’’

If it sounds simple, that’s because Pacquiao has little trouble when fights are decided in the ring. Things aren’t so easy when the fight is contested with words.

That continues to be the case with Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., after their proposed blockbuster fell through because of drug testing protocol. Mayweather and his relatives have accused Pacquiao of using performance-enhancing drugs, either directly or by innuendo, while the Filipino champion has balked at taking a blood test within 14 days of a fight.

Pacquiao will instead fight Clottey at Cowboys Stadium, while Mayweather is headed for a showdown May 1 against welterweight champion Shane Mosley. Along with the verbal jabs, Pacquiao and Mayweather can also fight over who generates bigger pay-per-view numbers.

“We’re not happy with his remarks and Manny really wants to fight him in the future because of the remarks he made,’’ Roach said. “Manny, sometimes when he’s shadowboxing, he shows me how Mayweather fights and how he’ll take care of the problem, and I’ve never seen that before.’’

Promoter Bob Arum still believes that Mayweather never wanted to fight Pacquiao, and his strict adherence to blood testing – which is far more extensive than urine analysis required by the Nevada Athletic Commission – was his way of getting out of it.

“We don’t have to be geniuses to know what they were trying to do. They were trying to get into Manny’s head so he’d be discombobulated,’’ Arum said. “Mayweather against Manny is a no-contest, no contest. Manny would wipe the ring with Floyd Mayweather.’’

If that’s ever to happen, he’ll first have to wipe the ring with Clottey. By Dave Skretta, The Boston Globe

Filed Under: Recreation & Sports Tagged With:

Floyd Mayweather Jr Confident Of Beating Manny Pacquiao

December 16, 2009 By

floyd mayweather jr. confident of beating manny pacquiao_Floyd Mayweather Jr says he will knock out Manny Pacquiao if and when boxing’s two biggest stars meet in 2010.

The American and the Philippines star, regarded as the world’s two best pound-for-pound boxers, are finalising plans for a welterweight meeting on 13 March.

And unbeaten Mayweather, 32, said: “He’s been knocked out before and he’s taken losses. I’ll be victorious.”

The Staples Center in Los Angeles, home of the NBA’s Lakers, is the latest venue to bid for the fight.

Promoters of both fighters were due to visit the new Dallas Cowboys stadium on Wednesday, but Mayweather’s camp pulled out at the last minute.

It is likely Mayweather, who lives and trains in Las Vegas, would prefer the fight to be in his home town, and the MGM Grand casino would now appear to be the favourite to host the bout.

Representatives of the New Orleans Superdome are also said to be interested in hosting arguably the biggest fight since the turn of the century.

But any venue not in Las Vegas would have to offer more money because Nevada gives fighters tax breaks that other states do not.

Both Cowboy Stadium and the New Orleans Superdome can accommodate up to 100,000 spectators, while the MGM Grand seats about 16,000.

The latter venue staged both boxers’ last fights – Filipino Pacquiao became a five-weight world champion following his WBO welterweight title win over Miguel Cotto in November, while Las Vegas-based Mayweather beat Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez in September.

Pacquiao’s victory over Cotto completed an amazing 12 months in which he defeated ring legend Oscar de la Hoya as well as Britain’s Ricky Hatton.

With the fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao expecting to surpass the previous record of $18.4m (£11,36m) for gate receipts, which was for Mayweather’s bout with Oscar De La Hoya in 2007, promoters Bob Arum and Richard Schaefer are looking to maximise all possible revenues.

And Mayweather remains confident of blotting Pacquaio’s record of 50 victories from 55 fights.

“Pacquiao’s a good fighter but I’ve been around the sport a long time and I’ve dominated boxing for around 15 years now,” the American said on HBO Television’s Joe Buck Live chat show.

“No-one has defeated me yet so we’ll have to see.

“The thing is, I don’t want the fans to be really shocked by what will happen when we do happen to meet up because it’s not going to be anything new.”

Mayweather also admitted he has won and lost huge sums gambling on NFL matches in Las Vegas.

“Two weeks ago I won like a million [dollars], that was across a week of games, Monday night, Sunday and Thursday,” he added.

“I didn’t lose a million but I lost a couple of hundred thousand. Then I tried to get some ‘get back’ and lost some more money on Brett Favre [Minnesota Vikings quarter-back].” BBC News

Filed Under: News & Media Tagged With: ,

Filipino Boxer Pacquiao Sets Sights On Record Seventh Title

November 12, 2009 By

pacquiao_Manny Pacquiao will be looking to make history Saturday night when he takes on Miguel Cotto in a welterweight title fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The 29-year-old Filipino superstar, who made a grand entrance along with his opponent at the scene of the fight Tuesday afternoon to begin final preparations, hopes to become the first boxer to win titles in seven weight divisions. He has held title belts from 112 pounds to 140 pounds.

Saturday’s bout (HBO pay-per-view, 9:30 p.m. ET) is considered a welterweight fight, even though it will be fought at a catch weight of 145 pounds, 2 pounds below the welterweight limit.

Cotto, however, has no intention of allowing himself to become Pacquiao’s seventh victim. It is Cotto’s WBO belt they’re fighting for, and the three-time champion, known for his powerful body punching, has held a title every year since 2004.

“If he thinks he is going to win seven titles in seven weight divisions now, he has picked the wrong moment, the wrong fighter and the wrong opponent,” Cotto said in a recent conference call. “If he thinks he is going to win the seventh title against Miguel Cotto, he is very wrong.”

Yet despite the fact that Cotto, also 29, from Puerto Rico, is a natural welterweight, and Pacquiao started his career in 1995 at 108 pounds, Pacquiao comes in as a heavy favorite. He’s listed at -350, meaning you need to place $350 to win $100.

Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs) is coming off a spectacular second-round knockout of Briton Ricky Hatton last May, while Cotto (34-1, 27 KOs) fought through a bad cut over his eye to win a split decision against African Joshua Clottey a month later.

The only loss of Cotto’s career came in a brutal beating at the hands of Antonio Margarito in July 2008. But there’s a cloud over Margarito’s victory since he was discovered before his next fight to have hardened plaster in his gloves, was subsequently KO’d by Shane Mosley, and then suspended from fighting in the USA for at least a year.

Cotto is undeterred by the odds against him.

“I don’t know anything about the betting business,” he said. “I am just here to try and bring my best every day … and I am working to beat Manny. If the people bet for Manny, it’s all right with me. All the people that are betting for Manny Pacquiao are not going to change the result of this fight.”

Pacquiao’s success against Mexican fighters has been well-documented. He was tagged as “The Mexican Assassin” after beating the best Mexican fighters of his era, including legends Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez.

Cotto, however, says all that success means nothing against a fighter from Puerto Rico, which has its own proud boxing history, from world champions Wilfredo Benitez, Esteban DeJesus and Wilfredo Gomez to Carlos Ortiz and Felix “Tito” Trinidad.

“Different fighters and different styles, they had their moments with him,” Cotto said of Pacquiao’s Mexican opponents.

“It is going to be totally different with me. I have prepared myself for anything and everything that he brings. No matter who talks, or whoever says he is going to win, I know I am very confident that I am going to come out with a victory that night.” By Bob Velin, USA Today

Filed Under: News & Media, Recreation & Sports Tagged With: ,

Manny By KO

November 7, 2009 By

manny pacquiao_Freddie Roach is so confident Manny Pacquiao can knock out Miguel Cotto in their 12-round welterweight slugfest on Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand that he’s putting a total bet of $3,000 on the table.  He’s actually spreading out the wager, staking $1,000 on a first round knockout and $1,000 each on a Cotto falling down on either the ninth or tenth round.
“I put a thousand ($1,000) on the first round. I put a thousand on nine and ten,” said Roach point blank after supervising Pacquiao’s sparring session Tuesday when he went eight rounds with Urbano Antillon and Rey Beltran at the Wild Card gym here.
Roach never doubted Pacquiao is also going to demolish Cotto the way he did previously against Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya, Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Eric Morakes, David Diaz, to name a few.

And while he initially sees it as a decision win for the Filipino boxing champion, Roach has since made up his stand and predicted it to be by knockout. He even boldly declared that Pacquiao, who later in the night appeared in the popular show Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, can take the reigning WBO welterweight title holder inside one round.“He (Cotto) gets hit early and if we hurt him early, we’re going to take him down,” said Roach of their fight plan.

Roach even mentioned Cotto’s penchant of getting peeved when hit early on, proof of how thoroughly he has studied the Puerto Rican ever since the fight was formally sealed in July. “If Cotto gets hit early, there will be fouls and there will be low blows. These will be premeditated, so I don’t think the referee have to wait a second time (before disqualifying),” said the three-time Trainer of the Year.

When showed of a semi-naked Cotto whose well-chiseled body bore a lot of tattoos, Roach vows to add more of them. “He likes tattoos, so we’re going to put more tattoos, this time on his face,” he said smiling. Further reinforcing Roach’s belief on a Pacquiao win is the way the 30-year- old pound-for-pound king is conducting himself in training camp, now on its final week.

The 49-year old Roach said training is back to normal for Pacquiao following the series of distractions that hounded the camp early on when it was held in Manila. “I’m happy with everything and he’s where I want him to be,” said Roach, who bared the Filipino will spar six more rounds on Thursday and finally four on Saturday before heading to Las Vegas two days later.

But Roach said Pacquiao should be wise enough to avoid engaging Cotto on the ropes, saying “our fight is in the middle of the ring.”“We have to do a good job of staying out of the ropes. Foot speed and hand speed, then pick him apart,” said Roach.

Unlike him who doesn’t want to engage Cotto should the champion goes beyond 145 pounds, Roach said Pacquiao is more than willing to fight him at any weight, at any time. “Manny doesn’t give a sh*t about the weight. Manny will fight (Cotto) at any weight. Manny will fight King Kong,” he said.  By Gerry N. Ramos, Journal Online

Filed Under: Recreation & Sports Tagged With: ,

Mayweather Cannot Train With Rib-Cartilage Injury

June 29, 2009 By

mayweather_Floyd Mayweather Jr. has damaged cartilage in his ribs and will stop training for his comeback fight until a doctor says he can resume. Richard Schaefer, chief executive of Golden Boy Promotions, told The Associated Press on Monday that Mayweather has been in tremendous pain since suffering the injury during training on Thursday. “He tried to work through it. He really did not want to postpone the fight, but it came to the point where he could barely sit,” Schaefer said. “He could not train, he could not move and there was really not much of a choice.”

Mayweather(39-0, 25 KOs) was scheduled to fight Juan Manuel Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KOs) on July 18 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Schaefer said both fighters have committed to rescheduling and a September date has been mentioned. But promoters and the fighters won’t agree to a date without the OK of doctors.

Mayweather’s ribs are not broken, and the former five-division champ plans to see a doctor this week, Schaefer said. He said he did not know exactly how Mayweather damaged his cartilage. “Right now he cannot go and train, he cannot work out, he cannot run, he cannot hit the heavy bag and the speed bags and jump ropes and all these kinds of things,” Schaefer said. “He definitely will need some additional training but again, Floyd is such an amazing athlete– and really on top of his game — that I think it will be relatively easy for him to get right back into it.”

Cartilage connects the ribs to the sternum, and can tear away after direct blows to the chest, other trauma or particularly violent coughs and sneezes. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo injured his rib cartilage during the team’s season ending game at Philadelphia last year, a disastrous 44-6 loss in which Romo fumbled, was sacked and benched. Coach Wade Phillips said a flare-up of the pain caused Romo to collapse in the shower afterward.

Mayweather and Marquez were scheduled to fight at a catch-weight of about 143 pounds, eight more than Marquez has ever fought and the lightest weight for Mayweather since 2005. Mayweather hasn’t boxed since knocking out Ricky Hatton in December 2007. He was slated to fight a rematch with Oscar De La Hoya but instead abruptly retired last June, while still considered the sport’s pound-for-pound king.

Now, many believe Manny Pacquiao holds that title after he beat De La Hoya and Hatton in fewer rounds than Mayweather. It’s possible that Mayweather and Pacquiao will eventually meet in the ring if Mayweather beats Marquez first.

But promoter Bob Arum also wants to set up a Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight in November, the earliest Cotto can get back into the ring after the welterweight’s win over Joshua Clottey on Saturday. Cotto won by decision but left Madison Square Garden in New York with a big gash over his left eye that required six stitches.

Filed Under: News & Media, Recreation & Sports Tagged With: