Lucky Hometown

Whenever there’s a Pacquiao fight or a big boxing event of national importance to be shown, our Barangay officials make sure that their constituents never get to suffer watching the ridiculously numerous commercials shown on free TV. They set-up three big television screens at the covered courts and show the live feed for FREE for all to see. The last time they did it was when Pacquiao battled Marco Antonio Barrera for a rematch. There was free arroz caldo served too because at that time, election was fast approaching. I certainly hope that this will also be the scenario. We have a new barangay captain and she`s a lady. I`m not sure if she has the same passion for boxing like our previous chairman. However, it looks as though they`ll national pride will set in and they`ll eventually set-up  the wide screens  for another excitement-filled match.

Is Manny Overweight?

This report has been causing great concern over Pinoy fans over Manny Pacquiao’s weight. The distinguished writer from this famous daily would seem to be out-of-character if he were to publish anything unverified and inaccurate.  Is Manny still eating a lot despite the fact that fight time is just three weeks away? He better not put that extra serving of rice on his plate.

No Solar, JackTV and Basketball TV on SkyCable

My favourite cable channels are gone and were replaced by not-so-good ones. I don’t know if it’s their fault but the Digibox proved to be a disaster as the signal is lost every few minutes or so. How can I enjoy the laughs and wrestling on JackTV, the dunks on Basketball TV and most importantly, the UFC and championship boxing on Solar Sports?

Fortunately, there is a way to get around all this and it’s cheaper by a few hundred bucks. I’ll be calling up Global Destiny very, very soon and ask them to hook us up to them. There’ll be no more fluctuating signals and more of sports and entertainment. I read from the news that since Sky no longer has Solar they will therefore not show the Olympics, the Philippine 9-ball Open, UFC, and most importantly, the Pacquiao-Marquez II fight. For sports aficionados, the switch is really a good move.

Do you want Pacquiao to fight Ricky Hatton?

There has been talk that Britain’s premier boxer, Ricky “Hitman” Hatton (43-1-0, 31 KOs) is being groomed to fight Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao late this year.  This is going to be a very, very big fight for both men and is going to generate a lot of PPV buys here and abroad.  Both boxers have gained international prominence in the fight business with Hatton solidifying it recently with a showdown with the world’s best boxer, Floyd Mayweather Jr.

It will be a fight of the year candidate for sure but is this really the correct fight path for Manny? Let me just offer my two centavos’ worth here. Hatton will not be an easy fight for Manny. Hatton has fought at 140 lbs in almost all of his fights. Manny is currently at 130 and to jump to 10 more pounds by the end of the year may be too much to ask from him.  We all know the Pinoy has a good chin but Manny has never felt the punch of a legitimate light welterweight like Hatton. Thinking of him receiving good shots from Hatton makes me cringe. You can also look at it from Hatton’s perspective. Hatton has been taking punches from men his size and lost only once. Manny is the strongest super featherweight in the world but there’s a limit to his power when he goes on to a different weight class. Now I don’t want to sound like I don’t believe in Manny’s capabilities as a boxer. I’m just saying that if he wants to fight Hatton, next year might be the time to do it. Let him play around in the lightweight division and fight Juan and David Diaz first. Let’s not rush things. Manny is our national treasure and to ask him too much in too little time is not the way to do it. 

I was wrong

I have never been happier to be wrong in my predictions. I have said before that Top Rank and Golden Boy would never pick Juan Manuel Marquez to be Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent on March 15. David Diaz is the businessman’s choice because Diaz, according to experts, is somewhat beatable and is at a higher weight division (lightweight) than where Pacquiao currently is (super featherweight). The general rule is, thought is doesn’t always apply, is that the higher weight class pays much more. I am happy because the score will now finally be settled between these two fighters. Marquez is the only Mexican that Pacquiao has fought who didn’t get beaten. The draw has been on the minds of many fight fans  finally will now have closure come the ides of March. Banner by MannyPacquiao.ph