Majority rules again for Manny Pacquiao

Posted by jmusc on Nov 13, 2011 in Entertainment, Fight News | 1 comment

BILL DWYRE- LA TIMES SPORTS

Champion scores a narrow and controversial (what else?) decision over Juan Manuel Marquez in their third matchup.

From Las Vegas — It was a night when boxing hero Manny Pacquiao decided to pick on somebody his own size.

Bad idea.

In fact, most in the sold-out crowd of 16,368, as well as quite a few on press row, thought he had lost.

Pacquiao took a majority decision, but seldom in boxing history has a fight this big ended with this much doubt and controversy.

The gutsy, effective opponent, Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico, who was given little chance and was sent off as anywhere from a 7-1 to 9-1 underdog, left the ring to raucous cheers, as he waved a huge sombrero.

It was a good 15 minutes after the fight ended before the crowd stopped booing and hissing.

To many, the pound-for-pound best boxer in the world was outboxed by Marquez, at 38 his senior by six years. Marquez not only stayed with Pacquiao in a heated pace for all 12 rounds, but he seemed to get the best of whatever flurries the two managed in their nonstop jiggling and dancing and feinting.

Seldom before in boxing has there been a scene where a highly popular champion gets booed loudly and raucously during his post-match interview. Nobody could hear a word of what he said, and nobody seemed to care. They had seen what they had seen.

Nacho Beristain, Marquez’s manager, called it “a robbery of the utmost.”

It was a night in which the last thing you wanted to be was a judge. The three who will take tons of heat on this one were Robert Hoyle, Dave Moretti and Glenn Trowbridge. Hoyle had it 114-114, Moretti 115-113 and Trowbridge 116-112, both for Pacquiao.

And so ended the controversial trilogy between the two. In 2004, Pacquiao knocked Marquez down three times in the first round and Marquez came firing back to get a draw. That’s the last semi-blemish on Pacquiao’s record. In that one, a much-forgotten element was that one of the judges scored the three-knockdown round 10-7 for Pacquiao, rather than the almost automatic 10-6. That one point would have erased much of the talk about this matchup.

In the next fight, in 2008, Pacquiao won a split decision by one point.

That was controversial too, but nothing near what this one may turn out to be.

The usual chat about the integrity of boxing will now begin in full volume. So much was at stake. Had Pacquiao lost, the pot of gold at the end of boxing’s rainbow, the Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. matchup, would have gone away, at least for the moment. Pacquiao would have, most likely, invoked a rematch clause with Marquez that was in the contract.

Now, even after winning, Pacquiao’s side is talking about it. They can call it Trilogy Plus One, or something like that.

“I’m bound and determined to find a definitive winner from these two,” said Top Rank Promoter Bob Arum. “If we can get both fighters to agree, we’ll put it on May 5.”

Arum said he asked Pacquiao if he won, and Pacquiao said, “Yes, it was clear. I blocked a lot of his punches.. If he wants a rematch, he’ll get it.”

So, once again, it appears that Pacquiao-Mayweather will be put on hold. And, because since Mayweather dominated Marquez in their 2009 fight, the attraction for that mega-fight may have modified a bit.

A subdued Marquez, who went all the way to the Philippines to entice Pacquiao into giving him this third fight and wore a T-shirt that claimed he had won the first two fights, was beyond disappointed all the way to dumbfounded this time.

“I was robbed,” he said. “It happened again. I don’t think there is much more I can do in the ring.”

This was stunning to all who had become used to Pacquiao dominating and destroying bigger opponents, the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley.

In each case, Pacquiao’s speed and footwork wore the other down. This time, Pacquiao’s speed and footwork were in place, but Marquez stayed right with him. The expectation was that Marquez would tire by the middle rounds. Instead, he kept connecting and, in the minds of most, winning more rounds than losing.

Lost in the fire and brimstone of this controversial classic was the victory in the semi-main event by Palm Springs’ Tim Bradley. He remained undefeated by beating a 40-year-old, grabbing and holding Joel Casamayor. It was to be Bradley’s audition for a shot at Pacquiao, were the Mayweather match to fall apart again.

But now, obviously, there will be more pressing matters in the Manny Pacquiao camp.

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Nogueira Says Junior dos Santos Fought Injured (Video)

Posted by jmusc on Nov 13, 2011 in Fight News, MMA Blog | 0 comments

MMA H.E.A.T.’s Karyn Bryant talks with Junior dos Santos’ coach, Antonio Rodrigo “Big Nog” Nogueira, minutes after Junior’s win over Cain Velasquez, and gets the incredible story of how Junior was on crutches just 11 days before the title fight. Big Nog tells us about the meniscus injury, Junior’s treatment of it and how and when they revealed the injury to UFC President Dana White. He also lets us know why he decided to fly to the states at the last minute to be present at the fight, how his camp is going in advance of the Mir fight at UFC 140 and whether he thinks Chael Sonnen deserves the rematch with teammate and champ Anderson Silva.

Popularity: 5%

Ladies and Gentlemen Your New Champion Junior Dos Santos

Posted by jmusc on Nov 12, 2011 in Featured Articles, Fight News, MMA EVENTS | 0 comments

1 Miniute and 04 seconds in the first round and it is all over. Dos Santos hammers the champ Cain Velasquez with a vicious right hand. Seemingly uneventful for such an enormous venue. Somewhat old school Mike Tyson PPV feeling. But you can’t take anything away from the Brazilian who has waited all his life for this moment.

“I have no words to say what I am feeling,” dos Santos said from the Octagon as tears began to well up in his eyes. “It’s amazing, my life. I want to say thank you to my family. I have a lot of good people around me.”

The fight marks UFC’s network debut as part of a seven-year deal with FOX. The main event was originally scheduled to headline next Saturday’s UFC 139 card, but was moved up to headline the initial FOX broadcast. Each fighter entered with an unblemished record in UFC competition.

Velasquez’s attempt to defend his title didn’t last long.

“He kind of messed up my equilibrium,” Vesasquez said of the hard right that hit him near the left ear. “It was a good shot. He has a lot of power. I waited too much for him and he did what he was supposed to do. Hats off to him tonight.”

Velasquez last fought October 2010 at UFC 121 at the same arena as Saturday’s contest. He won via a first-round TKO over Brock Lesnar, but Velasquez sustained a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder that required surgery. Dos Santos has quickly risen through the heavyweight ranks since the Brazilian’s first fight stateside three years ago, including a victory by decision over Shane Carwin at UFC 131 in June.

“I want to say sorry to all my fans, my family and friends,” Velasquez said as his eyes scanned the partisan stands, where many wore the colors of Mexico to support him. “I disappointed you. I am much more than this. I will come back and I will get this belt back.”

The 6-foot-1 Velasquez weighed in at 249 pounds on Friday, while the 6-foot-4 dos Santos came in at 239.

There were eight fights on the undercard before the main event got underway. Benson Henderson defeated Clay Guida by unanimous decision in the undercard headliner, which is expected to lead to a shot at UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar when the UFC returns to Japan on Feb. 25.

Dustin Poirier moved toward featherweight contention with a submission win over Pablo Garza, while Ricardo Lamas came back after falling behind early to submit Cub Swanson in their featherweight encounter.

DeMarques Johnson scored a first-round TKO just 1:34 into the first round of his welterweight bout when he knocked his opponent Clay Harvison to the canvas and pounced on him, raining strikes down before the referee called the bout to a halt.

In his first UFC bout, Darren Uyenoyama beat MMA legend Kid Yamamoto by decision in a bantamweight bout. Robert Peralta scored a third-round TKO over Mackens Semerzier in a featherweight encounter, while Alex Caceres, Mike Pierce and Aaron Rosa all scored victories in their bouts.

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Benson Henderson Beats Clay Guida

Posted by jmusc on Nov 12, 2011 in Fight News | 0 comments

Benson Henderson takes out the non stop Clay Guida in an exciting relentless back and forth battle. The always exciting Guida fell a little short tonight.

Though these things are never guaranteed, it looks like former WEC lightweight champion Benson “Smooth” Henderson established himself as the next challenger to Frankie Edgar’s lightweight title by defeating Clay Guida tonight in Anaheim, California.

Henderson controlled the action from the outset, combating Guida’s relentlessness and frenetic pace with a controlled and patient attack. Aside from a few takedowns, from which Henderson rapidly recovered, and a couple of well-placed punches, Smooth kept the fight’s momentum rolling in his favor, out-working Guida in the scrambles and frequently connecting on the more significant strikes.

The Carpenter certainly didn’t make things easy for Henderson, threatening more than once with submissions and always staying in the fight by virtue of his indomitable spirit. In the end, Henderson was simply the better fighter, edging Guida in every area of the game.

In victory, Henderson improves to 15-2 and makes it 3-0 in the UFC; the former WEC lightweight champ also earned himself a shot at the UFC lightweight championship.

“Frankie Edgar, we’ve got a date, let’s do it baby!” Henderson said post-fight.

The Edgar-Henderson bout is rumored to take place at the UFC’s return to Japan in February of next year.

Guida falls to 29-12 in defeat and unfortunately may have come as close to a title shot tonight as he will in his career.

-Mark Wayne -Fightline.com

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Huge night for UFC. Who do you pick for the win?

Posted by jmusc on Nov 12, 2011 in Fight News | 0 comments

Popularity: 2%