BOXING NEWS

 

MANNY PACQUIAO: ON A ROLL AND WANTS DE LA HOYA

Negotiations continue to inch forward for a proposed superfight between Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao. That fight would take place December 6th and be held at the MGM Grande in Las Vegas.

KELLY PAVLIK AND BERNARD HOPKINS

Top Rank and Golden Boy are already working together on the upcoming Kelly Pavlik/Bernard Hopkins fight. That bout takes place October 18th.

 

JOE CALZAGHE

Meanwhile the date for the Joe Calzaghe/Roy Jones Jr. fight has officially been changed. The two will now fight November 8th at Madison Square Garden in New York. Calzaghe continues to maintain that will be the final fight of his undefeated career.

Finally, Vitali Klitschko returns to the ring after a four-year abscence. The older Klitschko brother takes on Samuel Peter for the WBC heavyweight championship October 11th. The fight will be broadcast on Showtime and is not pay-per-view.

 

VITALI KLITSCHKO

SUPERFIGHT? MANNY PACQUIAO VS OSCAR DE LA HOYA MAY HAPPEN IN DECEMBER

MANNY PACQUIAO

OSCAR DE LA HOYA

Oscar De La Hoya is the biggest pay-per-view draw in boxing history.

In an interview with the Philipino newspaper the Manila Bulletin, De La Hoya recently said he would be willing to fight popular pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao in December. According to De La Hoya,

 

 

 

“If Manny’s serious, I will consider doing this.”

 

Manny Pacquiao is most definitely serious. According to ESPN boxing guru Dan Rafael, Pacquiao is “hungry” for a fight against De La Hoya. The fight could bring Pacquiao a career payday-at least $20 million. De La Hoya was supposed to conclude his legendary career against Floyd Mayweather with another big paycheck. Those plans were thwarted by Mayweather’s sudden retirement.

A battle against Pacquiao may actually be more appealing and do bigger numbers than another Mayweather matchup. Although De La Hoya fought better than some expected, the first Mayweather/De La Hoya bout wasn’t exactly compelling television.

The proposed De La Hoya/Pacquiao fight would take place December 6th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It would mark De La Hoya’s final fight. According to Rafael, Pacquiao was looking for a quick payday versus Ricky Hatton, but he’s already scheduled to fight in November.

 

 

 

PACQUIAO WINS TITLE AT FOURTH WEIGHT CLASS

MANNY PACQUIAO KNOCKS OUT DAVID DIAZ IN THE NINTH ROUND

Manny Pacquiao made a big statement Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao made his case to be recognized as the best boxer in the world with an impressive ninth round knockout of David Diaz. With the win Pacquiao claims the WBC lightweight title. It is Pacquiao’s fifth title in four weight classes.

Diaz, the losing fighter, was certainly impressed. After the fight Diaz said,

 

“Did anybody get the number off that truck?” and “His punches are just too fast.”

 

The only thing disappointing about Pacquiao’s performance was the size of the crowd. An announced crowd of 8,350 was at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. After the fight Steve Cofield of Yahoo! Sports says promoter Bob Arum blamed George Bush for the fight’s poor attendance. Arum railed against the “Bush economy.”

Naturally, Arum’s chief rival in life and boxing, Don King, is an ardent Bush supporter.

 

POUND FOR POUND PACMAN STILL # 1

 

Awesome fight in Las Vegas last night!

In a split decision, Manny Pacquiao of the Phillipines held off Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico for the title at 130 pounds. Doug Fischer of Maxboxing.com called the fight, “thrilling, bloody, and brutal” and labled it “another classic.” 

Despite being knocked down in the third round, Marquez felt he won the fight. The judges scored it 115-112 for Pacquiao, 115-112 for Marquez, and 114-113 for Pacquiao. Marquez expressed disapproval of the result saying that “…I fought a great fight and still feel like I am the champ.” Pacquiao for his part said that “I don’t think so, this business is over,”

Promoter, Bob Arum, downplayed a possible Pacquiao/Marquez  rematch. Next up for Pacman-a likely matchup with David Diaz at 135 lbs.