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PACQUAIO-MARQUEZ IV–NYC Press Conference Report
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Manny, Jinkee and Freddie chat in NYC on Sept. 19. The fighter says on Dec. 8 he will look to finish off Marquez, like he tried to in their first fight. (Ed Diller-Top Rank)
Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez and promoter Bob Arum came to New York and on Wednesday, banged the drums for the fourth fight between the rivals for the ages, which will take place on Dec. 8, in Las Vegas.
At the Edison Ballroom on 47th St., Pacquiao made clear that he will be gunning for a KO at the MGM, in order to conclusively prove that he is the better man between the two. Marquez, despite the record books showing the Congressman leading, 2-0-1, in their tussles, steadfastly clung to the belief that he won each scrap.
Of course, Manny was asked bout the fight that everyone still wants, Pacquiao-Mayweather, and the recent news that he is partnering up with Mayweather's friend 50 Cent. Manny, during the media scrum after everyone had their say at the mike, admitted, “We met each other and we talked about business, but we didn't finalize yet. We haven't finalized yet, it's a possibility, but we haven't finalized, because we've been busy.” He said he wasn't surprised to hook up with 50 because he loves boxing, and Manny loves music. Pacman said that 50 is “a nice guy” and “a smart man” and “good at business” and “a good business partner.” Trainer Freddie Roach said he likes that 50 is involved, because it means talking, about a Mayweather fight, is happening. He'd like to see it in March or April, and the sooner the better, because interest if falling off.
Regarding this bout, Manny said this time he will change his training, that he will train only at Wild Card. Does he need a KO? “I think so, to erase the doubt in the minds of the fans and my opponent,” he said. He said that before the last fight, he took Tim Bradley lightly, and that he believes to this day that he won, and that it was one sided. He also said he relaxed in the middle rounds, because he thought he was winning.
Of people who say he is dropping off, he said he can “fight 20 rounds.” The boxer said he needs to be aggressive for the whole twelve rounds.
Manny said he chose Marquez because he believes he can give the fans a good fight, and that he doesn't think a Bradley fight would be good, because the last one was one sided, in his favor.
The Congressman said he knows how to fight a counterpuncher, like Marquez, and that means being patient, and using his speed. But that would be boring, he said, so he will be aggressive. “To make the fans happy, to make the fight good,” he said. He said he could choose an easier fight, to make easy money, but he wants to give the fans a good tussle. He said he is “still young,” has a couple years left, and said he relies on Freddie Roach to determine how many fights he has left. Roach said that he has told Manny that he will pull the plug, tell him to walk away, when he sees him slipping, said Manny has agreed to that, and he hasn't seen that yet.
Roach admitted he hasn't figured out Marquez. He said most success against JMM has come when Manny rushed him. “Manny's looking for a knockout and Manny's never done that before in his life… I'm going to give Manny a bonus when he knocks his sparring partners down. I don't know that I can afford that but…” Roach said, to chuckles.
Manny offered a no comment when asked about the money judgment against Floyd Mayweather, for no-showing depositions for the defamation suit against “Money.” He also said tax issues against him have been fully settled up in his homeland.
Roach said it'll be good to have Manny fully present, in LA, that there will be no jetlag, so camp should be stellar. Freddie said that yes, Manny's killer instinct has dropped off some, because he is compassionate, because of his religion, and a bit of aging. Freddie said he will work on that in the gym, get him to finish people like he used to. The trainer said he doesn't need to watch tape of JMM, that Manny needs to attack him. “We had four knockdowns, we want four more,” he said. Manny said he can restore his killer instinct.
Pacquiao said “somewhere down the road” he and Bradley will tangle, but not yet. Arum told me he was “Switzerland” as far as who he though Manny should fight next, but acknowledged that Marquez does the best money. He also said Manny is signed through 2014, and that he hasn't heard about Pacquiao fighting twice, and then retiring. He'd like to see Manny end his career by knocking out Floyd Mayweather, he said.
Manny said he still loves to fight and please fans, and he still likes to train. His favorite part? “Winning,” he said.
As for politics, he said he will run for Congress next year, and the Senate in 2016. Asked if fighting or politics was tougher, he said, “Boxing.” In politics, he said he has to watch his back. He said he hasn't been following the Obama-Romney race, and went to zip his lips, offering a no comment. Back in May, Pacquiao got swept into controversy when a writer asked him about matters of sexual preference and referenced Obama's stances on that subject. This time, Pacquiao didn't go there.
He said before he retires, he wants to fight in the Philippines. He said he can see 100,000 people, in an open stadium, in his homeland, but he has yet to bring that up with Arum.
Pacquiao said he was surprised that Marquez was bigger than him last November. “There's no quit in Marquez, we know that, but if we keep putting him down, we hope he will stay there,” Roach said. Roach said he thinks they need redemption from the last fight, because he heard boos. He said he actually wanted Mayweather first, and then a Bradley fight, to shut up the judges. “Bradley sold six tickets last time, that's why we're not fighting him, he does no business,” Roach said of Bradley.
There were no harsh word or much in the way of trash talking. Marquez said he thought he won all three fights, and dedicated the fight to fans from the Philippines and Mexico and his country. Arum took a jab at politicians, in general, but said unlike the rest of them, Manny actually does something. Pacquiao at the mike said he wants to “make the fight as short as possible,” and fight like a 25 year old Pacman. He also gave a nod to wife Jinkee, who was present.
My take: I think it is possible we do a see a KO, one way or the other, if Pacquiao truly does press for the stoppage. Either he'll catch Marquez, and act like the “old” Manny…or Marquez will take advantage of over-aggression, and catch Pacman. This one might surpass expectations, like Ward-Dawson did, people. Thoughts?
SPEEDBAG Roach said yes, he was being scapegoated in the Amir Khan situation, but he holds no hard feelings. He said he doesn't think Khan should hang up the gloves, thinks he can still excel, and wishes him well. He should probably stay away from punchers, but that will be hard at this level.
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Niyomtrong Proves a Bridge Too Far for Alex Winwood in Australia
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Today in Perth, Australia, Alex Winwood stepped up in class in his fifth pro fight with the aim of becoming the fastest world title-holder in Australian boxing history. But Winwood (4-0, 2 KOs heading in) wasn’t ready for WBA strawweight champion Thammanoon Niyomtrong, aka Knockout CP Freshmart, who by some accounts is the longest reigning champion in the sport.
Niyomtrong (25-0, 9 KOs) prevailed by a slim margin to retain his title. “At least the right guy won,” said prominent Australian boxing writer Anthony Cocks who thought the scores (114-112, 114-112, 113-113) gave the hometown fighter all the best of it.
Winwood, who represented Australia in the Tokyo Olympics, trained for the match in Thailand (as do many foreign boxers in his weight class). He is trained by Angelo Hyder who also worked with Danny Green and the Moloney twins. Had he prevailed, he would have broken the record of Australian boxing icon Jeff Fenech who won a world title in his seventh pro fight. A member of the Noongar tribe, Winwood, 27, also hoped to etch on his name on the list of notable Australian aboriginal boxers alongside Dave Sands, Lionel Rose and the Mundines, Tony and Anthony, father and son.
What Winwood, 27, hoped to capitalize on was Niyomtrong’s theoretical ring rust. The Thai was making his first start since July 20 of 2022 when he won a comfortable decision over Wanheng Menayothin in one of the most ballyhooed domestic showdowns in Thai boxing history. But the Noongar needed more edges than that to overcome the Thai who won his first major title in his ninth pro fight with a hard-fought decision over Nicaragua’s Carlos Buitrago who was 27-0-1 heading in.
A former Muai Thai champion, Niyomtrong/Freshmart turns 34 later this month, an advanced age for a boxer in the sport’s smallest weight class. Although he remains undefeated, he may have passed his prime. How good was he in his heyday? Prominent boxing historian Matt McGrain has written that he was the most accomplished strawweight in the world in the decade 2010-2019: “It is not close, it is not debatable, there is no argument.”
Against the intrepid Winwood, Niyomtrong started slowly. In round seven, he cranked up the juice, putting the local fighter down hard with a left hook. He added another knockdown in round nine. The game Winwood stayed the course, but was well-beaten at the finish, no matter that the scorecards suggested otherwise, creating the impression of a very close fight.
P.S. – Because boxrec refused to name this a title fight, it fell under the radar screen until the result was made known. In case you hadn’t noticed, boxrec is at loggerheads with the World Boxing Association and has decided to “de-certify” the oldest of the world sanctioning bodies. While this reporter would be happy to see the WBA disappear – it is clearly the most corrupt of the four major organizations – the view from here is that boxrec is being petty. Moreover, if this practice continues, it will be much harder for boxing historians of future generations to sort through the rubble.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 295: Callum Walsh, Pechanga Casino Fights and More
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Super welterweight contender Callum Walsh worked out for reporters and videographers at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif. on Thursday,
The native of Ireland Walsh (11-0, 9 KOs) has a fight date against Poland’s Przemyslaw Runowski (22-2-1, 6 KOs) on Friday, Sept. 20 at the city of Dublin. It’s a homecoming for the undefeated southpaw from Cork. UFC Fight Pass will stream the 360 Promotions card.
Mark down the date.
Walsh is the latest prodigy of promoter Tom Loeffler who has a history of developing European boxers in America and propelling them forward on the global boxing scene. Think Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin and you know what I mean.
Golovkin was a middleweight monster for years.
From Kevin Kelley to Oba Carr to Vitaly Klitschko to Serhii Bohachuk and many more in-between, the trail of elite boxers promoted by Loeffler continues to grow. Will Walsh be the newest success?
Add to the mix Dana White, the maestro of UFC, who is also involved with Walsh and you get a clearer picture of what the Irish lad brings to the table.
Walsh has speed, power and a glint of meanness that champions need to navigate the prizefighting world. He also has one of the best trainers in the world in Freddie Roach who needs no further introduction.
Perhaps the final measure of Walsh will be when he’s been tested with the most important challenge of all:
Can he take a punch from a big hitter?
That’s the final challenge
It always comes down to the chin. It’s what separates the Golovkins from the rest of the pack. At the top of the food chain they all can hit, have incredible speed and skill, but the fighters with the rock hard chins are those that prevail.
So far, the chin test is the only examination remaining for Walsh.
“King’ Callum Walsh is ready for his Irish homecoming and promises some fireworks for the Irish fans. This will be an entertaining show for the fans and we are excited to bring world class boxing back to the 3Arena in Dublin,” said Loeffler.
Pechanga Fights
MarvNation Promotions presents a battle between welterweight contenders Jose “Chon” Zepeda (37-5, 28 KOs) and Ivan Redkach (24-7-1, 19 KOs) on Friday, Sept. 6, at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula. DAZN will stream the fight card.
Both have fought many of the best welterweights in the world and now face each other. It should be an interesting clash between the veterans.
Also on the card, featherweights Nathan Rodriguez (15-0) and Bryan Mercado (11-5-1) meet in an eight-round fight.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. First bout at 7 p.m.
Monster Inoue
Once again Japan’s Naoya Inoue dispatched another super bantamweight contender with ease as TJ Doheny was unable to continue in the seventh round after battered by a combination on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Inoue continues to brush away whoever is placed in front of him like a glint of dust.
Is the “Monster” the best fighter pound-for-pound on the planet or is it Terence Crawford? Both are dynamic punchers with skill, speed, power and great chins.
Munguia in Big Bear
Super middleweight contender Jaime Munguia is two weeks away from his match with Erik Bazinyan at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. ESPN will show the Top Rank card.
“Erik Bazinyan is a good fighter. He’s undefeated. He switches stances. We need to be careful with that. He’s taller and has a longer reach than me. He has a good jab. He can punch well on the inside. He’s a fighter who comes with all the desire to excel,” said Munguia.
Bazinyan has victories over Ronald Ellis and Alantez Fox.
In case you didn’t know, Munguia moved over to Top Rank but still has ties with Golden Boy Promotions and Zanfer Promotions. Bazinyan is promoted by Eye of the Tiger.
This is the Tijuana fighter’s first match with Top Rank since losing to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez last May in Las Vegas. He is back with trainer Erik Morales.
Callum Walsh photo credit: Lina Baker
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60 Years Ago This Month, the Curtain Fell on the Golden Era of TV Boxing
![60-Years-Ago-This-Month-the-Curtain-Fell-on-the-Golden-Era-of-TV-Boxing.jpg](https://tss.ib.tv/boxing/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TV.png)
The Sept. 11, 1964 fight between Dick Tiger and Don Fullmer marked the end of an era. The bout aired on ABC which had taken the reins from NBC four years earlier. This would be the final episode of the series informally known as the “Friday Night Fights” or the “Fight of the Week,” closing the door on a 20-year run. In the future, boxing on free home TV (non-cable) would be sporadic, airing mostly on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The days when boxing was a weekly staple on at least one major TV network were gone forever.
During the NBC years, the show ran on Friday in the 10:00-11-00 pm slot for viewers in the Eastern Time Zone and the “studio” was almost always Madison Square Garden. The sponsor from the very beginning was the Gillette razor company (during the ABC run, El Producto Cigars came on as a co-sponsor).
Gillette sponsored many sporting events – the Kentucky Derby, the World Series, the U.S. Open golf tournament and the Blue-Gray college football all-star game, to name just a few – all of which were bundled under the handle of the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports. Every sports fan in America could identify the catchphrase that the company used to promote their disposable “Blue Blades” – “Look Sharp, Feel Sharp, Be Sharp!” — and the melody of the Gillette jingle would become the most-played tune by marching bands at high school and college football halftime shows (the precursor, one might say, of the Kingsmen’s “Louie, Louie”).
The Sept. 11 curtain-closer wasn’t staged at Madison Square Garden but in Cleveland with the local area blacked out.
Dick Tiger, born and raised in Nigeria, was making his second start since losing his world middleweight title on a 15-round points decision to Joey Giardello. Don Fullmer would be attempting to restore the family honor. Dick Tiger was 2-0-1 vs. Gene Fullmer, Don’s more celebrated brother. Their third encounter, which proved to be Gene Fullmer’s final fight, was historic. It was staged in Ibadan, Nigeria, the first world title fight ever potted on the continent of Africa.
In New York, the epitaph of free TV boxing was written three weeks earlier when veteran Henry Hank fought up-and-comer Johnny Persol to a draw in a 10-round light heavyweight contest at the Garden. This was the final Gillette fight from the place where it all started.
Some historians trace the advent of TV boxing in the United States to Sept. 29, 1944, when a 20-year-old boxer from Connecticut, Willie Pep, followed his manager’s game plan to perfection, sticking and moving for 15 rounds to become the youngest featherweight champion in history, winning the New York version of the title from West Coast veteran Albert “Chalky” Wright.
There weren’t many TVs in use in those days. As had been true when the telephone was brand new, most were found in hospitals, commercial establishments, and in the homes of the very wealthy. But within a few years, with mass production and tumbling prices, the gizmo became a living room staple and the TV repairman, who made house calls like the family doctor, had a shop on every Main Street.
Boxing was ideally suited to the infant medium of television because the action was confined to a small area that required no refurbishment other than brighter illumination, keeping production costs low. The one-minute interval between rounds served as a natural commercial break. The main drawback was that a fight could end early, meaning fewer commercials for the sponsor who paid a flat rate.
At its zenith, boxing in some locales aired five nights a week. And it came to be generally seen that this oversaturation killed the golden goose. One by one, the small fight clubs dried up as fight fans stayed home to watch the fights on TV. In the big arenas, attendance fell off drastically. Note the difference between Pep vs. Wright, the 1944 originator, and Hank vs. Persol, also at Madison Square Garden:
Willie Pep vs. Chalky Wright Sept. 29, 1944 attendance 19,521
Henry Hank vs. Johnny Persol Aug. 21, 1964 attendance 5,219
(True, Pep vs. Wright was a far more alluring fight, but this fact alone doesn’t explain the wide gap. Published attendance counts aren’t always trustworthy. In the eyes of the UPI reporter who covered the Hank-Persol match, the crowd looked smaller. He estimated the attendance at 3,000.)
Hank vs. Persol was an entertaining bout between evenly-matched combatants. The Tiger-Fullmer bout, which played out before a sea of empty seats, was a snoozer. Don Fullmer, a late sub for Rocky Rivero who got homesick and returned to Argentina, was there just for the paycheck. A Pittsburgh reporter wrote that the match was as dull as a race between two turtles. Scoring off the “5-point-must” system, the judges awarded the match to Dick Tiger by margins of 6, 6, and 7 points.
And that was that. Some of the most sensational fights in the annals of boxing aired free on a major TV network, but the last big bang of the golden era was hardly a bang, merely a whimper.
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A recognized authority on the history of prizefighting and the history of American sports gambling, TSS editor-in-chief Arne K. Lang is the author of five books including “Prizefighting: An American History,” released by McFarland in 2008 and re-released in a paperback edition in 2020.
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The photo accompanying this article is from the 1962 fight at Madison Square Garden between Dick Tiger (on the right) and Henry Hank. To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
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