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Unpacking Pacquiao’s Future

Fresh off doling a beat-down to Antonio Margarito in 2010, Manny Pacquiao took stock of his accomplishments and yawned. He told reporters at the time that wouldn’t box past 35. After riding the sport of boxing to messianic status in his native Philippines, he seemed to be already looking forward to his second act as national hero in a place where Filipino heroes go to die: elected office.
It’s amazing what four years, a dramatic kayo loss, and tax issues can do to pique a prizefighter’s interest in the rigors of the sweet science. Last week, he revised his earlier proviso to say he would complete his newly-minted Top Rank contract for five fights and then retire in 2016, which just so happens to be the year that the Congressman is openly mulling upgrading to the Senate. The center-left United Nationalist Alliance has recruited Pacquiao to be part of the 2016 election slate as a candidate for Senate on the same platform as Vice President Jejomar Binay.
Pacquiao remains one of sport’s most compelling and colorful characters. He dances, he sings, he’s deeply suspicious of needles, he loves to gamble, he delayed one fight to watch an NBA game and showed up for another apperantly heartbroken with marital troubles, he talks to God, he runs a de facto social services agency for the poor in his home province, he has pictures taken with Bob Dylan, he never stops smiling, and coming from the most modest of beginnings he has restored boxing’s love affair with flamboyant masters in the lineage of Jack Johnson, Archie Moore, Muhammad Ali, and Sugar Ray Leonard; all with a only a tenuous grasp of English.
It’s exactly this full-spectrum of extra-curricular activity that gives so many pause when considering the man’s future in politics. The thick layers of corruption and scandal that rule Manila is enough to make Washington D.C. look lily white.
Exhibit A: Chavit Singson. A man invariably described as a “warlord,” “Gangster Governor” or a “Filipino Al Pacino,” Singson rose by paying bribes in order to run illegal numbers games, using money and physical intimidation to wield influence that gradually expanded all the way to the top. When President Estrada threatened to institute a legal lottery system in 2000, Singson flipped on his erstwhile ally and played a role in sparking an impeachment by revealing that he personally had delivered bribe money to Estrada’s residence. When he’s not beating up his children’s mother, lion-hunting in Africa, or running his gambling empire, Singson can be found entering the ring and traveling with Manny Pacquiao.
Perhaps it’s inevitable, in order to make a Senator you gotta break a few scruples. But in the wake of Pacquiao’s unpopular decision to fight Chris Algieri in November, the mind reels. Pacman has always surrounded himself with an entourage Elvis would approve, but how many of the hangers-on are looking after his best interests?
Members of Pacquiao’s family have also ridden his name and money into office, and just this year his wife Jinkee and two of their allies were alleged to be responsible in a graft scheme. Another political ally and enoutrage member was charged with the murder of a political enemy in April.
We know his heart’s in the right place. When Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines last year, Manny went right to the bank to support the relief efforts only to find his assests frozen in tax limbo that pegged him close to $50M in the hole. Months later, he found himself in similar hot water with monies owed to the IRS. The Congressman is famously generous and loves to gamble, but you’d think there would have to be someone minding the store.
He wouldn’t be the first athlete to squander a fortune, but he’d be the first athlete to so who has realistic presidential aspirations.
If Pacman goes on to establish an honorable career in Filipino governance, he will have conquered far greater odds than the street kid selling doughnuts had to to become a boxing champion. With a pezzonovante in Singson that would make Frank Carbo blush, cast those odds even longer.
Many of the Filipinos who love his boxing career fear how politics will transform their favorite son. This theory has often been floated to explain how Pacquiao lost his first bid at Congress in 2007, though the real explanation is likely a bit simpler. The Philippines is a poor country, but even there it takes great wealth to fund a political career; extending his career beyond the timeframe he set forth might have something to do with him suddenly finding his war chest being a tad light. Still, a boxer with narcissistic tendencies who claims a direct line to God and pals around with violent gangster types doesn’t strike me as fit for office.
We know his heart is in the right place, for whatever the phrase is worth. Boxers, more than most athletes, reveal the contents of their hearts. But if it’s ever not in the right place, is there anyone who commands his respect enough to let him know?
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Skavynskyi and Bustillos Win on a MarvNation Card in Long Beach

Skavynskyi and Bustillos Win on a MarvNation Card in Long Beach
LONG BEACH, Ca.-A cool autumn night saw welterweights and minimumweights share main events for a MarvNation fight card on Saturday.
Ukraine’s Eduard Skavynskyi (15-0, 7 KOs) experienced a tangled mess against the awkward Alejandro Frias (14-10-2) but won by decision after eight rounds in a welterweight contest at the indoor furnace called the Thunder Studios.
It was hot in there for the more than 600 people inside.
Skavynskyi probably never fought someone like Mexico’s Frias whose style was the opposite of the Ukrainian’s fundamentally sound one-two style. But round after round the rough edges became more familiar.
Neither fighter was ever damaged but all three judges saw Skavynskyi the winner by unanimous decision 79-73 on all three cards. The Ukrainian fighter trains in Ventura.
Bustillo Wins Rematch
In the female main event Las Vegas’ Yadira Bustillos (8-1) stepped into a rematch with Karen Lindenmuth (5-2) and immediately proved the lessons learned from their first encounter.
Bustillos connected solidly with an overhand right and staggered Lindenmuth but never came close to putting the pressure fighter down. Still, Bustillos kept turning the hard rushing Lindenmuth and snapping her head with overhand rights and check left hooks.
Lindenmuth usually overwhelms most opponents with a smothering attack that causes panic. But not against Bustillos who seemed quite comfortable all eight rounds in slipping blows and countering back.
After eight rounds all three judges scored the contest for Bustillos 78-74 and 80-72 twice. Body shots were especially effective for the Las Vegas fighter in the fifth round. Bustillos competes in the same division as IBF/WBO title-holder Yokasta Valle.
Other Bouts
In a middleweight clash, undefeated Victorville’s Andrew Buchanan (3-0-1) used effective combination punching to defeat Mexico’s Fredy Vargas (2-1-1) after six rounds. Two judges scored it 59-55 and a third 60-54 for Buchanan. No knockdowns were scored.
A super lightweight match saw Sergio Aldana win his pro debut by decision after four rounds versus Gerardo Fuentes (2-9-1).
Photos credit: Al Applerose
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Tedious Fights and a Controversial Draw Smudge the Matchroom Boxing Card in Orlando

Matchroom Boxing was at the sprawling Royale Caribe Resort Hotel in Orlando, Florida tonight with a card that aired on DAZN. The main event was a ho-hum affair between super lightweights Richardson Hitchins and Jose Zepeda.
SoCal’s Zepeda has been in some wars in the past, notably his savage tussle with Ivan Baranchyk, but tonight he brought little to the table and was outclassed by the lanky Hitchins who won all 12 rounds on two of the cards and 11 rounds on the other. There were no knockdowns, but Zepeda suffered a cut on his forehead in round seven that was deemed to be the product of an accidental head butt and another clash in round ten forced a respite in the action although Hitchins suffered no apparent damage.
It was the sort of fight where each round was pretty much a carbon of the round preceding it. Brooklyn’s Hitchins, who improved to 17-0 (7), was content to pepper Zepeda with his jab, and the 34-year-old SoCal southpaw, who brought a 37-3 record, was never able to penetrate his defense and land anything meaningful.
Hitchins signed with Floyd Mayweather Jr’s promotional outfit coming out of the amateur ranks and his style is reminiscent in ways of his former mentor. Like Mayweather, he loses very few rounds. In his precious engagement, he pitched a shutout over previously undefeated John Bauza.
Co-Feature
In the co-feature, Conor Benn returned to the ring after an absence of 17 months and won a unanimous decision over Mexico’s Rodolfo Orozco. It wasn’t a bad showing by Benn who showed decent boxing skills, but more was expected of him after his name had been bandied about so often in the media. Two of the judges had it 99-91 and the other 96-94.
Benn (22-0, 14 KOs) was a late addition to the card although one suspects that promoter Eddie Hearn purposely kept him under wraps until the week of the fight so as not to deflect the spotlight from the other matches on his show. Benn lost a lucrative date with Chris Eubank Jr when he was suspended by the BBBofC when evidence of a banned substance was found in his system and it’s understood that Hearn has designs on re-igniting the match-up with an eye on a date in December. For tonight’s fight, Benn carried a career-high 153 ½ pounds. Mexico’s Orozco, who was making his first appearance in a U.S. ring, declined to 32-4-3.
Other Bouts of Note
The welterweight title fight between WBA/WBC title-holder Jessica McCaskill (15-3-1) and WBO title-holder Sandy Ryan (6-1-1) ended in a draw and the ladies’ retain their respective titles. Ryan worked the body effectively and the general feeling was that she got a raw deal, a sentiment shared by the crowd which booed the decision. There was a switch of favorites in the betting with the late money seemingly all on the Englishwoman who at age 30 was the younger boxer by nine years.
The judges had it 96-94 Ryan, 96-95, and a vilified 97-93 for Chicago’s McCaskill.
In the opener of the main DAZN stream, Houston middleweight Austin “Ammo” Williams, 27, improved to 15-0 (10) with a 10-round unanimous decision over 39-year-old Toronto veteran Steve Rolls (22-3). All three judges had it 97-93. Rolls has been stopped only once, that by Gennady Golovkin.
Photo credit: Ed Mulholland / Matchroom Boxing
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Zhilei Zhang KOs Joe Joyce; Calls Out Tyson Fury

Joe Joyce activated his rematch clause after being stopped in the sixth frame by Zhilei Zhang in their first meeting. In hindsight, he may wish that he hadn’t. Tonight at London’s Wembley Stadium, Zhang stopped him again and far more conclusively than in their first encounter.
In the first meeting, Zhang, a southpaw, found a steady home for his stiff left jab. Targeting Joyce’s right eye, he eventually damaged the optic to where the ring doctor wouldn’t let Joyce continue. At the end, the fight was close on the cards and Joyce was confident that he would have pulled away if not for the issue with his eye.
In the rematch tonight, Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KOs) closed the curtain with his right hand. A thunderous right hook on the heels of a straight left pitched Joyce to the canvas where he landed face first. He appeared to beat the count by a whisker, but was seriously dazed and referee Steve Gray properly waived it off. The official time was 3:07 of round three.
Zhang, who lived up to his nickname, “Big Bang,” was credited with landing 29 power punches compared with only six for Joyce (15-2) who came in 25 pounds heavier than in their first meeting while still looking properly conditioned. One would be inclined to say that age finally caught with the “Juggernaut” who turned 38 since their last encounter, but Zhang, 40, is actually the older man. In his post-fight interview in the ring, the New Jersey resident, a two-time Olympian for China, when asked who he wanted to fight next, turned to the audience and said, “Do you want to see me shut Tyson Fury up?”
He meant it as a rhetorical question.
Semi-Windup
Light heavyweight Anthony Yarde was matched soft against late sub Jorge Silva, a 40-year-old Portuguese journeyman, and barely broke a sweat while scoring a second-round stoppage. Yarde backed Silva against a corner post and put him on the deck with a short right hand. Silva’s body language indicated that he had no interest in continuing and the referee accommodated him. The official time was 2:07 of round two.
A 30-year-old Londoner, Yarde (24-3, 23 KOs) was making his first start since being stopped in eight rounds by Artur Beterbiev in a bout that Yarde was winning on two of the scorecards. Silva, a late replacement for 19-3-1 Ricky Summers, falls to 22-9.
Also
Former leading super middleweight contender Zach Parker (23-1, 17 KOs) returned to the ring in a “shake-off-the-rust” fight against 40-year-old Frenchman Khalid Graidia and performed as expected. Graidia’s corner pulled him out after seven one-sided rounds.
In his previous fight, Parker was matched against John Ryder who he was favored to beat. The carrot for the winner was a lucrative date with Canelo Alvarez. Unfortunately for Parker, he suffered a broken hand and was unable to continue after four frames. Tonight, he carried 174 pounds, a hint that he plans to compete as a light heavyweight going forward. Indeed, he has expressed an interest in fighting Anthony Yarde. Graidia declined to 10-13-4.
The Zhang-Joyce and Yarde-Silva fights were live-streamed in the U.S. on ESPN+.
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