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It's Official: Pacman-Marquez On For Nov. 12, at MGM in Vegas

Published

13 years ago

September 6, 2011

The Sweet Science

World Welterweight Championship

PACQUIAO-MARQUEZ III

Saturday, November 12 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas

Presented Live By HBO Pay-Per-View®

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (September 6, 2011) – With one single point the difference in keeping their two previous world title rumbles from being Draws, Fighter of the Decade MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO of the Philippines and Three-Division World Champion JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ of México will go mano a mano once again in a battle between two of this era’s top pound for pound and evenly matched fighters. Pacquiao-Marquez III, the eagerly anticipated third act of their world championship trilogy that has had fans and media standing on their feet for 24 action-packed rounds, will take place Saturday, November 12. It will be produced and distributed Live by HBO Pay-Per-View from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas, Nev.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions, Marquez Boxing, Tecate and MGM Grand, remaining tickets to Pacquiao-Marquez III are priced at $1,200, $900, $600, $400, and $200. Ticket sales at $1,200, $900, $600 and $400 are limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $200 are limited to two (2) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

“Our previous fights against each other brought out the best in us,” said Pacquiao. “Of all the opponents I have fought, Juan Manuel Marquez is the only one who was able to anticipate many of my moves and effectively counter most of them not unlike a chess match; but instead of exchanging pieces we exchange punches. Freddie Roach and I will need to make the most of every training day to prepare for Juan Manuel. When I walk into the ring on November 12, it will be more than a world title defense for me. It will be another opportunity to bring honor and glory to my country and to my fellow Filipinos in the Philippines and around the world.”

“I have been waiting for this fight for a long time and I am very excited that is finally going to happen,” countered Marquez. “I beat him the first two fights but did not get the decision; this time I will beat him again and I will also get the victory”

“The first two fights were as close as any two fights could be. The first fight was a Draw, the second was a close split-decision. This fight on November 12 will conclusively demonstrate who the better fighter is and settle a point of contention which has been going on for years,” said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum.

“We are delighted to be the television partner for Pacquiao-Marquez III, a true mega-fight that boxing fans can look forward to with great anticipation,” said Michael Lombardo, President, HBO Programming. “We have a comprehensive plan that we believe will help maximize interest and enthusiasm in the fight. Our plans include a new installment of the Emmy-Award^®-winning ‘24/7’ reality series that has been so successful in presenting the backstories of prizefighters and the sacrifices they make to get to the top.”

“There is no question this third battle between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez will be one of the biggest fights of 2011,” said Richard Sturm, president of MGM Resorts Entertainment & Sports. “It is truly a privilege for MGM Grand and the MGM Resorts family to host this international event as we continue our tradition as the leader in the Entertainment & Sports industry.”

“Having already fought two unforgettable battles to a virtual standstill, Pacquiao-Marquez III is destined to place this great rivalry between the iconic Pacquiao and the warrior Marquez among the memorable trilogies of all-time, said Mark Taffet, Senior Vice President of HBO Pay-Per-View.”

Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KOs), the lone congressional representative from the Sarangani province in the Philippines, returns to the Fight Capital of the World to defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight championship crown, his seventh of a record eight world titles in as many weight divisions. He has successfully defended his welterweight title twice, via dominant unanimous decisions over former International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight champion Joshua Clottey and former three-division world champion Sugar Shane Mosley. Pacquiao captured the WBO welterweight title November 14, 2009, with a brilliant 12^th round TKO victory over four-time world champion Miguel Cotto. Between welterweight title defenses Pacquiao captured the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) super welterweight title with a brutal pasting of three-time welterweight champion Antonio Margarito. A three-time Fighter of the Year and the Boxing Writers Association of America’s “Fighter of the Decade,” Pacquiao’s resume features victories over future Hall of Famers, including Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Marquez, Cotto and Mosley. His knockout victories over Cotto and Hatton in 2009 and his decisive victories over Clottey and Margarito in 2010 and Mosley in 2011 combined for more than 5 million pay-per-view buys making Pacquiao the reigning pay-per-view king. No boxer sold more live tickets in the U.S. than Pacquiao in 2010, making him the pound-for-pound king in the ring and at the box office.

Marquez (53-5-1, 39 KOs), of México City, is one of only a rare few from México to have won world titles in three different weight divisions. He captured his first world title – the vacant IBF featherweight championship – with a seventh-round stoppage of three-time featherweight champion Manuel Medina in 2003. He unified the title that same year with a decisive victory over World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight titlist Derrick Gainer. Marquez successfully defended the titles three times during his three-year reign, which included unanimous decision victories over Victor Polo and Orlando Salido and a Draw with Pacquiao. After losing the crown to Chris John and winning the WBO interim featherweight crown, all in 2006, Marquez moved up in weight to dethrone the legendary Marco Antonio Barrera and claim his World Boxing Council (WBC) super featherweight championship belt in 2007. After successfully defending the title, winning a unanimous decision over Ricky Juarez, he lost the title in his 2008 rematch with Pacquiao by the slimmest of margins – a one point split decision. Since that fight, Marquez has won five of his last six fights, including knockout victories of Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis, the latter two in World Boxing Association (WBA) / WBO lightweight championship fights

The Pacquiao-Marquez III world championship telecast, which begins at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 92 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry

For Pacquiao-Marquez III fight week updates, log on to www.toprank.com and www.hbo.com

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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

9 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

The WBC World Super Featherweight title bout between Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura came on one of the biggest boxing stages of 2015, as the bout served as the HBO pay-per-view’s co-main event on November 21st, in support of Miguel Cotto vs Saul Alvarez.

Miura entered the fight with a (29-2-2) record and he was making the fifth defense of his world title, while Vargas entered the fight with an undefeated mark of (22-0-1) in what was his first world title fight. Both men had a reputation for all-out fighting, with Miura especially earning high praise for his title defense in Mexico where he defeated Sergio Thompson in a fiercely contested battle.

The fight started out hotly contested, and the intensity never let up. Vargas seemed to win the first two rounds, but by the fourth round, Miura seemed to pull ahead, scoring a knock-down and fighting with a lot of confidence. After brawling the first four rounds, Miura appeared to settle into a more technical approach. Rounds 5 and 6 saw the pendulum swing back towards Vargas, as he withstood Miura’s rush to open the fifth round and the sixth round saw both men exchanging hard punches.

The big swinging continued, and though Vargas likely edged Miura in rounds 5 and 6, Vargas’ face was cut in at least two spots and Miura started to assert himself again in rounds 7 and 8. Miura was beginning to grow in confidence while it appeared that Vargas was beginning to slow down, and Miura appeared to hurt Vargas at the end of the 8th round.

Vargas turned the tide again at the start of the ninth round, scoring a knock down with an uppercut and a straight right hand that took Miura’s legs and sent him to the canvas. Purely on instinct, Miura got back up and continued to fight, but Vargas was landing frequently and with force. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to stop the fight at the halfway point of round 9 as Miura was sustaining a barrage of punches.

Miura still had a minute and a half to survive if he was going to get out of the round, and it was clear that he was not going to stop fighting.

A back and forth battle of wills between two world championship level fighters, Takashi Miura versus “El Bandido” Vargas wins the 2015 Fight of the Year.

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Jan 9 in Germany – Feigenbutz and De Carolis To Settle Score

Published

9 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

This coming Saturday, January 9th, the stage is set at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany for a re-match between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni De Carolis. The highly anticipated re-match is set to air on SAT.1 in Germany, and Feigenbutz will once again be defending his GBU and interim WBA World titles at Super Middleweight.

The first meeting between the two was less than three months ago, on October 17th and that meeting saw Feigenbutz controversially edge De Carolis on the judge’s cards by scores of (115-113, 114-113 and 115-113). De Carolis scored a flash knock down in the opening round, and he appeared to outbox Feigenbutz in the early going, but the 20 year old German champion came on in the later rounds.

The first bout is described as one of the most crowd-pleasing bouts of the year in Germany, and De Carolis and many observers felt that the Italian had done enough to win.

De Carolis told German language website RAN.DE that he was more prepared for the re-match, and that due to the arrogance Feigenbutz displayed in the aftermath of the first fight, he was confident that he had won over some of the audience. Though De Carolis fell short of predicting victory, he promised a re-vamped strategy tailored to what he has learned about Feigenbutz, whom he termed immature and inexperienced.

The stage is set for Feigenbutz vs De Carolis 2, this Saturday January 9th in Offenburg, Germany. If you can get to the live event do it, if not you have SAT.1 in Germany airing the fights, and The Boxing Channel right back here for full results.

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2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

9 years ago

December 29, 2015

The Sweet Science

On May 9th of 2015, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez delivered a resonant knock-out of James Kirkland on HBO that wins the 2015 KO of the Year.

The knock-out itself came in the third round, after slightly more than two minutes of action. The end came when Alvarez delivered a single, big right hand that caught Kirkland on the jaw and left him flat on his back after spinning to the canvas.Alvarez was clearly the big star heading into the fight. The fight was telecast by HBO for free just one week after the controversial and disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, and Alvarez was under pressure to deliver the type of finish that people were going to talk about. Kirkland was happy to oblige Alvarez, taking it right to Alvarez from the start. Kirkland’s aggression saw him appear to land blows that troubled the young Mexican in the early going. Alvarez played good defense, and he floored Kirkland in the first round, displaying his power and his technique in knocking down an aggressive opponent.

However, Kirkland kept coming at Alvarez and the fight entered the third round with both men working hard and the feeling that the fight would not go the distance. Kirkland continued to move forward, keeping “Canelo” against the ropes and scoring points with a barrage of punches while looking for an opening.

At around the two minute mark, Alvarez landed an uppercut that sent Kirkland to the canvas again. Kirkland got up, but it was clear that he did not have his legs under him. Kirkland was going to try to survive the round, but Alvarez had an opportunity to close out the fight. The question was would he take it?

Alvarez closed in on Kirkland, putting his opponent’s back to the ropes. Kirkland was hurt, but he was still dangerous, pawing with punches and loading up for one big shot.

But it was the big shot “Canelo” threw that ended the night. Kirkland never saw it coming, as he was loading up with a huge right hand of his own. The right Alvarez threw cracked Kirkland in the jaw, and his eyes went blank. His big right hand whizzed harmlessly over the head of a ducking Alvarez, providing the momentum for the spin that left Kirkland prone on the canvas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez went on to defeat Miguel Cotto in his second fight of 2015 and he is clearly one of boxing’s biggest stars heading into 2016. On May 9th Alvarez added another reel to his highlight film when he knocked out James Kirkland with the 2015 “Knock Out of the Year”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

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