Pacman in training — PHOTOS from the Wild Card!

Don’t miss this inside look at pound-for-pound king Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao hard at work training at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, CA as photographed by Cherry ‘The Situation’ Cervantes.

Pacquiao is set to defend his WBO welterweight title against rugged top welterweight Joshua Clottey in Dallas at Cowboys Stadium on March 13. “The Event” will be televised live on HBO pay-per-view.

FightFan.com recently sat in on an afternoon in Pacquiao’s training camp. Check out Cherry Cervantes’ giant PHOTO GALLERY of the session where Manny spent several hours hitting the mitts with head trainer Freddie Roach, shadowboxing, and stretching with strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza.

Photographer : Cherry Cervantes

Source: fightfan.com

Manny Pacquiao 2nd greatest boxer ever?

In the World's Greatest Ever Boxerwebsite, fans worldwide were able to vote for who they thought are the sport's all-time prize fighters.

Nearly 500,000 votes were cast, and voting ended in December 2009.

By Weight Class >

Wilfredo Gomez (44-3-1) was voted as the greatest ever bantamweight.

Pacquiao (50-3-2) was voted as the greatest ever featherweight.

Roberto Duran (103-16) was voted as the greatest ever lightweight.

Roy Jones, Jr (54-5) was voted as the greatest ever light heavyweight.

Muhammad Ali (56-5) was voted as the greatest ever heavyweight.

All-Time Greats ?

Fans voted Muhammad Ali as the third greatest boxer ever. Manny Pacquiao was voted second. And Sugar Ray Robinson (173-19-6) was voted in the poll as the world's greatest boxer ever.

Most expert panels list Henry Armstrong (149-21-10) as ranked third on the all-time list. Ali, second. Robinson, first.

Polling is inherently biased when assessing current fighters against retired fighters, often to the disadvantage of retired fighters or boxers from previous eras.

It is often more appropriate to assess a boxer throughout an entire career. A voter can only do that after the boxer retires and not when a fighter still has a few bouts left.

Therefore, the poll would have more valid results several years afterPacquiao's and Roy Jones' retirement. Not when they are still fighting.

For instance, to be inducted into the basketball and football hall of fame, retired athletes must wait a few years in order to become eligible for induction.

Waiting a few years after retirement allows voters and panelists to sober up and generate more objective assessments. Additionally, media coverage and hype will have died down which allows a voter to better compare different fighters.

Ideally, all-time lists in any sport should be era independent. That is not possible in most cases. Athletes are reviewed even though they fought or played in different eras, with different game rules.

Boxing has not always been the same. Before, boxers endured throughout 15 rounds - if the fight lasted that long. Gloves have evolved. So have mouthpieces.

Fighters did not always inject their hands with Xylocaine, or have effectively engineered mouth guards or hand wraps to help them cope with the brutality inside the squared circle.

Different eras are just that: different. Other variables can distort the comparison. Athletes that played before the 1960s often enjoyed less media coverage. Thus, there tends to be less video footage of their feats. That makes it harder for voting panelists to conduct a true comparable analysis across eras, from "prehistoric" to modern.

Top athletes today have much more media coverage. Their athletic performances on the field are well documented, and videos of their accomplishments proliferate on sites such as YouTube.

Finally, there is an imperfection caused by lack of records. Boxing has existed for centuries. Records have not always been preserved. Is it possible that fights took place in which no one recorded the event.

The polling that concluded this past December addresses boxing from the last 100 years. But the greatest in the history of mankind? That is speculation.

We are open-minded enough to allow for the possibility that a caveman - who had to fend off dinosaurs - could have whooped everyone on the all-time list. Unfortunately, the media did not exist back then. Point proven.

Author: Marv Dumon

Source: examiner.com

Filipino television says Pacman visibly shaken during blood tests

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

Now see, it wasn't that hard after all. Manny Pacquaio objected to giving blood too close to his potential fight against Floyd Mayweather. He even said he was afraid of needles. Yesterday, was scary time for Pacman as he went through a battery of prefight tests and gave blood to determine if he was free of performance enhancing drugs.

Filipino television did a video feature covering the doctor's visit and claimed that Pacquiao was "visibly shaken" while giving blood. Do you see anything?

Maybe we missed it but maybe out of respect for the national hero, that part of the visit was left on the cutting room floor. Pacman trainer Freddie Roach has begun the prefight hype sounding confident his guy will get by Joshua Clottey on Mar. 13 in Dallas.

"Well, the more I watch Clottey, the more mistakes I find in him and I’m very confident Manny is going to knock him out and be the first person to knock him out," Roach said. "I know he [Clottey] has a good chin. He’s a tough guy and he’s a nice guy, but just studying the tapes of him, he won’t last 12 rounds with Manny Pacquiao in my opinion."

According to GMANews.tv, Pacman's entourage will hit Dallas on Mar. 8.

Author: Steve Cofield

Source: sports.yahoo.com

Yuri Foreman ‘Pacquiao is such a great fighter, he’s the pound for pound best’

Over the last few months we’ve heard a voice of criticism claiming that Manny Pacquiao had avoided or ducked Yuri Foreman after the Floyd Mayweather Jr fight talks fell through. In a recent interview, Yuri Foreman spoke about his feelings toward Manny Pacquiao and the supposed ducking. Let’s examine the comments further.

“And Pacquiao, listen, is such a great fighter in my eyes. Really, he's pretty much the pound-for-pound best. And that's a great compliment when it's coming from him that he's considering me as a fighter or an opponent. That's a great honor” Yuri Foreman, Fanhouse


“Is such a great fighter in my eyes. Really, he's pretty much the pound-for-pound best”

When your contemporaries start saying that you’re the best pound-for pound fighter then that speaks volumes. Yuri is an exciting fighter who is respectful enough to acknowledge Manny’s greatness unlike the supposed critics who claim Manny avoided Yuri.


“And that's a great compliment when it's coming from him that he's considering me as a fighter or an opponent. That's a great honor.”

Anson Williams Sacramento, CA “Did Manny really avoid Yuri Foreman?”

Do these comments from Yuri Foreman sound like a fighter who feels like Manny has ducked him or avoided him? Don’t you think that if Yuri really felt disrespected by being ducked, wouldn't we have heard about it by now? I absolutely don't think Manny avoided Yuri in any way.

Douglas Hansen Sacramento, CA “How come Manny didn’t fight Yuri Foreman instead of Clottey?”

It’s public knowledge by now that Manny has a hard time putting on weight and keeping it on. Manny has a difficult time just getting up to 147 pounds. Naturally, he’s probably closer to the 140 pound weight. However, asking him to jump up to 154 to fight Foreman is asking a lot. To get a fight ready against a world champion of Yuri Foreman, at a higher weight class in the short period of time after the failed fight with Mayweather, would have been asking too much for too soon. I’m not saying this fight couldn’t happen down the road when there’s more time to prepare. Let’s see how Yuri does with Miguel Cotto first.

Conclusion

If Yuri Foreman doest feel avoided or slighted in any way, then Manny’s critics shouldn't either. Foreman is nothing but respectful toward Manny which is a refreshing thing these days in the sport of boxing. These critics who claim Manny avoided Yuri can now put this wild notion to rest.

Author: Rick Rockwell

Source: examiner.com

Pacquiao and Mayweather need to take a page from De La Hoya

Los Angeles - Maybe I can alienate myself to both Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather supporters in one flurry of the keyboard.

[Get free e-mail updates when I write a new article by hitting the subscribe tab above.]

Before Oscar De La Hoya was the poster child for Golden Boy Promotions, the native of East Los Angeles was boxing's biggest star.

The biggest and brightest, a position that Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather seem content on battling for in separate bouts during the first half of 2010.

The unraveling on Pacquiao and Mayweather's proposed battle for early 2010 has been well documented, as Manny now finds himself on a collision course with Joshua Clottey and Floyd is set to tangle with Shane Mosley.

While both camps point the finger at the other for the drug testing fiasco, I say there is enough blame for both Team Pacquiao and Team Mayweather to share.

When De La Hoya was in his full fistic glory, I never remember him skipping over a fight due to a stalemate on contractual stipulations. Loved him or hated him, The Golden Boy fought all comers.

How did Oscar become truly Golden? By fighting the biggest and best names over and over again, with no hesitation.

Pernell Whitaker, Julio Cesar Chavez, Genaro Hernandez, Felix Trinidad, Bernard Hopkins, Fernando Vargas, Manny Pacquiao, and Floyd Mayweather are all on De La Hoya's Hall of Fame resume. He fought them all, and many others, without letting a scrap go by the wayside due to a roadblock at the negotiators table.

Pacquiao vs. Clottey and Mayweather vs. Mosley will be intriguing affairs for fight fans, but it is not thefight they wanted to see; a fight that failed to take place because of negotiations over a drug test.

Time for Pacman and Money to make sure the fight happens and carry the mantle of boxing biggest star without the business office drama.

Author: Ricardo Lois

Source: examiner.com

Roach on Pacquiao's preparation

anny Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, will talk with FOXSports.com each week leading up to Pacquiao's March 13 welterweight title fight with Joshua Clottey.

This is the first in a four-part series.

FOXSports.com: How tough is it to get up for this fight when you were so close to the mega-fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.?

Roach: There is no problem getting up for this fight. It's a good challenge. It's a little disappointing. I was looking for the challenge of getting ready for Mayweather's difficult style. But you know Clottey is a suitable opponent. He's a dangerous guy. And so we have been pretty set. And it wasn't a huge challenge getting up for him.

FOXSports.com: How furious are you guys about the steroid allegations thrown out by Team Mayweather and that you can't fight Floyd Jr. in the ring?

Roach: Pretty much the allegations are unproven and there's a lawsuit pending and I think he'll lose that lawsuit. You can't go around saying stuff like that without evidence. You know, I hope we can fight him someday to shut him up. If that ever happens, so be it.

FOXSports.com: How have the allegations affected Manny?

Roach: He's got a reputation, of course, and it's the first time I've seen Manny angry at another fighter. It's the first time I've ever seen him like that.

FOXSports.com: How tough is it to switch from preparing for Mayweather to preparing for Clottey, who's a totally different fighter?

Roach: Well, we've given a chance to Clottey, and we stand by that. It's really not that bad. He's in the same condition as us. We know how tough the guy is, and he fights a certain style.

FOXSports.com: How do you keep Manny focused despite the increasing number of distractions?

Roach: We fight our fight. We try our best, but we have distractions. We've been able to step it in our training. But we've been able to say that's it.

FOXSports.com: How do you feel about fighting in a building that's as palatial as Cowboys Stadium?

Roach: We're really excited to fight in Cowboys Stadium. It's a beautiful, beautiful place. Manny's said it's an honor to fight there. He loves it.

Source: foxnews.com

Pacquiao defines greatness

What makes a fighter great? In fact, what makes a person great? A great fighter takes on the best, and defeats them. A great person puts others before themselves. A great person gives back to his community, to his country. A great person saves lives, he touches lives, and he makes the world a better place. Manny Pacquiao is a great person. Yes we all know how great of a fighter he is, but more importantly is how great his character is.

When Floyd Mayweather Jr and friends decided to accuse Manny of taking steroids, this was a direct attack at the man's character. This is why Manny did not hesitate to hire a top gun attorney in order to save his good standing with his fans and to the people. It's still amazing that someone would stoop to a level as to where they would attack the character of a great person. What has Pacquiao ever done to deserve such treatment? One of my favorite scriptures in the Bible says, "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?"

A great person stay humble. A person who is envious and or jealous of another persons success resorts to hate in order to feel better. When a man works hard to stand at the top of the mountain, there are always those who are jealous that want to knock him down. Manny Pacquiao has been standing at the top of the mountain for awhile now,and as expected, there are those ready and willing to try and knock him off.

A great person stays humble. Manny Pacquiao does not speak badly about people. He keeps things positive, and he always puts God first. Most of us down here in Mississippi are Christians. Prayer and our faith in God is very important to us. This is something that Mississippi and Manny Pacquiao have in common. Pacquiao's faith is extremely important to him. He does not take his success for granted, he stays humble, and he always gives back.

Manny Pacquiao defines greatness. He is a great fighter, he's a great person, and he is a great role model. Boxing should be proud to have him.

Author: Brad Cooney

Source: examiner.com