Muhammad Ali picks Pacquiao to win

{The following article is first published in ABS-CBNNews}

“The Greatest” has spoken and he picked Manny Pacquiao to win over Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The legendary Muhammad Ali is siding with the eight-division champion from the Philippines, according to his daughter Rasheda Ali.

“My dad is Team Pacquiao all the way!" Rasheda Ali told TMZ. "My dad really likes Manny. He's a huge fan of his."

She said Ali and Pacquiao have been friends for years. The two met when the Filipino superstar attended Ali's 70th birthday party in 2012.

According to Rasheda, her father is most impressed about how Pacquiao conducts himself outside the ring.

"He knows Manny's a great fighter ... but it's more about what he does outside the ring. He's such a charitable person," said Rasheda.

Ironically, it is Mayweather who has been emulating Ali’s flamboyant personality.

"My dad stood for things. Mayweather ... I don't think there's a comparison," said Rasheda.

Ali would have wanted to watch the super fight live, but the 73-year-old boxing legend is suffering from Parkinson’s disease and won’t be able to handle the stress and the crowds at the MGM Grand Arena.

Rasheda said her father will have to settle watching the fight on pay-per-view.

"There's no question he's going to order it. It takes my dad way back to when he was fighting," she said.

Ali’s other daughter Laila Ali, however, earlier predicted that Mayweather will beat Pacquiao.

Laila, a retired boxer, said the talent of the undefeated American will be too much for the Filipino superstar.

"I'll probably go with Mayweather because he is a skilled fighter. He is a superior talent," Laila told Boxing Scene. "Pacquiao is a great fighter, but I always go with skills over just being a brawler like Pacquiao.”

SEE ALSO: Enjoy watching the live streaming fight of Pacquiao and Mayweather on May 2 (ET).

{Image source}

The mega-bout between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. will be broadcast on free TV simultaneously on ABS-CBN, GMA 7 and TV5.

{The following article is first published in ABS-CBN News.}

For the first time in Philippine television history, three competing broadcast networks will unite to air the highly anticipated mega-fight between Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao and unbeaten American Floyd Mayweather Jr.

This was announced in a joint press conference held by the three networks together with Solar Sports Thursday at Solaire.

"Maraming, maraming salamat sa GMA 7, ABS-CBN, TV5 at sa Solar Sports sa pagkakaisa nila para maipakita (at) maipalabas sa ating mga kababayan ang fight na ito," Pacquiao, who is training in Los Angeles, said via video call.

"Natutuwa ako sa kanilang pagkakaisa na ang hinahangad ay para sa ating mga kababayan. Salamat," he added.

Dino Laurena, head of ABS-CBN Integrated Sports, said the unprecedented partnership among the networks will give Filipino fans the chance to watch the most important fight of Pacquiao's career.

Emmanuel Pacquiao said a few words during Solar Entertainment Corporation's presser earlier today. See what the Pacman has to say regarding Abs-Cbn, GMA Network, and TV5's "unity" in bringing the #PacFloyd fight to as many Filipinos in the PHL as possible.

Posted by philstar.com on Thursday, March 26, 2015

"Everybody will have an opportunity to watch Manny Pacquiao lay his claim that he is better than Mayweather," said Laurena.

Also present at the press conference was Sports5 chief Chot Reyes, who said: "We're thankful that we are going to be a part of it. We can't wait to show everyone when Manny beats Mayweather."

The Pacquiao-Mayweather fight will be aired on free television on a slightly delayed basis, while Solar Sports will air the bout on cable. The fight will also be broadcast live on radio via GMA's dzBB.

"The crime rate will be zero," said Laurena, "because everybody will be looking at screens that this aggregation of networks will provide."

All parties involved credited Pacquiao in making the deal happen, with Solar Entertainment chief executive Wilson Tieng saying it was the "Pacman" who wanted to unify the networks in showing his bout.

The deal took three weeks to finalize, Tieng also said.

"The good thing is magkakasama na lahat ng networks, as it was originally desired by Manny Pacquiao," Laurena also said. "Congressman Pacquiao really wanted everyone in the Philippines to watch this."

SM Cinemas will also show the bout in over 100 theaters nationwide, with tickets prices ranging from P600 to P1,000. SM will start selling tickets on March 27.

Sky Cable and Cignal are the official pay-per-view providers.

The fight will take place on May 3, Philippine time.

For those who want to watch it for free live online, click here.

Mike Tyson 'says: Manny Pacquiao will Hit & Hurt Floyd Mayweather more than Ever Before

Former heavyweight champion of the world MIke Tyson has already made his take about the Pacquiao and Mayweather fight on May 2.

Watch the live fight online for free by clicking the hyperlink below:

http://mannypacquiao-floydmayweather-stream.blogspot.com/2015/02/pacquiao-vs-mayweather-live-stream-free.html

He said that Manny will win because Mayweather hadn't fought any opponent that threw more than a hundred punches in every round.

Iron Mike said that it is very difficult for Mayweather to beat Manny because Manny will be punching all over the G*d damn place. Excuse the word. Bur that's what he said.

This time let us see and hear what he said on ESPN's First Take by Skip Bayless and Stephen Smith. Watch the video below.

How Floyd Mayweather Jr Can Beat Manny Pacquiao, According To Bernard Hopkins

{The article below is written by Rachel Corpuz of International Business Times.}

Bernard Hopkins is the latest to weigh in on the much-talked about fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao. The 50-year-old former light heavyweight titlist recently shared his thoughts about what Mayweather needs to do to beat the Filipino eight-division world champion.

In an article by CBS Sports, Hopkins claimed that if Mayweather gets past the first few rounds, the undefeated American fighter can certainly beat the Filipino. Hopkins sees that Pacquiao will try to devastate Mayweather with his trademark boxing style in the first six rounds or less.

Mayweather has proven in some of his past fights that he can easily make adjustments. Mayweather had made adjustments when he fought Shane Mosley, Oscar De La Hoya and Victor Ortiz. Hopkins reckons that Mayweather must be able to do the same thing and must learn how to adjust to the Filipino in their mega-buck showdown in Las Vegas on Cinco de Mayo weekend.

According to Hopkins, it is going to be an easy fight for Mayweather if he can adjust as far as distance is concerned. Mayweather will not only have to adjust his striking distance but he should also be able to prevent a threat when Pacquiao rushes at him. Hopkins also believes Mayweather should trade more punches with Pacquiao to win.

“Floyd has to produce more than he has before, in terms of punching,” Hopkins said. “He’s not fighting Hatton - Pacquiao can bring it all night so Floyd’s jab and counterpunching will be the key.”

Like many, Hopkins puts his money on Mayweather against the underdog Pacquiao. However, Hopkins said that winning the bout would not be a ludicrously easy task for Mayweather. He said that Mayweather can win as well as be beaten up and lose his 47-fight winning streak. As for his last words, Hopkins said Mayweather will beat Pacquiao by controversial decision.

Pacquiao has lost twice in his last five fights including his dramatic knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012. He has not scored a knockout since he let go of Alex Ariza, who is now with Mayweather’s camp. With less than a couple of months until fight date, both camps are shifting to high gears in their training camps as they continue their preparations for the superfight.

As the bout draws closer, ESPN reported that the superfight is projected to break all revenue records in the history of boxing. With ticket prices ranging from $1500 to $10,000, the fight will reportedly pull in an estimated $74 million at the gate. It will break the gate record from Mayweather’s fight with Canelo Alvarez, which amounted to $20 million.

Manny Pacquiao's speed you've never thought as fast as this one

Here's a speed of Manny Pacquiao you've never thought as fast as this one.

If you see his speed five years ago, it is exactly the same as it is now. Watch the video below.



Video courtesy of FightHub.

Mayweather declines $5-million fine for failed drug test

{The following article is written by Dan Rafael of ESPN.com}

Manny Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz told ESPN.com on Thursday that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has declined to agree to terms for a penalty that would cost either man $5 million in the event of a failed drug test before or after their May 2 megafight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

"Today we were informed that Mayweather turned down the request," Koncz said. "Manny had requested that there would be a reciprocal fine of $5 million for a failed drug test."

Koncz said even though the agreements for the fight are signed, as is a separate agreement for the United States Anti-Doping Agency to oversee random blood and urine testing for the fight, they were still discussing terms for a substantial fine in the event of a dirty test. But Koncz said Mayweather attorney Jeremiah Reynolds sent a letter to Pacquiao attorney David Moroso on Thursday declining to enter into any agreements on a financial penalty for a failed drug test.

Manny Pacquiao's adviser says Floyd Mayweather Jr. has declined a $5 million penalty for either fighter in the event of a failed drug test before or after their May 2 megafight in Las Vegas.
Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions and Mayweather's close adviser, said Koncz should have had those terms negotiated into the main contract.

"Michael Koncz is an idiot, and Manny Pacquiao should be ashamed to have him as his representative, in my opinion," Ellerbe told ESPN.com. "It's obvious he didn't read the contract. Why would he have his fighter sign something he was not happy with? The deal was negotiated up and down by his promoter [Bob Arum of Top Rank] on behalf of Manny with Floyd and Mayweather Promotions, and it's been well documented in the media for quite some time.

"If this moron didn't convey his fighter's wishes when the negotiation was going on, that's their problem. This is a lame-ass attempt to generate publicity."

Drug testing, of course, has been front and center throughout the five-plus-year saga to get boxing's most anticipated fight signed. When the sides first negotiated the bout in late 2009 and early 2010, they had agreed to all aspects of the deal except for the drug-testing protocol. Mayweather insisted on random, Olympic-style blood and urine testing, Pacquiao declined to agree to the specific form of drug testing and the deal fell apart.

Not long after that, Pacquiao sued Mayweather for defamation and slander for saying that he had used performance-enhancing drugs, which Pacquiao has always denied. The case was ultimately settled out of court with Mayweather paying Pacquiao an undisclosed seven-figure sum.

"They have made derogatory statements for years about Manny [supposedly using PEDs], and now we challenged them by asking for the $5 million fine, and they refused to do it. It's disheartening," Koncz said.

Mayweather has required himself and his opponents to be tested by USADA for all of his bouts since 2010, while Pacquiao has sometimes used the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association to randomly test him and his opponent in recent years.

For the May 2 welterweight unification bout, expected to be the richest fight in boxing history, Pacquiao agreed to Mayweather's demand for USADA testing, and they signed contracts with the agency about three weeks ago.

When asked why Pacquiao didn't negotiate the fine into the master fight agreement, Koncz said he was concerned with getting the fight signed and did not want to do anything to jeopardize very delicate negotiations. Besides, he said, both camps knew they would have to sign a separate agreement with USADA to outline the specific terms of the testing.

"We were still discussing the penalty. We've been going back and forth about it for the past three or four weeks. We hoped that we could sign that agreement around the same time as the agreement with USADA," Koncz said. "[The Mayweather camp] is saying, 'Why wasn't it brought up for the main contract?' Why does it have to be brought up for the main contract? Everything in the main contract pertains to the co-promotion and the promoters. You can argue all day if [a penalty agreement] should be with the USADA contract or the main contract. What do you have to lose or gain in that argument? It's a simple thing -- if you fail, you pay the other guy $5 million. The issue is simple -- are you willing to agree to a penalty of $5 million? The drug-testing terms and any penalty, that's between the fighters not the promoters.

"We have no recourse. We can't force Floyd into something. But we gave them an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is and they wouldn't. I won't speculate why. To me there is no legitimate argument. We know we're clean. That's why Manny said he would pay $5 million if he tested dirty. Manny was surprised [Mayweather refused]. He can't figure out why they wouldn't agree to it when Floyd is always talking about cleaning up the sport of boxing."

Added Ellerbe: "If Manny Pacquiao tested positive it is going to cost him a whole lot more than $5 million. All parties signed a contract agreeing to every term. Where has this idiot Koncz been? It sounds like he didn't read the documents they signed. No wonder why his fighter is always confused. It sounds like that idiot is suggesting there's a $5 million price tag if Manny comes up positive. That sounds suspicious. All I know is we welcome random testing as we always have."

Koncz said Pacquiao, who is training at trainer Freddie Roach's Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California, has so far submitted to two random tests by USADA.

Ellerbe said he was unsure how many times Mayweather has been tested but said he has seen the specimen collectors around Mayweather's Las Vegas gym "three or four times" since he began training for the fight.

Mayweather Sr: Pacquiao vulnerable to getting knocked out

{The following article is written by Chris Williams: of BoxingNews24}

Trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr thinks that WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao will be vulnerable to getting knocked out when he gets inside the ring with WBA/WBC 147 pound champion Floyd Mayweather Jr (47-0, 26 KOs) in their fight on 5/2.

Floyd Sr points out correctly that Pacquiao was knocked unconscious by Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012, and because of that, Pacquiao could be vulnerable to getting knocked out again if he gets caught with a big shot by Mayweather Jr on May 2nd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“Of course, any time somebody’s been knocked ice cold like that, man, of course they can get knocked out again – quick, fast and in a hurry,” Floyd Sr said via Mlive.com.

The question is will Pacquiao be able to take the big shots that Mayweather nails him with on May 2nd? While Mayweather isn’t as big a puncher as someone like Marquez, he hits with close enough power to knockout someone who may not have the same punch resistance that he once had. What makes Mayweather even more dangerous is that he’s got a lot of hand speed, so he’s going to be catching Pacquiao with punches that he doesn’t see coming.

When you combine Pacquiao’s sloppy, overly aggressive style of fighting with that of Mayweather’s fast hands, it could lead to Pacquiao getting hit on the button by a shot that he doesn’t see coming. It doesn’t matter that Mayweather isn’t the most furious puncher in the welterweight division; if he catches Pacquiao with a good shot, he’s going to knock him out.

“I heard about what Freddie said about Roger’s better,” Floyd Sr said. “He can say that all he wants to say it. You want me to tell you what Freddie wants? He wants Roger in there because he knows I’m the man.”

I believe that that Roach wants Roger in there as the No.1 trainer for Mayweather mainly because Mayweather is a lot more aggressive as a fighter with Roger training him than he is with Floyd Sr. Roger has always been a guy who has encouraged Mayweather to mix it up with his opponents.

This could be due to Roger having been a dangerous knockout artist during his own pro career, so he wants to see a lot of offense. But with Floyd Sr, he’s focused more on the defensive side of the game. He doesn’t want to see his son Mayweather Jr take punishment in his fights. He wants him to win without getting hit.

What’s interesting about this is that Floyd Sr was a very aggressive fighter during his own pro career, and he wasn’t afraid to mix it up with his opposition, which led to him getting hit a lot, and taking losses when he stepped it up against better opposition during his career. But as a trainer, Floyd Sr is a completely different type of guy. He doesn’t want his fighters to get hit.

Roach obviously knows that Pacquiao stands a better chance if Mayweather is fighting aggressively compared to when he’s fighting defensively; hence we’re seeing Roach bad mouthing Floyd Sr while building up Roger Mayweather. It appears that Roach is trying to implant an idea into the head of Mayweather Jr that Roger is the better fighter in order for Mayweather to replace Floyd Sr before the May 2nd fight.

I don’t think it’s going to work, because it’s so transparent. There’s no way that Mayweather is going to replace his father with Roger at this point, because Floyd Sr has done a great job of bringing back Mayweather’s old style of fighting in which he was a more defensive fighter. Mayweather didn’t quite follow the scrip for his first fight against Marcos Maidana last year, but in his second fight, he was back on board with what his father wanted him to do in fighting defensively and winning without getting hit a lot.

“He [Mayweather] doesn’t care about the fans at all,” Roach said. He has to exchange more because his legs won’t take him out of the way. When he has to exchange with Pacquiao, I think that’s good for us. That’s why I think we’re going to win this fight.”

There it is. Roach is giving away what he’s really after in trying to create turbulence between Floyd Sr and Roger. Roach needs Mayweather to exchange with Pacquiao in order for him to have a chance of beating Mayweather. That’s just the way it is. The 36-year-old Pacquiao is too short, and his reach too limited for him to be able to fight Mayweather if he fights defensively and moves around the ring.

Roach is smart enough to realize this on his own. That’s why he’s hoping and praying that Mayweather fights Pacquiao in a toe-to-toe manner by standing perfectly still like Pacquiao’s last three opponents have done. That’s the only way Pacquiao can win, because he doesn’t have the reach to connect against a moving target.

How many punches can Manny throw in one minute while shadowboxing?

{Updated for corrections}

A very interesting question. I had always thought about it. I've imagined it, but never have actually counted or estimated it. Never researched about it.

There is no count as exactly how many punches Manny Pacquiao can throw while shadowboxing. Nobody ever tried to count.

So let's try to count, even though shadowboxing is faster than punching the opponent in the ring in a real fight. Even faster than punching a heavy bag. It depends how much a boxer will throw punches. So the stamina will determine the amount of punches a boxer can throw, whether in shadowboxing, punching a bag, or in a real fight.

I tried my best. I counted it based on this video below.



Take note that this video is his recent training video as of this date, his preparation for the May 2 fight. Imagine the speed he had 5 or 6 years ago. So, lets just try to base his speed now, his speed today.

I did my best, for maybe ten to 12 times repeating the video on the part where he's shadowboxing.

From the video I started at :16 seconds until :23 seconds, where he stopped. What I have come up was 50. 50 punches in 7 seconds. Could be a little less or a little more than 50. But that's the closest I can get.

It is really hard to count the punches since his hand speed is so fast you can't see the punches throwing. Even if you base it on his yell or the kiai (used in martial arts for short yell when attacking an opponent), it is very difficult to count. I wish I had the video on slow motion, but I can only play it in YouTube since it's not downloadable.

So that's I've come up. Manny Pacquiao can punch 50 in 7 seconds.

Considering Manny's gas is so tremendous, let us assume he can shadowbox in a minute. That will be 450 punches in one minute if he can maintain the phase. I've divided 60 seconds by 7 is equal to 8.5714. Let's round off to 8. 8 x 7 is 56. So let's cut off the 4 seconds that could have been 60 seconds, to make it a minute. Let's assume he stopped at 56 seconds.

So, for 50 punches in every 7 seconds, that would be 450 punches in 56 seconds.

What about you? Have you counted it? How much you've got?

{The article above is written by Nonoy Avellanosa, a Manny PAcquiao fanatic and a professional blogger. Follow him on Twitter.}

Guillermo Rigondeaux to spar Manny Pacquiao for Mayweather fight!

Latest report says that Gold Medalist Cuban boxer Guillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz is going to spar with Manny PAcquiao in the upcoming fight on May 2 against FLoyd Mayweather Jr. Watch the video bleow.

Latest Manny Pacquiao Sparring Videos for Mayweather Fight on May 2

Here is one latest sparring video of Manny Pacquiao in preparation for the upcoming fight on May 2 against FLoyd Mayweather Jr.

Enjoy!

Manny Pacquiao Sparring Videos

Here's a collection of Manny Pacquiao videos in the past. No new videos yet have been uploaded showing him sparring with partners for preparation for the upcoming May 2 fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

It's just so fun to watch these past videos, and see what would be the outcome come May 2. Here are the videos: