Masterful Manny: Pacquiao Wows Crowd in Macau, Beats Rios Via UD

Published

11 years ago

November 24, 2013

The Philippines, post typhoon, deserves some good tidings, and Manny Pacquiao did what he could to provide that in the main event at the CotaiArena in Macao, on a Top Rank card shown on HBO pay per view on Sunday morning, Saturday night in the US. Pacquiao had his way with Brandon Rios, fighting a sharp, smart, disciplined fight against Rios, who was two steps slow and severely lacking in the hand speed department against a rock-solid Pacman. Manny had said we’d see “the old Manny,” and not an old Manny, and did he deliver. His mobility gave Rios fits, and not even the most cynical of us worried as we went to the cards. The scores were 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110 for the Congressman.

“This fight is for you,” Manny said, to the people affected by the typhoon.

Manny went 281-790 to 138-502 for the loser.

After, Pacquiao (seen having his way with overmatched Rios in Chris Farina-Top Rank photo) said to Max Kellerman he is all the way back from his back to back losses, to Tim Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez. He wanted a KO, but said Rios was “very tough.” Manny said he did get hurt at one point, maybe the fifth. He referenced going to pay respects to the Rios corner after. He said he has a job to do in the ring but we are all brothers and sisters after that. Did he re-establish himself, and who does he want next? His time is not over yet, he said, and next? It’s up to Bob Arum, “I don’t know yet.”

Rios after said that Manny had speed, but his power wasn’t much. He got snippy with Max, asking him to assess his performance, after Max asked him if he thought he proved something. “Do you think I’m a punching bag?” he barked at Max, who stood his ground nicely. “I don’t think you’re a punching bag, I think you’re incredibly determined,” the announcer said, and moved on. Rios called Manny “one of the greatest boxers in the world besides Mayweather” but reiterated that Manny’s speed was too much.

Congressman Pacquiao, who turns 35 on Dec. 17, weighed 145 (150 on fight night) at the weigh-in while the 27-year-old Rios was 146 1/2 (159 on fight night).

13,101 people were in the arena watching.

Pacman was 54-5-2 entering the ring at the largest casino in the world. Rios, born in Texas, who grew up in Kansas, living in CA, was 31-1-1. The WBO international welter crown was up for grabs.

In the first, the lefty Pacman, an eight-time world champ, worked the left to the body. Rios went down, a slip, at :51. Rios worked his free right in a clinch late. A left lead to the head for Manny got in clean and hard. The hand speed differential was obvious.

In the second, Rios had better luck. He came forward, but not foolishly. Then Manny flurried to the body at the minute mark. A right sent Manny back, and then Manny poured it on late in a tight round. “Don’t get in a fight, keep boxing this guy,” Freddie Roach said after.

In the third, Manny stuck and moved, to good effect. The movement was winning this round for Manny. Robert Garcia said to be aggressive but smart, and he asked for uppercut, and not to chase Manny.

In the fourth, Manny worked with the right, and the jab set the table some too. Right hooks worked for Manny. He kept his movement up and Rios didn’t follow willy nilly, but he wasn’t busy enough to score the round. In the fifth, a straight left landed hard and Rios grinned, but man did it score. An underneath right scored clean then, and lefts to the body impressed the crowd, heavily pro Manny. Manny mostly moved to his right, away from Rios’ right hand, all night. Garcia asked Rios to remember the gym work and the plan.

In the sixth, Manny kept on fighting smart, sticking, then moving. His body work, with both hands, was obvious. Manny started ripping after complaining Rios went low. We saw blood then on Rios’ left eye.

In the seventh, Manny kept on whacking away, looking strong and disciplined. His right eye was swelling by this time and Rios needed to ramp it up, get rumbling. Manny shook his head after Rios flurried, telling him he had nothing.

In the eighth, Manny let Rios come to him, and then launched and jetted. Rinse and repeat. A left hook landed clean on Manny, at 1:05 but he didn’t blink twice. Manny again won the round with effective aggression. “Let’s go Brandon,” said Garcia, in Spanish. “You got to stay close to him,” he said. Roach said the hook-left hand, under and out was the working plan.

In the ninth, a seven punch combo wowed the crowd, for Manny. The ref warned Rios for being chippy at 1:15; he needed to do something different. He didn’t, not enough. Garcia asked Rios to stay in closer, and “throw more punches, don’t throw from far away.” In the tenth, Manny looked energized, and stayed smart. The Rios face didn’t look all that healthy. In the 11th, Rios had much better luck. Manny seemed a bit tired, and Rios landed scoring shots. But Manny still outlanded him. In the 12th, Manny again popped and then ducked under, to his right, not risking getting caught retreating straight back. Blood seeped from Rios’ left eye as he peered through his gloves. We went to the cards..

Manny went to Rios’ corner to pay respects after the round, and that included ex pal and strength coach Alez Ariza, who kicked his trainer Roach in the chest a few days before, and mocked his Parkinson’s Syndrome.

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Najee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City

Published

4 hours ago

January 24, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Garry Jonas’ ProBox series returned to its regular home in Plant City, Florida, tonight with a card topped by a 10-round light heavyweight match between fast-rising Najee Lopez and former world title challenger Lenin Castillo. This was considered a step-up fight for the 25-year-old Lopez, an Atlanta-born-fighter of Puerto Rican heritage. Although the 36-year-old Castillo had lost two of his least three heading in, he had gone the distance with Dimitry Bivol and Marcus Browne and been stopped only once (by Callum Smith).

Lopez landed the cleaner punches throughout. Although Castillo seemed unfazed during the first half of the fight, he returned to his corner at the end of round five exhibiting signs of a fractured jaw.

In the next round, Lopez cornered him against the ropes and knocked him through the ropes with a left-right combination. Referee Emil Lombardo could have stopped the fight right there, but he allowed the courageous Castillo to carry on for a bit longer, finally stopping the fight as Castillo’s corner and a Florida commissioner were signaling that it was over.

The official time was 2:36 of round six. Bigger fights await the talented Lopez who improved to 13-0 with his tenth win inside the distance. Castillo declined to 25-7-1.

Co-Feature

In a stinker of a heavyweight fight, Stanley Wright, a paunchy, 34-year-old North Carolina journeyman, scored a big upset with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Jeremiah Milton.

Wright carried 280 pounds, 100 pounds more than in his pro debut 11 years ago. Although he was undefeated (13-0, 11 KOs), he had never defeated an opponent with a winning record and his last four opponents were a miserable 19-48-2. Moreover, he took the fight on short notice.

What Wright had going for him was fast hands and, in the opening round, he put Milton on the canvas with a straight right hand. From that point, Milton fought tentatively and Wright, looking fatigued as early as the fourth round, fought only in spurts. It seemed doubtful that he could last the distance, but Milton, the subject of a 2021 profile in these pages, was wary of Wright’s power and unable to capitalize. “It’s almost as if Milton is afraid to win,” said ringside commentator Chris Algieri during the ninth stanza when the bout had devolved into a hugfest.

The judges had it 96-93 and 97-92 twice for the victorious Wright who boosted his record to 14-0 without improving his stature.

Also

In the TV opener, a 10-round contest in the junior middleweight division, Najee Lopez stablemate Darrelle Valsaint (12-0, 10 KOs) scored his career-best win with a second-round knockout of 35-year-old Dutch globetrotter Stephen Danyo (23-7-3).

A native Floridian of Haitian descent, the 22-year-old Valsaint was making his eighth start in Plant City. He rocked Danyo with a chopping right hand high on the temple and then, as Danyo slumped forward, delivered the coup-de-gras, a short left uppercut. The official time was 2:17 of round two.

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Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim

Published

14 hours ago

January 24, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Japan’s magnificent Naoya Inoue, appearing in his twenty-fourth title fight, scored his 11^th straight stoppage tonight while successfully defending his unified super bantamweight title, advancing his record to 29-0 (26 KOs) at the expense of Ye Joon Kim. The match at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena came to an end at the 2:25 mark of round four when U.S. referee Mark Nelson tolled “10” over the brave but overmatched Korean.

Kim, raised in a Seoul orphanage, had a few good moments, but the “Monster” found his rhythm in the third round, leaving Kim with a purplish welt under his left eye. In the next frame, he brought the match to a conclusion, staggering the Korean with a left and then finishing matters with an overhand right that put Kim on the seat of his pants, dazed and wincing in pain.

Kim, who brought a 21-2-2 record, took the fight on 10 days’ notice, replacing Australia’s Sam Goodman who suffered an eye injury in sparring that never healed properly, forcing him to withdraw twice.

Co-promoter Bob Arum, who was in the building, announced that Inoue’s next fight would happen in Las Vegas in the Spring. Speculation centers on Mexico City’s Alan Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who is ranked #1 by the WBC. However, there’s also speculation that the 31-year-old Inoue may move up to featherweight and seek to win a title in a fifth weight class, in which case a potential opponent is the winner of the Feb. 2 match between Brandon Figueroa and Stephen Fulton. In “olden days,” this notion would have been dismissed as the Japanese superstar and Figueroa/Fulton have different promoters, but the arrival of Turki Alalshikh, the sport’s Daddy Warbucks, has changed the dynamic. Tonight, Naoya Inoue made his first start as a brand ambassador for Riyadh Season.

Simmering on the backburner is a megafight with countryman Junto Nakatani, an easy fight to make as Arum has ties to both. However, the powers-that-be would prefer more “marination.”

Inoue has appeared twice in Las Vegas, scoring a seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney in October of 2020 at the MGM Bubble and a third-round stoppage of Michael Dasmarinas at the Virgin Hotels in June of 2021.

Semi-wind-up

In a 12-round bout for a regional welterweight title, Jin Sasaki improved to 19-1-1 (17) with a unanimous decision over Shoki Sakai (29-15-3). The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

Also

In a bout in which both contestants were on the canvas, Toshiki Shimomachi (20-1-3) edged out Misaki Hirano (11-2), winning a majority decision. A 28-year-old Osaka southpaw with a fan-friendly style, the lanky Shimomachi, unbeaten in his last 22 starts, competes as a super bantamweight. A match with Inoue may be in his future.

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Eric Priest Wins Handily on Thursday’s Golden Boy card at the Commerce Casino

Published

20 hours ago

January 24, 2025

David A. Avila

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Model turned fighter Eric Priest jabbed and jolted his way into the super middleweight rankings with a shutout decision win over veteran Tyler Howard on Thursday.

In his first main event Priest (15-0, 8 KOs) proved ready for contender status by defusing every attack Tennessee’s Howard (20-3, 11 KOs) could muster at Commerce Casino, the second fight in six days at the LA County venue.

All ticket monies collected on the Folden Boy Promotions card were contributed to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation as they battle wildfires sprouting all over Los Angeles County due to high winds.

Priest, 26, had never fought anyone near Howard’s caliber but used a ramrod jab to keep the veteran off-balance and unable to muster a forceful counter-attack. Round after round the Korean-American fighter pumped left jabs while circling his opposition.

Though hit with power shots, none seemed to faze Howard but his own blows were unable to put a dent in Priest. After 10 rounds of the same repetitive action all three judges scored the fight 100-90 for Priest who now wins a regional super middleweight title.

Priest also joins the top 15 rankings of the WBA organization.

In a fight between evenly matched middleweights, Jordan Panthen (11-0, 9 KOs) remained undefeated after 10 rounds versus DeAundre Pettus (12-4, 7 KOs). Though equally skilled, Panthen simply out-worked the South Caroliina fighter to win by unanimous decision. No knockdowns were scored.

Other Bouts

Grant Flores (8-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Costa Rica’s David Lobo Ramirez (17-4, 12 KOs) with two successive right uppercuts at 2:59 of the second round of the super welterweight fight.

Cayden Griffith (3-0, 3 KOs) used a left hook to the body to stop Mark Misiura at 1:43 of the second round in a super welterweight bout.

Jordan Fuentes (3-0) floored Brandon Badillo (0-3-1) in the third round and proceeded to win by decision after four rounds in a super bantamweight fight.

A super featherweight match saw Leonardo Sanchez (8-0) win by decision over Joseph Cruz Brown (10-12) after six rounds.

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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