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A Wide-Ranging Discussion with Manny Pacquiao Biographer Gary Andrew Poole
Manny Pacquiao began his ring career in relative obscurity fighting at 106 pounds as a flyweight, but became a global sensation and arguably one of the greatest fighters of all time.
At the apex of his career and power, Los Angeles-based journalist and author Gary Andrew Poole followed Pacquiao around seemingly everywhere. The result was Poole’s critically acclaimed 2010 book titled, “Pac Man: Behind The Scenes With Manny Pacquiao – The Greatest Pound-For-Pound Fighter In The World.”
Exhausting no doubt, but what was it like shadowing the Filipino legend?
“In reporting my book, I was covering his fights but also his life outside the ring. I followed him around in the Philippines as he ran for political office. It really felt like I was covering someone who transcended his profession,” Poole said. “Think Elvis [Presley] or [Muhammad] Ali. He would show up in the middle of a jungle and thousands upon thousands of people would show up to see him.”
Poole said it was incredible watching Pacquiao interact with his fellow countrymen.
“The adoration was crazy. Many of these people were incredibly poor,” he said. “He was always incredibly generous to them, always making sure he was giving them money or food.”
Poole was positioned ringside for countless Pacquiao bouts and ranks him among the five best all-time at the welterweight division.
One caveat for Poole, who penned a 2008 book on Red Grange titled, “The Galloping Ghost: Red Grange – An American Football Legend,” is that he, of course, didn’t see every great welterweight in the ring.
“Since I didn’t see them fight, it’s difficult for me to rate Manny against fighters from earlier in the last century,” he admitted. “But I also think that in boxing (opposed to other sports), the fighters of yesteryear are more equivalent to modern fighters.”
Poole, who received his bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University and his master’s from the School of Journalism at Columbia University, went on: “So I can’t rule out [Sugar Ray] Robinson or [Henry] Armstrong just because they fought so long ago. Manny’s ranked No. 5 and the reason is because I think his fights in so many weight classes help him to stand out,” he said. “Given that Floyd [Mayweather Jr.] beat Manny, and finished his career undefeated, I can’t rank Manny above Floyd, who I have at No. 4 (I have covered a lot of Mayweather’s fights, too.)” Poole has Ray Leonard No. 3, while Robinson is No. 1 and Armstrong No. 2.
Poole went on and explained why it’s easier to compare boxers over the decades versus other sports like football, baseball or basketball.
“In most sports, athletes have become more skilled and more athletic because of diet, weightlifting and the rest,” he pointed out. “Not sure that is necessarily the case in boxing. In fact, the opposite might be true. Pre-1980s, fighters were in the gym and fighting constantly. I think the trainers were overall better, too. So I think they might have had more experience and skill.”
The clash everyone wanted to see was Pacquiao versus Mayweather in their respective primes.
It didn’t happen for a variety of reasons, When the two did step into the ring on May 2, 2015 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, both were past their prime. The result was a lackluster unanimous decision victory for Mayweather.
“It really sucked that the fight didn’t happen earlier. The world waited and then the fight wasn’t great because the fighters were so much older,” Poole offered. “The delay really took a toll on Manny. Manny’s style was relentless. He took some punishment from [Juan Manuel] Marquez and [Antonio] Margarito. Given who he fought and his never-get-hit style, Floyd was much fresher when the fight actually happened. If they would have fought earlier, we could have seen a trilogy. It would have been epic.”
The best fighting the best has been an issue for boxing and it continues to be a thorny problem.
“I love boxing. It’s the best live sporting event on the planet. The athletes are incredible. Every few years a writer will arrive on the scene and proclaim that boxing is dead. It’s never going to die,” Poole suggested. “While it gets overlooked in the mainstream, it’s incredibly popular in many communities around the world. But it should be a much more popular sport. It’s hardly scratching the surface of what it should be.”
Poole gets specific and points to Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr., two extraordinarily gifted and undefeated welterweights, a match that everyone in the boxing community is drooling over.
“Boxing couldn’t get Manny and Floyd in the ring during their prime. The same thing is happening now with Crawford and Spence,” he said. “Unfortunately, boxing gets in its own way.”
“I realize that there are a lot of people who love the insider-ish aspect of boxing. The intrigue among promoters and fighters is interesting for insiders but it’s way too damn complex for most people to follow,” Poole said. “I think all of the confusion creates inertia; no one can follow the storylines. In American pro sports, you have a season, playoffs and a championship. In professional soccer, you have league play, domestic cups, a regional cup and international competitions. The UFC has one belt holder in each division. It’s all very logical for the media. You need that sort of logic for good story-telling. In boxing, it’s virtually impossible to set up a match with the two best fighters. It’s ridiculous. Average people can’t understand it. Boxing should wake up and do a better job of giving the paying customer what it wants.”
“I don’t have the answers except that people would like to see the best fighting the best for titles. They want to understand the sport, and get to know the fighters and the trainers,” Poole said. “Back in 2009 to 2011, Showtime organized the Super Six World Boxing Classic, a super middleweight tournament. Andre Ward won the contest, unified the World Boxing Association (super title), World Boxing Council and The Ring super middleweight titles. Showtime did a great job of taking you into the training camps and building the stories. I really think that sort of buildup is the model boxing should follow for every weight class.”
Poole has more thoughts on how to make boxing even more appealing.
“Eliminate sanctioning bodies. Unionize the fighters. Create a structure in which the best fight the best,” he said. “Take away the notion that if you lose one fight, you’re not a good fighter because that means there is no incentive to have well-matched fights.”
Pacquiao fought professionally from 1995 through 2021, carving out a 62-8-2 record with 39 knockouts while becoming the only eight weight division world champion. He did take his share of hits in the squared circle but still has his wits about him.
Does Poole think boxers contemplate the punishment they absorb across a career?
“Some boxers think about it; some don’t. Boxing is a sport of poverty. Most fighters come from nothing. It’s usually their only way out. As boxing people, we all love blood and guts fights, but I don’t always think we celebrate technical skills,” he said. “A skilled fighter is often seen as a boring fighter. For the long-term health of the fighters, I would like to see a slight culture change. Let’s appreciate the skill as much as the knockouts. If a fighter is getting damaged, it’s okay to stop the fight and let them move on to the next fight.”
Poole offered more suggestions on how to make the manly art better.
“Boxing is too decentralized. There are too many competing interests. Centralization in other sports creates big television deals and media contracts and fans and influencers talking about the sports on social media. All of those outlets create a widespread conversation,” he said.
“Without any centralization, boxing can’t compete and it loses fans. If boxing doesn’t pit the best fighters against each other, it will continue to become a sideshow. Right now, the most talked about fights involve Jake Paul. I don’t have a problem with Paul and other reality stars getting in the ring – there is a long history of these kinds of fights – but boxing isn’t in a powerful position if those are the fights that the average sports fan is most passionate about.”
Another problem is that many people don’t even know who the champions are.
“Yes, it has way too many champions. Imagine if you had this same argument in basketball? It’s dumb and hurts the sport,” Poole said.
“I think [another] thing that hurts the sport is the judging,” Poole said. “Fans are cynical because the judges score fights poorly, but they continue to get assigned big fights.”
All of these negatives don’t outweigh why boxing still appeals to Poole.
“The people, from the fighters to the promoters, are incredible. I love how technical it is,” he said. “I’ve been to big events – the World Series, The Super Bowl, World Cup – but the atmosphere at a championship fight is really the best of them all.”
And that’s the glue that keeps the sweet science together and helps a virtual unknown go on to become a legend.
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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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Bakhram Murtalaziev was the Fighter of the Month in October
As we close the book on October, let’s look back at the month’s stellar performances. Kenshiro Teraji added another exclamation point to his brilliant career with an 11th-round stoppage of Cristofer Rosales. England’s Jack Catterall, considered no more than a decent domestic-level talent for most of his career, showed that he had been underrated with a comprehensive 12-round decision over declining Regis Prograis. But the top performance, by a landslide, was delivered by Bakhram Murtalaziev who annihilated Tim Tszyu on Oct. 19 in Orlando, Florida.
Murtalaziev was undefeated (22-0, 16 KOs) and the reigning IBF junior middleweight champion, but he was the underdog and the “B” side. As champions go, and there are roughly five dozen across the 17 weight divisions, the California-based Russian ranked among the least well-known. He had won his title in Berlin with an 11th-round stoppage of an unexceptional 38-year-old German-Ecuadorian campaigner, Jack Culcay, and he would be making his first defense.
Managed by Egis Klimas who also handles Oleksandr Usyk and Vasiliy Lomachenko, among others, Bakhram Murtalaziev came from a good barn in the vernacular of a horseplayer, but on paper that alone was insufficient to get him over the hump against Tim Tszyu who a few short months earlier was widely considered the best 154-pound boxer in the world.
That was before he met up with Sebastian Fundora who blemished his record, but that setback could have been written off as a fluke.
As we recall, Tszyu was scheduled to fight Keith Thurman in the initial PBC offering on Amazon Prime Video, but Thurman suffered a biceps injury in training and Fundora was bumped up from the undercard to fill the breach. With only 12 days’ notice, Tim Tszyu went from fighting a five-foot-seven fighter who fights out of an orthodox stance to fighting a southpaw who stood almost a full foot taller. The “Towering Inferno” has his limitations, but poses a special problem to anyone, let alone an opponent with little time to formulate a good game plan.
Tszyu was hampered in the Fundora fight by a gash on his hairline that hampered his vision. The injury happened in the second round when he ducked under Fundora and walked into an elbow. The gash bled copiously throughout the fight and yet the best that Fundora could do was win a split (albeit fair) decision.
To say that Tszyu failed to rebound from the Fundora misadventure would be putting it mildly. Murtalaziev steamrolled him, knocking him to the canvas four times in all before Tszyu’s corner tossed in the towel at the 1:55 mark of the third stanza. It was painful to watch. Referee Chris Young was faulted for allowing the match to continue as long as it did. Compounding Tszyu’s misery, his celebrated father, a first ballot Hall of Famer, was ringside. Kostya Tszyu hadn’t seen his oldest son fight in the flesh since Tim’s pro debut in 2016.
Although the dichotomy is imperfect, Tim Tszyu, who turns 30 on Saturday, is more of a puncher than a boxer. That may work against him so far as clawing his way back to a position of prominence. The noted boxing coach Stephen “Breadman” Edwards, a keen student of the history of boxing in the modern era, expressed this sentiment in a Q and A story for Boxing Scene. “Destructive fighters usually don’t come back to full capacity after bad KO losses,” he said, citing John Mugabi, Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Sonny Liston, and Naseem Hamed to illustrate his point. Moreover, added Edwards, “No one will ever be afraid of him again.”
But there were two stories that emerged from the Murtalaziev-Tszyu fight. Tim Tszyu crashed, but Bakhram Murtalaziev emerged from obscurity, announcing his presence (pardon the cliché) as a force to be reckoned with. As for his next assignment, the best guess is that it will come against Sebastian Fundora or Errol Spence Jr. who are expected to meet early next year. And based on Murtalaziev’s stunning performance in Orlando, it will be impossible to bet against him.
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Foreman-Moorer: 30 Years Later
Foreman-Moorer: 30 Years Later
By TSS SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT JAMIE REBNER — In sports, middle-aged athletes are not supposed to beat opponents who are half their age and in their athletic primes. Only the greatest ones can use guile, technique, and experience to compensate for the dulling of speed, reflexes, and athleticism that have unavoidably eroded with time.
That is why George Foreman’s feat of reclaiming the heavyweight title at 45 is so impressive. It was thirty years ago this coming Tuesday, Nov 5, 1994, that Foreman scored a monumental upset in knocking out Michael Moorer to win back the title he had lost twenty years prior against Muhammad Ali in The Rumble in the Jungle. In doing so, Big George became the oldest heavyweight champion, breaking the record previously held by Jersey Joe Walcott, who had won the title at 38.
When Foreman beat Moorer, he was in the twilight of his second career, a comeback that began in 1987. George had retired in 1977 after losing to Jimmy Young and experiencing a spiritual awakening in his locker room. That led him to become a minister and devote himself to his family and congregation. During his retirement, he opened a youth center in Houston, which required much financial support, prompting him to return to the ring.
After winning 24 straight fights from 1987-1990, Foreman lost his first title shot by decision to Evander Holyfield in 1991. He rebounded from that loss with three more wins before getting a crack at the WBO title against Tommy Morrison in 1993. But his performance against Morrison was disappointing and he lost another decision. After that, Foreman was out of the ring for 17 months before he was gifted another title shot against Moorer.
Foreman got that gift because Moorer, due to his sullen demeanor and curtness with the media, was not a draw with the fans. He was also an unproven champion, having beaten Holyfield for two belts only seven months prior. So. Moorer needed a name opponent who could bring in the crowds for his first title defense. And the other top heavyweights like Oliver McCall (WBC champ), Lennox Lewis, and Riddick Bowe didn’t have close to Foreman’s drawing power. So. deserving or not, Foreman was chosen as the challenger to make a fight that would be worth the public’s attention and pockets.
Even Foreman was surprised by getting selected to fight Moorer. “I never in my wildest imagination thought I’d get a title shot again,” he told Associated Press sports columnist Tim Dahlberg. Still, George was determined to make his third time a charm.
But as motivated as George was, there was an irrefutable gap in speed between himself and the much younger champion. From the opening bell, Moorer used his superior quickness and reflexes to make Foreman look stiff and slow. And although George landed punches early on, he fired them one at a time while Moorer countered with multiple shots. But despite Moorer’s advantage in connects, his trainer Teddy Atlas advised him from the get-go not to stand in front of Foreman and make himself a stationary target for a right-hand bomb.
But Moorer failed to heed that advice as he continued to outwork Foreman in the middle rounds. Although he was winning, Moorer’s overconfidence kept him at close quarters, and he continued to circle unwisely to his left and into Foreman’s dangerous right hand. And despite absorbing many quality shots, Foreman never appeared hurt or discouraged thanks to his granite chin and unyielding resolve. He was determined to win and he was willing to walk through as many flush shots as he needed to do so.
With Moorer content to stay in range, Foreman gladly returned his firepower and he landed some telling right crosses, uppercuts, and plenty of thudding body blows during the battle. And while Moorer continued to pile up points and rounds, as long as George was marching forward and throwing shots, he had a puncher’s chance.
And with a minute to go in round ten, that punch came. After missing a three-punch combination, Foreman scored with a one-two, with the right hand landing on the forehead. He immediately repeated that combination but this time aimed the right hand lower on Moorer’s jaw. That slight adjustment caused his bulldozer right to collide perfectly with Moorer’s chin, sending the champion crashing to the canvas and sprawled onto his back. The champion couldn’t beat the count, and just like that, the fight was over, Moorer’s short-lived title run ending before it ever truly began.
With a single, shattering blow, Foreman etched his name into boxing history. Wearing the same trunks from Zaire 20 years before, he was now heavyweight champion of the world once again. It was a shocking result that defied conventional wisdom since seldom do 45-year-old boxers score knockouts over champions in their athletic primes. But Foreman reminded us that he was anything but your typical quadragenarian. He was special, and he had two distinct heavyweight championship reigns to prove it.
—
About the author:
Jamie Rebner lives in Toronto, Canada. He has been a freelance boxing writer since 2016 and his writing has appeared in The Fight City, Boxing News Online, The Ring, and Ringside Seat magazine. His Substack blog is Fight Fundamental, and he is currently writing a book about George Foreman’s comeback. He is also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow him on Twitter @J_NReb.
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