Manny Pacquiao Returns…

Published

11 years ago

November 19, 2013

Manny Pacquiao returns to the ring this weekend against Brandon Rios in Macau, China, almost one full year after he was bludgeoned down to the canvas by archrival Juan Manuel Marquez. Most fighters are unable to recover from such a knockout. Their career would be over the way a chicken’s life is over when you remove its head. Sure, it flails and kicks around like it’s still alive, but that chicken is dead.

In 1986, a four-issue comic book series called The Dark Knight Returns was published by DC Comics. The story was written by Frank Miller, who co-illustrated it alongside Klaus Janson. The plot follows a 55-year-old Bruce Wayne, as he dons the batsuit once again after a long retirement to fight crime in Gotham City.

Batman faces both new foes and old. He thwarts a gang of criminals called the Mutants, dukes out a final round against his arch-nemesis, the Joker, and even takes down Superman after the hulking alien is sent to Gotham to stop Batman’s vigilante efforts once and for all. The series was later collected into a single volume graphic novel, and is considered by critics one of the finest examples of storytelling and art in the genre.

For those more familiar with the movie version of Batman, particularly the one portrayed by Christian Bale and directed by Christopher Nolan, many of the motifs present in the third and final installment of the trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, were borrowed from Miller’s comic book classic.

Most applicable to this essay, are three elements: Batman’s return to crime fighting after a long layoff; Batman facing younger, stronger and faster adversaries; Batman inspiring Gotham City one more time.

A Return to Familiar Places

Like Batman’s return to Gotham City, Pacquiao will be returning to a familiar environment on Saturday night, one he has previously mastered. Where only the top one percent of boxers ever carve out a living in the sport, only a fraction of those who do also reach both the historical and financial levels of success Pacquiao has attained.

But the ring is an unforgiving environment. Fighters age out faster than perhaps in any other sport. Unlike team sports, there is no roster spot to hide a player with diminished skill. And unlike other individual sports, such as tennis or golf, boxing is combat. The goal is not to hit a ball, but an opponent. Boxing is the roughest of pastimes. Fighters get old almost overnight. One day, you’re at the top of the sport. The next, you’re lying face down in the rubble.

It’s the same for Batman in The Dark Knight Returns. Where characters like Superman, Spiderman, Hulk, Thor, etc. all possess alien, magical and/or mutant superpowers, Batman is just a man. Sure, he’s big, fast, strong and skillful, but Batman has no more physical or mental attributes than any other human could have, except that in this story he has aged past his physical prime. In that way, the fictional Batman is of the realistic variety, as far as comic book heroes go.

Like Pacquiao (seen above arriving in Macau with wife Jinkee, in Chris Farina-Top Rank photo), the Batman of The Dark Knight Returns isn’t what he used to be. But Batman is still enough of what he was to look like Batman to everyone else, including his antagonists.

Is Pacquiao the same?

Facing the Young Brutes

There is no senior circuit or masters tour in boxing. In fact, in order to stay in the fight game as an elder statesmen, one has to beat back the younger, stronger and usually hungrier fighters coming up to take your place. Only the very best fighters in boxing history have done this for an extended period of time. And some of the greatest fighters ever were unable to do it at all. Roy Jones, Jr. was knocked out cold at age 35 by Antonio Tarver, who was the same age but had carried much less ring wear into the fight because of a late starting career. Muhammad Ali was a shell of himself at age 36 when he lost a split decision to 24-year-old Leon Spinks. Jones and Ali never looked the same. Pacquiao, 34, will face a 27-year-old Rios this weekend.

In The Dark Knight Returns, Batman is 55-years-old. Fans of the comic will remember him looking even older than that in the comic’s artwork. While Batman does face some old nemeses, men like Harvey Dent (Two Face) and the Joker, the predominant enemies Batman must tussle with are not his contemporaries at all. Through most of the narrative, Batman faces a new gang of thugs called the Mutants. They’re young. They’re strong. But he’s Batman.

Batman faces the leader of the Mutant gang twice. The first time he rumbles with the younger, stronger and more youthful Mutant leader, Batman tries to fight him as if they were similar in age and vigor. He almost loses his life in the process, barely escaping. The second time, Batman uses guile to lure the leader into a mud pit where Batman can keep the Mutant leader from having any advantage in speed. The rest is all bravery and cunning. Batman defeats the leader of the gang, and the rest of the criminals are rounded up and put into jail.

While Batman had to think differently than when he was a younger man, he didn’t change his style. He was still Batman in form and function. Rather, Batman recognized his strengths and weaknesses to that of his opponent. Moreover, he was honest with himself in assessing a much smaller margin for error against opponents at his advanced age. Like Batman, Pacquiao will still need to be himself against his adversaries. But he’ll need to be smarter and fight with more attention to detail than he has in the past.

Something to Believe In

On November 8, 2013, Super Typhoon Haiyan (also known as Yolanda) barreled through the Philippines wreaking havoc on thousands of local inhabitants. CBS News reports Yolanda might become the area’s deadliest natural disaster on record. As of Sunday, the rising death toll was almost 3,500 souls, with almost 1,200 missing and 13,000 reported injured.

Whether it is right or wrong, many in the Philippines will seek a diversion from their sorrow and angst through their love of national hero Pacquiao. To his credit, Pacquiao recognizes this and has dedicated the fight to his country and the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan.

The phenomenon of coping with tragedy through sports is not localized to the Philippines at all. Americans will remember how venerated the New England Patriots were after the September 2011 terror attacks, how eagerly the New Orleans Saints were cheered for after Hurricane Katrina leveled the city in 2005, and how important the Boston Red Sox were for many after this year’s Boston Marathon bombing.

In Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, Batman serves the same function for the inhabitants of this fictional, dystopian future. Part of the comic’s narrative is aimed at describing the polarizing views that grow more and more rampant in a society with a two-party political system. But the narrative is also about the effect a galvanizing force can have on a group of people. By the end of the story, Batman is the leader of an ardent group of loyal followers who believe in him and his cause. They don’t just believe in him because of what he is. They believe in him because of what he stands for, and more importantly what they believe he stands for.

The people of Gotham live in a world where bad is celebrated as good, where right is wrong, where down is up. They rally behind Batman, not as a man really, but as a symbol of hope. The motif is probably better realized (or at least more accessible) in Nolan’s movie, The Dark Knight Rises. For the people of Nolan’s universe, Batman is who rallies them to rise against the menacing bandits who take over the city and hold it hostage.

Like the fictional Batmans in Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, real life Pacquiao will be asked to provide a symbol of hope after a desperate and trying time. It might not be fair, but it’s reality.

Pacquiao is a favorite against Rios, and he absolutely should be. While Rios is a tough-nosed fighter with hard punches and a brave chin, Pacquiao has everything in his tool bag that Rios can’t handle. When the two meet on Saturday, Pacquiao won’t need to go to the same lengths Batman did against the Mutant leader in order to win. He won’t have to lure him into mud to slow Rios down. Pacquiao is already much faster than Rios. And while Rios has a good punch, Pacquiao will likely hold the edge in power, too. In fact, the only tangible elements Rios will have on his side this Saturday night is youth and size. And he probably doesn’t have enough of either of them to beat Pacquiao, who still appears closer to a hero than a has-been.

And After All This, There’s Just One More Thing: $uperman

After facing Rios, Pacquiao has several notable options to pursue. First and foremost on the list should probably be Timothy Bradley, who was awarded a controversial decision win over Pacquiao in 2012 (even though almost everyone else in the world thought Pacquiao deserved the nod easily). After that, Pacquiao would probably seek a fifth tussle with archrival Juan Manuel Marquez. Marquez knocked out Pacquiao last December, but did so after appearing to be on his way to a loss. Pacquiao holds a 2-1-1 edge on the fighter, and would probably take the fifth fight, too.

But those are Pacquiao’s normal foes. Akin to Batman facing Two Face and the Joker, Pacquiao isn’t treading new water in this part of narrative. But maybe, like Miller’s comic book, the final act will be the most interesting.

Because if there’s a Superman in the boxing universe, he’s wearing a ‘$’ symbol instead of an ‘S’. His name is Floyd Mayweather, and it would be the perfect way to end the story. Like Batman vs. Superman, Pacquiao would be the underdog against Mayweather. But unlike the fictional Superman, Mayweather is only flesh and blood.

Regardless, it’s perhaps most simply put like this. Superman might be the most powerful hero in the DC universe, but Batman would be on the shortlist of those who might be able to take him down. And while Mayweather is probably the best boxer of his era, Pacquiao has all the tools to give him the most trouble should the two ever meet inside a boxing ring. So much so, in fact, that Mayweather has never seemed super interested in facing Pacquiao in the first place.

And maybe that says it all. Maybe Mayweather knows he’s Superman alright, but that he’s still not the main character of the narrative. Maybe he knows he’s stuck playing the bit part at the end of a Batman story. Maybe he’s read Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and knows how the story ends. Maybe he knows Pacquiao is the hero. Maybe he knows Pacquiao is the winner.

Or maybe this essay has spun too far out into the world of meta-narratives, and you should just enjoy the fight. After all, that’s when Manny Pacquiao returns…

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Kelsey McCarson

Floyd Schofield Wins a Banger and Gabriela Fundora Wins by KO

Published

3 days ago

November 3, 2024

David A. Avila

Floyd-Schofield-Wins-a-Banger-and Gabriella-Fundora-Wins-by-KO

Floyd Schofield Wins a Banger and Gabriela Fundora Wins by KO

LAS VEGAS-Shades of Henry Armstrong and Baby Arizmendi. If you don’t know those names, look them up.

Floyd Schofield battled his way past Mexico’s super tough Rene Tellez Giron who walked through every blow the Texan could fire but lost by decision on Saturday.

It was a severe test and perfect matchmaking for Schofield who yearns for the big bouts against the lightweight giants roaming the world.

Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) remains undefeated and won the war over thick-necked Mexican Tellez Giron (20-4, 13 KOs) who has never been knocked out and proved to be immune to big punches.

In the opening rounds, the Texas fighter came out firing rapid combinations from the southpaw and orthodox stances. Meanwhile the shorter Tellez Giron studied and fired back an occasional counter for two rounds.

Tellez Giron had seen enough and took his stand in the third stanza. Both unleashed blazing bombs with Schofield turning his back to the Mexican. At that moment referee Tom Taylor could have waved the fight over.

You never turn your back.

The fight resumed and Schofield was damaged. He tried to open up with even more deadly fire but was rebuked by the strong chin of Tellez Giron who fired back in the mad frenzy.

For the remainder of the fight Schofield tried every trick in his arsenal to inflict damage on the thick-necked Mexican. He could not be wobbled. In the 11^th round both opened up with serious swing-from-the-heels combinations and suddenly Schofield was looking up. He beat the count easily and the two remained slugging it out.

“He hit me with a good shot,” Schofield said of the knockdown. “I just had to get up. I’m not going to quit.”

In the final round Schofield moved around looking for the proper moment to engage. The Mexican looked like a cat ready to pounce and the two fired furious blows. Neither was hit with the big bombs in the last seconds.

There was Tellez Giron standing defiantly like Baby Arizmendi must have stood in those five ferocious meetings against the incomparable Henry Armstrong. Three of their wars took place in Los Angeles, two at the Olympic Auditorium in the late 1930s as the U.S. was emerging from the Great Depression.

In this fight, Schofield took the win by unanimous decision by scores 118-109 twice and 116-111. It was well-deserved.

“I tried to bang it out,” said Schofield. “Today I learned you can’t always get the knockout.”

Fundora

IBF flyweight titlist Gabriela Fundora needed seven rounds to figure out the darting style of Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz before firing a laser left cross down the middle to end the battle and become the undisputed flyweight world champion.

Fundora now holds all four titles including the WBO, WBA and WBC titles that Alaniz brought in the ring.

Fundora knocked down Alaniz midway through the seventh round. She complained it was due to a tangle of the legs. Several seconds later Fundora blasted the Argentine to the floor again with a single left blast. This time there was no doubt. Her corner wisely waved a white towel to stop the fight at 1:40 of the seventh round.

No one argued the stoppage.

Other Bouts

Bektemir Melikuziev (15-1, 10 KOs) didn’t make weight in a title bout but managed to out-fight David Stevens (14-2, 10 KOs) in a super middleweight fight held at 12 rounds.

Melikuziev used his movement and southpaw stance to keep Pennsylvania’s Stevens from being able to connect with combinations. But Stevens did show he could handle “The Bully’s” punching power over the 12-round fight.

After 12 rounds one judge favored Stevens 116-112, while two others saw Melikuziev the winner by split decision 118-110 and 117-111.

Super middleweight WBA titlist Darius Fulghum (13-0, 11 KOs) pummeled his way to a technical knockout win over southpaw veteran Chris Pearson (17-5-1, 12 KOs) who attempted the rope-a-dope strategy to no avail.

Fulghum floored Pearson in the first round with a four-punch combination and after that just belted Pearson who covered up and fired an occasional blow. Referee Mike Perez stopped the fight at 1:02 of the third round when Pearson did not fire back after a blazing combination.

Young welterweight prospect Joel Iriarte (5-0, 5 KOs) blasted away at the three-inch shorter Xavier Madrid (5-6, 2 KOs) who hung tough for as long as possible. At 2:50 of the first round a one-two delivered Madrid to the floor and referee Thomas Taylor called off the beating.

Iriarte, from Bakersfield, Calif., could not miss with left uppercuts and short rights as New Mexico’s Madrid absorbed every blow but would not quit. It was just too much firepower from Iriarte that forced the stoppage.

Photos credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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Results and Recaps from Turning Stone where O’Shaquie Foster Nipped Robson Conceicao

Published

3 days ago

November 2, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Results-and-Recaps-from-Turning-Stone-where-O'Shaquie-Foster-Nipped-Robson-Conceicao

Top Rank was at the Turning Stone casino-resort in Verona, New York, tonight with an 8-bout card topped by a rematch between Robson Conceicao and O’Shaquie Foster with the victor retaining or recapturing his IBF world junior lightweight title. When the smoke cleared, the operative word was “recapturing” as Foster became a two-time title-holder, avenging his controversial setback to the Brazilian in Newark on July 6.

This was a somewhat better fight than their initial encounter and once again the verdict was split. Foster prevailed by 115-113 on two of the cards with the dissenting judge favoring Conceicao by the same margin. Conceicao seemingly had the edge after nine frames, but Foster, a 4/1 favorite, landed the harder shots in the championship rounds.

It was the thirteenth victory in the last 14 starts for Foster who fights out of Houston. A two-time Olympian and 2016 gold medalist, the 36-year-old Conceicao is 19-3-1 overall and 1-3-1 in world title fights.

Semi-wind-up

SoCal lightweight Raymond Muratalla (22-0, 17 KOs) made a big jump in public esteem and moved one step closer to a world title fight with a second-round blast-out of Jose Antonio Perez who was on the canvas twice but on his feet when the fight was stopped at the 1:24 mark of round two. Muratalla, a product of Robert Garcia’s boxing academy, is ranked #2 by the WBC and WBO. A Tijuana native, Perez (25-6) earned this assignment with an upset of former Olympian and former 130-pound world titlist Jojo Diaz,

Other Bouts

Syracuse junior welterweight Bryce Mills, a high-pressure fighter with a strong local following, stopped scrawny Mike O’Han Jr whose trainer Mark DeLuca pulled him out after five one-sided rounds. Mills improved to 17-1 (6 KOs). It was another rough day at the office for Massachusetts house painting contractor O’’Han (19-4) who had the misfortune of meeting Abdullah Mason in his previous bout.

In a junior lightweight fight that didn’t heat up until late in the final round, Albany’s Abraham Nova (23-3-1) and Tijuana native Humberto Galindo (14-3-3) fought to a 10-round draw. It was another close-but-no- cigar for the likeable Nova who at least stemmed a two-fight losing streak. The judges had it 97-93 (Galindo), 96-94 (Nova) and 95-95.

Twenty-one-year-old Long Island middleweight Jahi Tucker advanced to 13-1-1 (6 KOs) with an eighth-round stoppage of Stockton’s teak-tough but outclassed Quilisto Madera (14-6). Madera was on a short leash after five rounds, but almost took it to the final bell with the referee intervening with barely a minute remaining in the contest. Madera was on his feet when the match was halted. Earlier in the round, Tucker had a point deducted for hitting on the break.

Danbury, Connecticut heavyweight Ali Feliz, one of two fighting sons of journeyman heavyweight Fernely Feliz, improved to 4-0 (3) with a second-round stoppage of beefy Rashad Coulter (5-5). Feliz had Coulter pinned against the ropes and was flailing away when the bout was halted at the 1:34 mark. The 42-year-old Coulter, a competitor in all manner of combat sports, hadn’t previously been stopped when competing as a boxer.

Featherweight Yan Santana dominated and stopped Mexico’s Eduardo Baez who was rescued by referee Charlie Fitch at the 1:57 mark of round four. It was the 12^th knockout in 13 starts for Santana, a 24-year-old Dominican father of three A former world title challenger, Mexicali’s Baez declines to 23-7-2 but has lost six of his last eight.

In his most impressive showing to date, Damian Knyba, a six-foot-seven Pole, knocked out paunchy Richard Lartey at the 2:10 mark of round three. A right-left combination knocked Lartey into dreamland, but it was the right did the damage and this was of the nature of a one-punch knockout. Referee Ricky Gonzalez waived the fight off without starting a count.

Knyba, 28, improved to 14-0 (8 KOs). A native of Ghana coming off his career-best win, a fourth-round stoppage of Polish veteran Andrzej Wawrzyk, Lartey declined to 16-7 with his sixth loss inside the distance.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 303: Spotlights on Lightweights and More

Published

4 days ago

November 1, 2024

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-303-Spotlights-on-Lightweights-and-More

Those lightweights.

Whether junior lights, super lights or lightweights, it’s the 130-140 divisions where most of boxing’s young stars are found now or in the past.

Think Oscar De La Hoya, Sugar Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather.

Floyd Schofield (17-0, 12 KOs) a Texas product, hungers to be a star and takes on Mexico’s Rene Tellez Giron (20-3, 13 KOs) in a 12-round lightweight bout on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada.

DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotion card that includes a female undisputed flyweight championship match pitting Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz and Gabriela Fundora.

Like a young lion looking to flex, Schofield (pictured on the left) is eager to meet all the other young lions and prove they’re not equal.

“I’ve been in the room with Shakur, Tank. I want to give everyone a good fight. I feel like my preparation is getting better, I work hard, I’ve dedicated my whole life to this sport,” said Schofield naming fellow lightweights Shakur Stevenson and Gervonta “Tank” Davis.

Now he meets Mexico’s Tellez who has never been stopped.

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” said Tellez.

Even in Las Vegas.

Verona, New York

Meanwhile, in upstate New York, a WBC junior lightweight title rematch finds Robson Conceicao (19-2-1, 9 KOs) looking to prove superior to former titlist O’Shaquie Foster (22-3, 12 KOs) on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, N.Y. ESPN+ will stream the Top Rank fight card.

Last July, Conceicao and Foster clashed and after 12 rounds the title changed hands from Foster to the Brazilian by split decision.

“I feel that a champion is a fighter who goes out there and doesn’t run around, who looks for the fight, who tries to win, and doesn’t just throw one or two punches and then moves away,” said Conceicao.

Foster disagrees.

“I hope he knows the name of the game is to hit and not get hit. That’s the name of the game,” said Foster.

Also on the same card is lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla (21-0, 16 KOs) who fights Mexico’s Jesus Perez Campos (25-5, 18 KOs).

Perez recently defeated former world champion Jojo Diaz last February in California.

“We’re made for challenges. I like challenges,” said Perez.

Muratalla likes challenges too.

“I think these fights are the types of fights I need to show my skills and to prove I deserve those title fights,” said Fontana’s Muratalla.

Female Undisputed Flyweight Championship

WBA, WBC and WBO flyweight titlist Gabriela “La Chucky” Alaniz (15-1, 6 KOs meets IBF titlist Gabriela Fundora (14-0, 6 KOs) on Saturday Nov. 2, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada. DAZN will stream the clash for the undisputed flyweight championship.

Argentina’s Alaniz clashed twice against former WBA, WBC champ Marlen Esparza with their first encounter ending in a dubious win for the Texas fighter. In fact, three of Esparza’s last title fights were scored controversially.

But against Alaniz, though they fought on equal terms, Esparza was given a 99-91 score by one of the judges though the world saw a much closer contest. So, they fought again, but the rematch took place in California. Two judges deemed Alaniz the winner and one Esparza for a split-decision win.

“I’m really happy to be here representing Argentina. We are ready to fight. Nothing about this fight has to do with Marlen. So, I hope she (Fundora) is ready. I am ready to prepare myself for the great fight of my life,” said Alaniz.

In the case of Fundora, the extremely tall American fighter at 5’9” in height defeated decent competition including Maria Santizo. She was awarded a match with IBF flyweight titlist Arely Mucino who opted for the tall youngster over the dangerous Kenia Enriquez of Mexico.

Bad choice for Mucino.

Fundora pummeled the champion incessantly for five rounds at the Inglewood Forum a year ago. Twice she battered her down and the fight was mercifully stopped. Fundora’s arm was raised as the new champion.

Since that win Fundora has defeated Christina Cruz and Chile’s Daniela Asenjo in defense of the IBF title. In an interesting side bit: Asenjo was ranked as a flyweight contender though she had not fought in that weight class for seven years.

Still, Fundora used her reach and power to easily handle the rugged fighter from Chile.

Immediately after the fight she clamored for a chance to become undisputed.

“It doesn’t get better than this, especially being in Las Vegas. This is the greatest opportunity that we can have,” said Fundora.

It should be exciting.

Fights to Watch

Sat. ESPN+ 2:50 p.m. Robson Conceicao (19-2-1) vs O’Shaquie Foster (22-3).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Floyd Schofield (17-0) vs Rene Tellez Giron (20-3); Gabriela Alaniz (15-1) vs Gabriela Fundora (14-0).

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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