About Me:
Bobby M. Reyes is a FOX Sports Blogger who edits also a Filipino-American web site called the www.mabuhayradio.com. Bobby is the founder and prime mover of the Filipino-American Community Night at the Dodgers Stadium, which will have its third event in th
About Me:
Bobby M. Reyes is a FOX Sports Blogger who edits also a Filipino-American web site called the www.mabuhayradio.com. Bobby is the founder and prime mover of the Filipino-American Community Night at the Dodgers Stadium, which will have its third event in th
About Me:
Bobby M. Reyes is a FOX Sports Blogger who edits also a Filipino-American web site called the www.mabuhayradio.com. Bobby is the founder and prime mover of the Filipino-American Community Night at the Dodgers Stadium, which will have its third event in th
Bill Dwyre, a much-respected sports columnist of the Los AngelesTimes, says in the April 30th issue of the country's premiere newspaper in the second-biggest media market that "Boxing is the world's only honestly dishonest sport. It is the University of Con Artists, the Academy of the Slick. It is the worm of organized athletics. Cut off a piece of it here, another there, and it still keeps wiggling."
To read Mr. Dwyre's front-page column in the Sports Section of the Los Angeles Times, please click on this hyperlink: DWYRE: Boxing is 'honestly dishonest'
Bill Dwyre has come up with a classic column on boxing. Excerpts of his instant column are reprinted at the end of this article.
In the meantime, reports say that there is not much excitement among Filipino Americans in buying the Pacquiao-Hatton bout's pay-per-view package of $49.95 per pop. One reason is that the handlers of both boxers have been saying that the bout will end in the second or third round. Not too-many folks will pay $49.95 for six-to-nine minutes of coverage when most television-news stations would already be re-broadcasting the bout's ending by the time home viewers would be finishing their second or third bottle of beer.
* Editor's Note: To read our report about the last Pacquiao bout, please click on this hyperlink:
Even in the much-heralded Pacquiao-De la Hoya fight, in spite of many pay-per-view buys from Filipino-American households, the total sales did not reach the projected 1.25-million customers.
H ere are predictions from Filipino-American boxing enthusiasts about the Pacquiao-Hatton bout:
* Perhaps L.A. Times columnist Bill Dwyre is right: The Pacquiao-Hatton fight tonight is simply "the free flow of fun and cash." As Mr. Dwyre wrote last Thursday, the "Paquiao-Hatton (and boxing as well) fight is a 'con job.'" My prediction? Hatton by KO in 4 rounds but if the fight goes the distance, it's Pacquiao by a split decision. The boxing gods will love a second fight for all the money it will generate for them and for Las Vegas. (As posted in the www.FoxSports.com at 8:33 p.m., May 2, 2009.)
* Here is fearless forecast of Bill Dwyre, Los Angeles Times sports columnist, as published in his column in today's (
QUOTE. Expect Hatton to charge out early and try to establish a barge-and-bully pace. Expect lots of quick flurries from him, followed by some grabbing and wrestling, followed by some punches out of breaks that he initiates before the referee can, making them legal.
And expect that, if that works, Pacquiao could be in trouble, even get caught and put down early, or at best have to fight a different kind of fight than his trainer, Freddie Roach, wants.
If it doesn't work, if Pacquiao scores well in the early rounds and is the one establishing the rhythm of the fight, as he did against De La Hoya, then look for a frustrated Hatton to eventually walk into a left hook and come to rest somewhere near the same turnbuckle where Mayweather Jr. left him.
Do not expect this one to be jab-and-dance, poke-and-run, let the judges decide. That could happen, but it would disappoint fans from opposite ends of the earth.
* "It will be Manny Pacquiao by KO or TKO--- 9th or 10th round." - Don Azarias of Chicago, Illinois
* "Pacquiao had problems with Juan Marquez and Hatton is 3 X stronger than Marquez. I guess if the Pacquiao who beat De la Hoya is the one who shows up and not the one who fought Marquez, then yeah Pacquiao might beat Hatton. With the probability of head butts because Hatton is a slugger I think it is Pacquiao who may get cut up. Anyway my prediction: Hatton by TKO 9th or 10th round." - Dido Miranda
* "Though I don't think it'll be an easy fight at all, I think Pacquiao is too fast and though he may not even really hurt Hatton, he'll get in enough punches to cut him up. Hatton talks a lot about how he's better defensively, but the only proof of that was Malignaggi who is a very-soft puncher. Fighting someone who is fast and a hard puncher will be a problem for him, not unlike the Mayweather fight, though admittedly, Mayweather is much bigger than Pacquiao naturally. I'm predicting Pacquiao wins by TKO on cuts in the 10th round." - Lando David
* Here are more details about Mr. Miranda's prediction: "I predict Hatton by TKO 9th or 10th round. I think he'd be able to back up Pacquiao and Manny cannot fight backing up. Look, if Pacquiao wins I will subscribe to the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world title they have bestowed upon him." - Dido Miranda
Yes, the De la Hoya-Pacquiao Fight Was a Farce. It Was Only About Money and Gullible Fans Paid for It
Yes, I was right all the way when I said that "Real fans know that tonight's bout between boxing legend Oscar de la Hoya and current best pound-for-pound boxer Manny Pacquiao is a mismatch. It pits a great (sic) big boxer against a great small fighter. Unless the fight is fixed or there is a lucky punch thrown by the smaller fighter, the big boxer wins 99.99% of the time. So, why watch it - even on Pay-TV? It may be the biggest farce in the history of boxing in Las Vegas, Nevada." Yes, it was a mismatch for the wrong reason. Boxing experts and sports columnists never expected to see an old De la Hoya would show up, instead of the De la Hoya of old, the Oscar that was a legend in boxing, who used to show class and guts. It was indeed the biggest farce of a bout, as Mr. De la Hoya chose even not to answer the bell for the ninth round.
The ring physician did not stop the fight but Mr. De la Hoya and his handlers thought that he had enough of a humiliation. The boxing legend was not man enough to fight for another round and give it all he had - and even lose by knockout, which would have prevented people from saying that at the end, Mr. De la Hoya showed that he was a gutless fighter.
It was indeed a farce of a fight and the bout's main promoter, Mr. De la Joya's Golden Boy Promotions (GBP), should not have let it happen. The promoters knew that their fighter was not fit to wage a decent fight. Many bettors lost tidy sums of money betting in Las Vegas' casinos that Mr. De la Hoya had even half of his prowess and skills - which would probably have been enough to defeat Mr. Pacquiao or at least engage him in a respectable fight.
According to FoxSports.com, Mr. "Pacquiao dominated his bigger and more-famous opponent from the opening bell Saturday night, giving De La Hoya a beating and closing his left eye before De La Hoya declined to come out of his corner after the eighth round. The fight was so lopsided and De La Hoya looked so inept that it could spell the end for boxing's richest and most-marketable star."
The FoxSports.com said also that Mr. "Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36 knockouts) came up two weight classes to fight for his biggest purse ever, while De La Hoya dropped down to meet him at 147 pounds. Though De La Hoya (39-6) towered over Pacquiao and had a big reach advantage over him, Pacquiao had no trouble getting inside what few jabs De La Hoya threw to land his shots.
"Pacquiao was credited with landing 224 of 585 punches to just 83 of 402 for De La Hoya.
"'We knew we had him after the first round,' Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach said. 'He had no legs, he was hesitant and he was shot.'"
Here is another proof that the farce of a fight had an abnormality that should merit an investigation by the boxing officials of Nevada. Normally a boxer's weight increases after the official weigh-in, as he could now eat and drink regularly. But according also to FoxSports.com, Mr. De la Hoya's weight even went down after the weigh-in: "De La Hoya not only dropped down to fight for the first time at 147 pounds in seven years, but actually came into the ring unofficially weighing less than Pacquiao. Both fighters got on scales in their dressing rooms and De La Hoya was 147 while Pacquiao was 148 and a half." Mr. Pacquiao weighed 142 pounds at the weigh-in.
As my earlier article said, the bout was only about the money. FoxSports.com confirmed that Mr. "Pacquiao earned his biggest purse ever, a guaranteed $11 million, while (Mr.) De La Hoya was expected to make at least twice that in a fight by the time all the pay-per-view revenues are totaled up."
Perhaps the boxing authorities of the Great State of Nevada should investigate this fight and confiscate all the boxers' earnings from the farce of a fight and donate them to charity. # # #
The De la Hoya-Pacquiao Fight Is a Farce. It Is Only About Money and Gullible Fans Are Paying For It
Real fans know that tonight's bout between boxing legend Oscar de la Hoya and current best pound-for-pound boxer Manny Pacquiao is a mismatch. It pits a great big boxer against a great small fighter. Unless the fight is fixed or there is a lucky punch thrown by the smaller fighter, the big boxer wins 99.99% of the time. So, why watch it - even on Pay-TV? It may be the biggest farce in the history of boxing in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Look at these numbers in the Tale of the Tape: Mr. De la Hoya has the following advantages: four inches (height), five inches (reach) 10 to 12 pounds (weight, after the weigh-in; and three lbs. at the weigh-in) and experience (10 world titles against five).
Many boxing pundits say that the De la Hoya-Pacquiao bout is all about money. It may actually be the ultimate payback for Manny Pacquia's reneging on his signed contract with Mr. De la Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) a few years ago. Mr. Pacquiao chose to renege on his contract with the GBP and sign with Top Rank as his promoter. There was a civil suit filed by the GBP against Mr. Pacquiao and Top Rank. The case was amicably settled, with the terms not made public. Could the De la Hoya-Pacquiao bout tonight be one of the paybacks for the GBP? Your educated guess is as good as this columnist's. After all, Mr. Pacquiao is guaranteed a minimum of $11-million while Mr. De la Hoya gets at least $20-million plus their percentages of the Pay-TV revenues that can even double their purses (or triple that of Mr. De la Hoya's).
Probably they will fight to a draw, so as to stage a return bout that will bring in more money than their respective promoters ever imagined . . . even in their wildest dreams. And Las Vegas needs more super fights to lift it out of its economic stupor.
Here are two other similar views about the bout tonight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas:
DidoSphere
by Dido of the Philippines: De La Hoya Vs. Pacquiao
Although I am rooting for Pacquiao my boxing savvy tells me he is going to lose. This is a classic good little man vs. good big man fight and the good little man always loses. This has been proven over and over again throughout boxing history. Clay vs. Paterson, Flash Elorde vs. Carlos Ortiz, and most recently De la Hoya vs. Hopkins. When you consider that De la Hoya is a natural super welter weight and has in fact fought Bernard Hopkins who was a light heavyweight at various times in his career, it is hard to conceive that a natural junior lightweight like Pacquaio can beat him. (Snipped)
PREDICTION: De la Hoya by KO/TKO, 8th round.
Our columnist Jesse Jose has his take on the bout: ON PACMAN VS. DE LA HOYA:
There's a lot of buzz going in the Fil-Am community all over America about the Pacquiao/De La Hoya fight tonight in Las Vegas. Some say that Pacquiao will win the fight. Others say that Pacquiao will lose.
Here's my take on it: De la Hoya will make HOYA out of Pacquiao, that's for sure. Ain't no way a little man, like "Pacman," as he's called by fans in the Philippines and by Filipinos world-wide, can defeat a much bigger man, like Hoya. All the odds are against the Pacman: weight, height, experience and class. I think this is merely an EGO and MINDLESS thing for Pacquiao to be fighting this fight. His many easy wins in the past against pipitsugin fighters have gone into his head, and he begun to believe he's now the INVINCIBLE Filipino version of Superman . . . (Snipped)
To read this column in its entirety, please go to the www.mabuhayradio.com or click on this hyperlink:
Rob Neyer said, "It's often said that baseball is life, or is like life, or that going to a baseball game is like going to church. Piffle. Baseball is like baseball, and that's plenty good enough because nothing else is quite like baseball." (Mr. Neyer is an ESPN.com baseball columnist and co-author of "The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers.")
"Amen," therefore, to the above-quoted statement of Rob Neyer. If so, then we can argue that a baseball stadium is not merely a field of dreams but it is the sporting world's equivalent of a cathedral.
But essentially, a cathedral or a church or even a simple chapel-as the living embodiment of a religion-is actually more for the sinners than for the saints. Yes, even Jesus Christ came down to earth to redeem mankind, especially the many sinful human beings. Ergo, baseball's equivalent of the cathedral can also be the personification of forgiveness.
But forgiveness in any religion or even in baseball requires not only acceptance of guilt or repentance but also restitution. In a court of law, a thief - even a white-collared Enronized kind - is forced to compensate the victims. In fact, the fruits of the crime are confiscated and distributed to the victims. More so, in the Court of Public Opinion (CPO). The 86 baseball players cited in the Mitchell Report not only harmed baseball but insulted the fans who are actually bankrolling the game. Without the fans, would commercial companies become corporate sponsors of the baseball industry and advertisers of the games' broadcasts?
The Mitchell Reports' 86 DBS (dishonored baseball stars) should emulate Yankee pitcher Andy Pettitte and admit their guilt the sooner, the better. As Boston Red Sox pitcher Kurt Schilling said in his "38 Pitches" blog to the baseball players (who used HGH and/or steroids), "Admit you made a mistake and move on. This is a pretty-damn forgiving country."
And perhaps, all the dishonored baseball players should form a foundation to give back to the fans a good portion of their income from salaries, bonuses and the sale of baseball memorabilia that they derived after using the banned substances. Perhaps, the suggested foundation (or using Major League Baseball itself) can help more the kids in inner cities learn and play baseball, Yes, to help kids in urban ghettoes have a fair chance of using a baseball bat in a field of dreams, instead of wielding an Armalite as they defend drug turfs or protect gang-related activities. Why? Because without the HGH and steroids, the productive years of the said baseball-players' careers would have been cut short by a few summers. It is only then fair for these players to offer compensation to the fans, as the CPO would probably require in its judgment the equivalent of moral punishment. Or perhaps the 86 baseball players can help generate more goodwill to the United States by helping do the suggested "Baseball Diplomacy," as discussed in the maiden article of this blog.
What say you, Mitchell Report's 86 DBS, especially Mr. Pettitte? What say you, baseball fans?
Note: Readers may like to visit the "Baseball Renaissance Section" of the www.mabuhayradio.com to read more commentaries of Bobby Reyes.
Remember President Richard Nixon's "Ping Pong" Diplomacy that started the dismantling of the "Bamboo Curtain" and made the Chinese the unofficial allies of the United States in the Cold War against the Soviet Union?
Perhaps the national leaders of the United States can start a "Baseball" Diplomacy that may "reinvent" the country's foreign policy.
Here is how "Baseball Diplomacy" may work. The United States is losing a lot of support the world over because in fighting international terrorism, American policymakers and decision makers have opted to send abroad military advisers, special-forces scouts and military hardware. In Iraq and Afghanistan, tens of thousands of American soldiers are fielded to fight the terrorists. What if American leaders were to bat (pun intended) for a "Baseball" Diplomacy that would instead send abroad baseball scouts instead of army scouts and rangers?
Right now, American Major-League teams are sending scouts and representatives to countries in Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America and Asia to look for the Third World's versions of Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and other baseball greats. America is looking for the next Roberto Clemente and more of him and his passion for baseball and charitable works.
This blogger started a Filipino version of "Baseball Renaissance" by organizing a Filipino-American Community Night at the Dodger Stadium on July 24, 2006. We followed it with the Second Fil-Am Community Day at the Dodgers last July 1, 2007. Yes, American soldiers and bureaucrats introduced baseball to the Philippines in 1899 and Filipino players dominated baseball in the Far East in the 1920s and 1930s. Baseball is one of the few sports that small people like Filipinos can excel in because it does not require players to be giants like the NBA wizards in basketball, which is now the craze in the Philippines. Yes, the world needs not only a baseball renaissance but also the development of it in Africa and other soccer-crazy continents.
What if our political leaders can champion a "Baseball" Diplomacy, where instead of building overseas military camps and prisons, the United States were to build "fields of dreams" and baseball infrastructures? What if Americans were to promote international aid that would consist of baseball bats and paraphernalia, instead of Armalites and rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers? What if our leaders were to propose that the "fields of dreams" were to be constructed adjacent to corn fields - just like in that movie scene in Dyersville, Iowa - and grow lots of it to produce ethanol and help the Third World solve the problem of producing indigenous fuel? Corn also can be turned into cereals that can feed the malnourished children of the Third World.
Perhaps the whole world can profit more if the United States generates tons and tons of goodwill by promoting baseball, corn and ethanol production as the tools of American diplomacy. What if a lot of countries were to sing "Take me out to the ballgame . . ." instead of shouting, "Yankees go home . . ." and other anti-American slogans? Even Fidel Castro of Cuba loves baseball and he would probably welcome with open heart and gloves American "baseball diplomats."
Send Message
Add Friend
Block User