Edwin Valero is Explosive!

A Knockout Artist's Performance

I knew this would happen! Edwin Valero keeping up his clean record, again, had an explosive and astonishing performance as he had defeated the Mexican, Antonio DeMarco, via TKO in the 9th round thus retaining the World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight title. He had proved himself to be the better fighter as he had totally took control of the fight; he had dominated DeMarco despite having a cut on his face. Valero, of Venezuela, is just sensational elevating his career stats to 27W-0L-27KOs. Awesome!

Being outboxed and outclassed by the Venezuelan, DeMarco was exhausted and beaten at the end of the 9th round that prompted the referee to stop the fight. He had dropped his career fight record to 23W-2L-1D with 17KOs.

Valero to fight Pacquiao

Who doesn't want to fight the pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao? His name is like the number-one most wanted fighter on the list. Fight the Pacman for money, for honor, for bragging rights.

Edwin Valero said he would like to fight Pacquiao. Now that would be another must-see fight if it will happen. Valero would definitely would go up the weights if he wants the Filipino boxer to be with him in a ring. Being in his prime, I believe Valero can keep his strength and power if ever he would be in welterweight.

Pacquiao-Valero in the future? I would say "Yes" for it in a poll.

Valero-DeMarco: fights and weights

This is one good fight that I want to watch! Knockout artist and undefeated lightweight champion Edwin "Dinamita" Valero (26W-0L-26KO) of Venezuela will be fighting interim champion Antonio DeMarco (23W-1L-1D-17KO) of Mexico on their much anticipated world title showdown on Saturday night in Monterrey, Mexico.

Coming from a TKO win against Hector Velazquez last December 2009, Valero will try to keep his perfect record as he will get pumped-up again to showcase his KO skills. Though he will be fighting on DeMarco's backyard, Dinamita would the power advantage. After this fight I would like to see Valero climb up the weights for the bigger guys.


Complete weights:
Edwin Valero 135 vs. Antonio DeMarco 135
Luis Carlos Abregu 147 vs. Richard Gutierrez 147
Marvin Quintero 136 vs. Luis Gonzalez 132
Michel Rosales 148 vs. Orlando Escobar 148
Michael Medina 154 vs. Roberto Valenzuela 154
Jose Luis Zertuche 163 vs. Jesus Arras 161
Arely Mucino 114 vs. Anahi Torres 110
Juan Pablo Lopez 141 vs. Leonardo Resendiz 148
Carlos Perez 108 vs. Moises Calleros 108

Maynard defeats Diaz

UFC lightweight contender Gray Maynard kept his unbeaten streak in tact by defeating The Ultimate Fighter 5 winner Nate Diaz by split decision on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. Judges’ scorecards read 29-28 Diaz, 30-27 Maynard and 29-28 Maynard.

Lightweight Evan Dunham impressively submitted The Ultimate Fighter 8 winner Efrain Escudero in the final round of an exciting lightweight contest. The tap came at 1:59.

Battling back from tremendous adversity in the first round Aaron “A-Train” Simpson used his heavy hands and tremendous wrestling to defeat “Filthy” Tom Lawlor via split decision. Judges’ scorecards read 29-28 in favor of Lawlor and 29-28 twice in favor of Simpson.

In his first Octagon appearance of 2010, The Ultimate Fighter 7 winner Amir Sadollah soundly defeated “Bad” Brad Blackburn over three rounds en route to winning a unanimous decision. Judges’ scorecards all read the same, 30-27 in favor of Amir Sadollah.

Rory MacDonald finished MMA veteran Mike “The Joker” Guymon in the first round with a tight armbar at 4:27.

Middleweight Gerald Harris defeated newcomer John Salter via TKO in the third round after landing a vicious series of punches and elbows from the top position.

In a middleweight match up, Nick Catone defeated The Ultimate Fighter alum Jesse Forbes via split decision. After three rounds of action highlighted by numerous exchanges, all three judges’ scorecards read the same, 29-28, twice in favor of Catone giving him the split decision victory.

Lightweight Rafael dos Anjos outworked Kyle Bradley over three rounds to earn a unanimous decision victory. All three judges’ scorecards read the same, 30-27.

After three grueling rounds, lightweights Thiago Tavares and Nik Lentz battled to an unpopular majority draw. Scorecards read 29-27, and 28-28 twice.

Middleweight star and former reality star Chris “The Crippler” Leben defeated Jay Silva via unanimous decision. Scorecards all read the same, 30-27.

Rick Story received the judges’ nod over opponent Jesse Lennox after three rounds. Scores read 30-27 twice and 29-28 in favor of Story.

UFC Fight Night™: Maynard vs Diaz

The Maynard-Diaz main-event for the UFC Fight Night™ Live on 01/11/2010 may not be a high-profile one but it is a very important fight under the lightweight division as to know who could have the bragging rights to have a possible match-up for lightweight champion BJ "Prodigy" Penn. As we all know, just recently, Penn demolished Diego Sanchez on their UFC 107 championship match. In addition, The Prodigy had already defeated three more top contenders in Joe Stevenson, Sean Sherk and Kenny Florian.

Gray Maynard’s nickname “The Bully” is a picture perfect way to describe his fighting style. With strength that would make Hercules jealous, Maynard bullies his opponents around the cage with his powerful wrestling base and overwhelming ground control.

Recently, the All-American wrestler has tightened up his boxing ability along with his submission defense, making “The Bully” even more difficult to deal with than before.

If there’s one thing that can be learned from this sport, it's that there is never a sure-thing for any fight. No matter how much a fighter is favored to win, anyone can be beat on any given night. It’s that type of unpredictability that makes MMA so much fun to watch.

It’s mind-boggling that everyone is looking past Nate Diaz in this fight. Diaz has already submitted Maynard before so he very well could do the same thing again. His long reach-advantage frustrated Maynard in the first fight; and while Maynard has developed his striking over the years, the long reach of Diaz will still be a problem for him in the octagon.

The return of Julio Diaz!

Former lightweight champion Julio Diaz (35-4, 26 KOs) will spend Halloween night inside a ring as he takes on the grizzled veteran Fernando Trejo (30-14-4, 18 KOs) on Friday, Oct. 31, from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino televised on TeleFutura (5 p.m. PT). The ten-round lightweight bout is promoted by Top Rank in association with Sycuan Ringside Promotions of San Diego, Calif. One year removed from his lightweight unification loss to Juan Diaz, Julio plans on making a statement on All Hallows’ Eve. “I think I belong with the best in the lightweight division,” said Diaz, who lives and trains out of Palm Springs, Calif. “My fight against Juan [Diaz] wasn’t the real Julio. You’ll see the real Julio on Halloween night.”

WBC clarifies lightweight situation!

Armando Santa Cruz of the United States will fight Antonio Pitalúa of Mexico tonight in Monterrey, México, in a WBC lightweight final elimination bout to determine the division’s mandatory challenger. The WBC has accepted to sanction a WBC lightweight interim championship due to the fact that WBC lightweight world champion Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines is committed to fight Oscar de la Hoya of the United States on December 6, and will not defend his title for a long time. The winner of Santa Cruz vs. Pitalúa fight will face WBC number one ranked lightweight contender Edwin Valero of Venezuela in the interim championship fight by the end of the year.

Marquez KOd Casamayor

Juan Manuel Marquez (49-4-1, 36 KOs) made a successful move to the lightweight division with an impressive eleventh round KO of Joel Casamayor (36-4-1, 22 KOs) on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Early rounds were close, but by round five Marquez had begun to bust up the face of Casamayor, who was bleeding from the nose and from a cut over the right eye. Marquez punches were much sharper. Marquez floored Casamayor twice in the eleventh and referee Tony Weeks stopped it after the second knockdown. Time was 2:55.

Guzman-Campbell will not push thru!

The lightweight title fight between Nate Campbell and Joan Guzman is now officially off. Guzman is said to not be well enough to fight due to a health situation attributed to attempting to make weight. The commission doctor confirmed that Guzman was severely dehydrated and unable to go. Another source said Guzman was back and forth all day today before finally making the decision himself not to fight.

Pacquiao-De La Hoya, the $100M fight

It's on!!!

The Golden Boy will fight the boxing's pound-for-pound king, the Pacman, in an event that could be the biggest boxing match this year.

It will be De La Hoya’s farewell fight and Pacquiao’s biggest ever.

The news:

Barring last-minute hitches, Oscar De La Hoya, boxing’s box office superstar in the past decade, will take on Manny Pacquiao, boxing’s hottest commodity today, in what promises to be a $100-million welterweight bout on Dec. 6 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“I have agreed in principle to accept the Dec. 6 fight against Oscar De La Hoya. This will be the toughest test in my boxing career because of the reach and height advantage of my esteemed opponent, aside from his great boxing skills,” Pacquiao said.

“This fight, however, will not be a walk in the park for Oscar De La Hoya. The boxing fans will see the same fire and intensity they have witnessed in my previous fights.”

Pacquiao, currently the World Boxing Council’s lightweight king, brimmed with confidence.

“I will frustrate the desire of Oscar De La Hoya to avenge the defeats of the great Mexican boxers who lost to me,” the Filipino ring idol said. “I am dedicating this forthcoming fight to my countrymen and all the boxing fans all over the world.”

“Don’t worry,” Pacquiao said with a laugh over the phone when asked what he thought of his opponent, an American of Mexican descent, who is also known as boxing’s “Golden Boy.”

At 5-foot-10 inches, De La Hoya stands four inches taller than Pacquiao and has a 6-inch reach advantage over the Filipino.

But at 29, Pacquiao is six years younger.

Money talks

The AP’s sources said De La Hoya’s long-stalled talks with Pacquiao were recently revived when the two sides found an acceptable way to split the possible $100 million in revenue from what’s certain to be boxing’s most lucrative fight since De La Hoya’s split-decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year.

The negotiations hit a snag last week.

The fighters’ camps argued over the split of the purse, with De La Hoya angling for 70 percent while Pacquiao pursued a 40-percent cut. The expected fight receipts would include a projected 2-million-plus pay-per-view buys, over which the two camps also reportedly wrangled.

How the impasse was resolved wasn’t immediately clear, but Inquirer sources said both camps had either agreed on a 65-35 deal, or on a 70-30 split, which De La Hoya had dangled to include a side deal that would sweeten the pot for the Filipino.

$15M for Pacquiao

It hasn’t been an easy match to make. Both boxers must make physical sacrifices for the 66.5-kilogram (147-pound) bout, with De La Hoya dropping down to welterweight for the first time in seven years while Pacquiao bulks up to the heaviest weight of his career by far.

At any rate, observers believe the fight could easily rival the blockbuster encounter between De La Hoya and Mayweather last year which reportedly grossed $120 million, including the pay-per-view buys which generated a record $2.4 million.

If the fight earns $100 million, Pacquiao stands to get his biggest paycheck ever—estimated at $15 million.

Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach also said a victory would open the floodgates for even bigger fights for the Filipino icon.

The two boxers earlier agreed to fight at a catch weight of 147 pounds and use eight-ounce gloves.

Size advantage

De La Hoya would be banking on his size but he will have to shed pounds and thus give up some strength to make the 147-pound weight. The 1992 Barcelona Olympic lightweight gold medalist fought heaviest at 160 lb against Felix Sturm for the WBO middleweight title.

The last time De La Hoya (39-5-0, 30 KOs) fought as a welterweight was in 2001. In his last fight, against Steve Forbes last May, he weighed in at 150 lb but entered the ring at 154 lb.

De La Hoya has won six titles in six different weight classes and has taken on practically every fighter who has donned the mythical best pound-for-pound crown.

However, he lost to the four biggest names he has encountered—Shane Mosley twice, Felix Trinidad, Bernard Hopkins and Mayweather Jr.

Roach said speed and youth would be the weapons of Pacquiao (47-3-2, 35 KOs), who started his career at 106 lb. He has won four titles in four different categories, snatching the lightweight title from David Diaz last June.

Last fight

De La Hoya repeatedly has said he won’t fight again after this year.

After a proposed rematch with Mayweather in September was scuttled by Mayweather’s retirement, De La Hoya has struggled to find a suitable opponent for his final bout before turning his full attention to his burgeoning promotions company and other business interests.

De La Hoya now thinks he has his man in Pacquiao, widely considered the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter. Pacquiao hasn’t fought since stopping Diaz in his first fight as a lightweight.

Pacquiao will have to move up to welterweight to fight De La Hoya, a surprising weight surge for a fighter who began his career as a minimum weight boxer.

Hand speed

Roach has said his fighter won’t have trouble maintaining his peerless hand speed at that weight, since Pacquiao routinely puts on 4 kilos (10 pounds) or more in the 24 hours between weighing in for his bouts and actually stepping in the ring.

De La Hoya beat Forbes by unanimous decision in his most recent fight, but has won just three of his six bouts over the past five years.

He considered Miguel Cotto and Sergio Mora for his farewell fight, but realized the most lucrative challenge would be Pacquiao, the Filipino hero who has won eight straight fights since early 2005.


Credits to Inquirer.

Marquez faces Casamayor in the lightweight

Juan Manuel Marquez added weight to go up to the lightweight division. Is he chasing Manny Pacquiao and score a possible third fight? Or is he just going with the flow for greatness?

JMM will be facing Joel"El Cepillo" Casamayor, one of the hard-hitting and most talented fighter in the lightweight division today. Well, I can say that he is also one dirty fighter.

Marquez is coming off one of the best fights of 2008, when he lost a close 12-round split decision against current pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao in March. On the other hand, Casamayor is coming off an explosive victory against Michael Katsidis via a 10th-round TKO last March 22. He had handed Katsidis his first loss after 44 fights.

The event is called the "Challenge" and it will be presented by Golden Boy Promotions, in association with Romanza Boxing. HBO Pay Per View will televise the event. It will take place at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas on September 13 of this year. Both Marquez, 48-4-1 (35 KOs), and Casamayor, 36-3-1 (22 KOs) fight under the Golden Boy Promotions banner.

Credits to Fightnews.

140 is Too Early For Pacquiao

He came, he fought, he will conquer!

The victory of Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao over David Diaz for the WBC Lightweight crown had rocked and shocked the world. There goes the pound-for-pound king!

Will the Pacman go up to 140 and face Ricky "Hitman" Hatton or will he stay on 135 and face the bests in the lightweight division?

Bob Arum claimed that Manny Pacquiao will defend his new WBC Lightweight belt this year and will eye a possible Hatton fight next year. Well, how good would that be?

I think Pacquiao is not yet completely ready enough to move up weights, not yet. There are also a lot of great boxers in the lightweight division that he can face and beat! Pacman is already the best pound-for-pound fighter in the boxing world; he must prove that he could reign in the 135 division before taking a step up. The great body-puncher Hatton will be there and he might wait. The display of superb fighting against Diaz had surely gain some attention in the current division he is in; maybe some of the fighters in 130 will move up also to chase and face him. In the 135 class, there is Joan Guzman, Joel Casamayor and the "Galaxy Warrior" Nate Campbell whom Pacquiao can face and have a good and exciting fight. The knockout artist Edwin Valero from 130 might also go up just for the Pacman. Anything will go for Manny; he is a great boxer, a fighter, a warrior! Anything will happen but I think it's too early for him to enter the 140 division. Savor the victorious moment first Manny, you've done it and I believe you can do it again.

Congratulations!

The TV, the Radio, and the Pacman!

The best pound-for-pound fighter has won again!

Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao dethroned David Diaz via 9th round KO in their WBC Lightweight title fight. This would be Pacquiao's fourth weight division world title and that makes him the first asian to do so. I'm sure all Pacquiao's fans are happy and rejoicing for the victory of the great boxer. Pacquiao had again a display of a brilliant fight with quickness and power. The Pacman was much quicker and had the power as he outpunched and outboxed the naturally bigger David Diaz. The victory of Manny is also a victory for the entire Philippines.

Yesterday, me and my girlfriend agreed to buy a new TV for the display of the old one that we are using isn't already clear. So we went to the appliance department store of a mall near us and we did bought a slim-flat LCD-designed television. We had set it up last night and just by using antenna we had a clear display of the two local channels; GMA and ABS-CBN. "Wow, we can watch the boxing tommorow clearly!"

This morning we were waiting for GMA's feed of the Lethal Combination boxing event in Las Vegas hoping that it would start before I will go to work. To my dismay, as usual, this would be again a very delayed telecast of the event. I departed to work without even having a glance on any of the undercard fights. Arrgghh!

As I step out of the building I noticed the security guard busy listening to his transistor radio. I then knew from him that the broadcast is live, real time, about what's going on in Mandalay Bay. It was already Humberto Soto and Francisco Lorenzo squaring-off for the interim version of Manny Pacquiao's WBC 130lb belt. Oh it was a good thing I brought my cellphone capable of FM radio transmission. "I will just listen to the fight when I'm in the office," i said to myself as I was on the way.

I arrived here in the office and setup my computer and afterwards opened the radio. Soto was disqualified?! Another dirty fight! I asked my office mate to turn on the Bravia (Cool!) and change the channel to Solar Sports. The feed is just about to start?! On the radio they're already preparing for the main event. Whatta!

So me and my colleagues decided to listen to the radio instead, back to basics mehn! Pacquiao was leading the scorecards until round 9 came. Pacquiao floored Diaz! Pacquiao floored Diaz! It's all over! Everybody's jumping and shouting here in the office. The Pacman did it again! Well I can say that the radio is still usefull. A big thanks also the Fightnews.com for their fast and near to real-time updates.

Grab a beer and shout, "Mabuhay si Pacquiao!"