Pacquiao victorious against Mosley

Rep. Manny Pacquiao waves to crowd after defeating
Sugar Shane Mosley via unanimous decision.
(Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Everybody waited for this fight for months. It's not exactly the one we've all been waiting to happen, of course (Pacquiao-Mayweather) but it did somehow suffice the fight fans all over the world. Even I was just as excited to see this bout happen. Most of us even stocked up for some Pacman gear before the big day. It's a no-brainer for sure.

Manny Pacquiao's new Nike merchandise launch 4.29.11

Manny Pacquiao fever is on.
(Photo by Roy Afable)

With just a few days away prior to the Pacquiao-Mosley fight, Nike launched Manny's latest line of apparel and sneakers last Friday, April 29 at Nike Park Bonifacio High Street in Taguig. While it was a very timely campaign from the swoosh brand, the real star of the event was the highly anticipated, Pacman inspired, limited edition Nike Air Trainer 1.3 Max.

Manny loves Vinegar

A lot of cameos (sort of) in the said vinegar commercial including a certain boxer who kept dodging Saranggani Representative Manny Pacquaio to settle their score in the ring. Bet y'all know who I'm talking about *coughfloydcoughmayweatherjrcough* -- he got KO'd there by the way. That was epic.

A lot of fight fans would love to see that happen -- in a real boxing match that is.

For now, we'll all have to settle on his upcoming bout against "Sugar" Shane Mosley on May 2011.

On that note, the hype continues....

Basketball clinic to be conducted by Coach Spo and Manny Pacquiao in RP next year?

Miami Heat Fil-am coach Erik Spoelstra joining forces for the first time

to host a backetball clinic in the Philippines next year.
(nba.com/casinonewsauthority.com)

I was browsing the net before hitting the sack but look what I found in the sports grapevine. Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra will soon be coming back to my dear country, the Philippines, to host a sports clinic next year. I got the news from SLAM online and more info about that via espn's website.

Pacquiao, Clottey makes catch weight on eve of "The Event"

Many people flocked at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium to witness the official weigh-in of Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey today. Introductions were done by one Michael Buffer (as always). Clottey stepped into the scale first -- weighed in exactly at 147 lbs. Pacquiao stepped in next and was barely a couple of pounds lighter of the weight limit, making it 145 3/4 lbs.

After the weight in, I noticed one of Team Clottey's members was somewhat teasing on wanting to get his hands on Manny's Nike SC 2010 Trainers -- which are really dope, by the way -- was absolutely funny. You can view the image of Manny's Trainers here.

Clottey is one ripped fella and I can sense he's gonna Pacman a bit of hard time in the ring come fight night. Manny looks to be in great shape as well. Tomorrow will be yet another day the whole world will stand still, witnessing these two fighters slug it out and lock horns for the World Welterweight championship.

Pacquiao-Mayweather slug fest: It's on!!

That's right fight fans! The Pacquiao-Mayweather duel will be on March 13, 2010 -- which a lot of boxing pundits are somewhat referring to it as "the fight of the Millennium". I've been waiting for this dream match to happen and finally, it's gonna be a reality -- all thanks to Top Rank promoter Bob Arum. This one is going to be yet another money-maker and will surely not disappoint.

Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr has already started training for the mega-bout. Speaking of Mayweather, everybody knows how he likes to talk a lot. I mean, dude likes to put a lot of hype. I respect his skills as a fighter but "Pretty boy" can be a bit overconfident. He thinks he got Pacman's number come March:

Floyd Mayweather Jr believes he will knock out Manny Pacquiao when boxing's two biggest stars meet in 2010.

The American and the Philippines star, regarded as the world's two best pound-for-pound boxers, are finalising plans for a welterweight meeting on 13 March.

And unbeaten Mayweather, 32, said: "He's been knocked out before and he's taken losses. I'll be victorious."

Apparently, the writer of the published article is obviously a Mayweather fan. It's too early to predict who's going to win but I'd still put my money on Manny Pacquiao, no doubt about it. It doesn't matter if he lost 3 times (if I'm not mistaken) in his boxing career but he's still The pound-for-pound King!

On the lighter side of things, Manny Pacquiao got some SLAM love. That's right, there's an interview of Pacman on SLAM Magazine issue 134 (which already hit magazine stands everywhere and here in the Philippines). Shout outs to Slam writer Tzvi Twersky for featuring the Philippines' on the pages of SLAM.

So boxing fans, mark your calendars -- March 13, 2010 is the date (March 14 here). That will surely be a fight of epic proportions, literally.

Nike to drop limited edition Manny Pacquiao kicks this September.

Want a piece of history? Head to Nike Bonifacio High Street, The Fort
on September 25, 2009 and get the limited edition Pacman Knows Trainer 1 Mids.
Limited to 259 pairs.

To all sneakerheads and Pacquiao fans, y'all want some limited edition Pacman stuff? Nike will be dropping the Pacman Knows Trainer 1 Mid shoes and Tees on Friday, September 25 at their flagship store in Bonifacio High Street, The Fort. These will be gone fast, that's for sure.

From Nike.com.ph:

In commemoration of Manny Pacquiao’s historic win over Ricky Hatton, Nike will give Pacquiao fans a chance to own a piece of history with the limited edition 259 Pacman Knows Trainer 1 Mid shoe and Pacman Knows Tee. Both products celebrate Manny’s quick ending and astonishing knock-out time against Ricky Hatton last May 2, 2009. With only an interval time of two minutes and fifty nine seconds (2:59) the Hitman was knocked out on the canvas, adding another badge of victory to our very own Pacman.

On September 25, Pacquiao fans get the chance to claim their own triumph with the release of exclusive products. Only 259 pairs of the 259 Pacman Knows Trainer 1 Mid shoe along with 1,000 pieces of the Pacman Knows Tees will be sold at Nike Park The Fort at exactly 9:25pm.

"Nike is proud of what Manny Pacquiao has accomplished and continues to celebrate his triumphs," explains Mae Dichupa, Country Marketing Manager for Nike Philippines. With the launch of our latest limited edition products specially designed to commemorate the victorious battle of Pacman, we continue to show our support for our national athlete."

Taking inspiration from the historic KO, the Nike 259 Pacman Knows Trainer 1 Mid shoe and Pacman Knows Tee glow when the lights go out, much like Manny Pacquiao after knocking out Ricky Hatton. The shoe sports a translucent rubber sole with the date of the fight and the time pops through in fluorescent paint. The tongue is labeled with “Pac Man Knows” and his MP graphic. All of the contrast stitching, embroidery around the swoosh, laces, midsole star pattern and laser etching on heel glow in the dark as well. The limited edition tee has a speckled finish on the MP Crest and the date, time, word “Knows,” swoosh and neck tape glow in the dark. The Tee will retail at P1,095 while the 259 Pacman Knows Trainer 1 Mid is P5,995.

A first-come, first-served scheme will be applied when doors open at 9:25pm on September 25, and a one-shoe and maximum of three tees per customer policy shall be implemented. No reservations will be accepted at the store.

Product Shots:

Man, those kicks look dope. Glow-in-the-dark shoes make this pair more ill than ever! I would love to cop them shoes but can't. The Pacman Knows Glow-in-the-dark Tee will be copped instead. A hefty price for a shirt -- I'm still getting that one nonetheless.

Anyways, mark your calendars and synchronize your watches folks, y'all don't wanna miss on copping the limited edition Pacquiao swag.

Mosley still wants Pacquiao.

While everybody knows the Pacquiao-Cotto fight is almost a done deal, Sugar Shane Mosley still wants to get a crack at Pacman. I'm pretty sure that would be another interesting fight. Somehow I'm a bit perplexed on why he still wants to put his name on the hat. I guess this perhaps answered my question:

"I'll fight him at 140 lbs and I am willing to give him the lion's share," said Mosley from Los Angeles.

Even with victories over Oscar De La Hoya and a bevy of marquee names, the mythical title of pound-for-pound king has eluded Mosley through the years and the cat-quick banger believes a win over Pacquiao would finally make him happy.

Now that he has practically given up everything, Mosley doesn't see any reason why Pacquiao will not take up the challenge.

"If he doesn't fight me, I guess you could say he's afraid of me or his people are afraid of me," said Mosley, the reigning World Boxing Association welterweight king.

His proposal of fighting Manny at 140 lbs. could be quite enticing. The Pacquiao camp might take that into consideration. HOWEVA, he has another reason why he wants to make the fight happen:

According to the 37-year-old Mosley, he made the tempting offer because he had never won the 140-lb crown and he wants to claim Pacquiao’s pound-for-pound tag.

Though he’d initially given up chasing Pacquiao, Mosley said the thought of his legacy prompted him to step up the plate again.

Mosley, who’d been beaten by Cotto, said his proposal should make both Bob Arum and Freddie Roach, the promoter and trainer of Pacquiao, respectively, happy.

Looks to be a valid reason. Good luck with that. If the Pacquiao-Mosley materialized, I doubt Shane Mosley could last a couple of rounds because of his age. From the looks of it, I'd rather see a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight which unfortunately, won't ever happen. I guess Pacman fighting Cotto on November would suffice, in my opinion.

Pacquiao floors Hatton in 2. Wins IBO Junior Welterweight Title.

The new champ is here: Filipino fighter Manny Pacquiao defeated
Britain's Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton for the IBO Junior Welterweight championship
at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

What more can I say? Manny Pacquiao is THE best pound-for-pound fighter in the world today. A lot of fight fans predicted Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton would win (via KO) against the Filipino Southpaw. Even boxing pundits favored Hatton over Pacquiao. But lo and behold, Pacquiao still came out on top albeit doubts and criticisms. Who would've thought it'd be that damn quick? Nobody saw that coming. Well, except for Freddie Roach maybe.

Before the match, WWE Superstar Batista was in Manny Pacquiao's entourage. That itself is a huge honor for The Animal. Jack Nicholson was in attendance, so is Mark Wahlberg (no surprise), Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Diddy (dropping the 'P'), Shane Mosley, Bernard Hopkins and even Denzel Washington.

I have to say Martin Nievera's "Lupang Hinirang", the Philippines' national anthem, didn't disappoint (I'm not sure about the others). He was rocking the shirt of the late Francis Magalona's clothing line. Sir Tom Jones looked really old. He sang Britain's national anthem and Fil-Am Jasmine Villegas sang "Star Spangled Banner".

Unlucky number 2

I mentioned earlier that the main event didn't last quite as long. Trainer Freddie Roach predicted a knockdown on the British slugger in 3, or so he thought. Pacquiao put Hatton out of his misery in 2. "The Hitman" went down twice in the first round after getting a series of rights and lefts from Pacman. His brawl tactics didn't help him at all. It just made Hatton more vulnerable to Manny's offensive attack. He would soon falter in the 2nd round.

Lights out: Ricky Hatton succumbed to Manny Pacquiao's thunderous left hook
in the dying seconds of the 2nd round.
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Time wasn't on Hatton's side. The last 10 seconds of round 2 was perhaps the worst for the British slugger, getting decked with Pacquiao's patented left hook to his jaw. Hitting the canvass lying flat on his back, counting birds/stars/sheep and all. The referee didn't bother counting at all. He was already in LALA Land. What a way to end your title reign. Having his first loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr was bad enough. His match with Pacquiao is a nightmare he's so willing to forget. And everybody thought he would be resilient along the way. Retirement could perhaps be in the horizon for "The Hitman" after being PWN3D by Pacman.

6 is a charm

Manny Pacquiao's TKO victory on Ricky Hatton, he's now one of the few fighters who has held multiple titles in different weight classes. He has another fight coming up in a few months which could perhaps be his last fight before hanging up his gloves to run for Congress(!) in the 2010 elections. After winning his IBO Junior Welterweight championship, I believe he's gonna move up to the Welterweight division and challenge (reportedly) Floyd Mayweather Jr. He already has a spot in the boxing Hall of Fame but clearly, he wants more gold bling before retiring for good. Going for title number 7 maybe? Who knows? It could happen.

Steve Nash hearts Pacquiao and the Filipinos

I was actually surprised upon learning this. I logged on to my Twitter account a while ago and I read his tweet about how great Manny Pacquiao is. So glad I'm following him on Twitter. He even mentioned he wants to be an honorary Filipino and admired the Filipino fans support for Pacman:

Big love to all my Filipinos for the AMAZING PACMAN! Love how u support him. I wanna be an honorary Filipino! How do I earn my stripes?

Wow! Talk about huge love for Manny Pacquiao coming from top NBA players like Steve Nash. I would assume he wants to visit the Philippines. Nike Philippines better make this happen. He's got a huge fan base here (I'm actually one of them). I'm gonna have to buy a Suns Steve Nash jersey one of these days and have him sign it if ever he pays Manila a visit. Manny's popularity sure is getting bigger and bigger.

Many thanks to Twitter for creating this website. I get to follow popular people especially in sports. If Manny Pacquiao had a Twitter account, a lot of his fans would follow him.

******

The Pacquiao-Hatton fight is by far, one of the best matches I've ever seen. It may be the shortest in his career but a lot would agree with me that it was one hell of a slugfest. Pacman is on a roll right now. I can't wait for his next and last fight in the coming months. He has indeed made the country proud yet again and he's truly a world class athlete. He's definitely on top of his game. No doubt about it.

Word to Floyd Mayweather Jr: You're next.

Updates! Updates! Updates!

A lot of stuff going on around Sports. Manny Pacquiao dropping the WBC Lightweight title and got his eyes on the Super Lightweight division. The Pacquiao-Hatton fight is gonna be worth watching this coming May 2 (May 3 here in Manila). He's already started training for the fight. To qoute WWE Commentor Jim Ross: "it's gonna be a slobber-knocker" of a fight, I tell you.

Quick thoughts: The move is good but going for another title before hanging up his gloves is just not a good idea in my book. It's enough that he's already made history having won 4-titles in different weight classes is already a tremendous achievement. I'm not saying that he doesn't have a chance at winning a new title but suffice to say, he's already proven himself and to the world what a great champion he truly is and I'm proud of it. I just hope his last fight would be against Floyd Mayweather Jr. That I'm sure would be one slugfest worth watching.

******

The new season of the Formula 1 is coming up and I can't wait for that one. Maclaren's Lewis Hamilton will defend his crown against Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa. A lot of changes for the new cars this year. I expect Renault's Fernando Alonso to give Mr. Hamilton a run for his money.

Quick thoughts: I still say Felipe Massa should've been champion not Hamilton. I will never be a Ferrari fan but as a Maclaren fan, there's a lot of controversy in his win last year. I hope it's not Deja Vu all over again this year.

******

Denver Nuggets' forward Carmelo Anthony already served his one game suspension for crossing the line with coach George Karl a couple of days ago. D-Wade spoiled Shaqawockee's return to Miami and it was an absolute high scoring game. A lot of MVP chants all throughout the game. The Cleveland Cavaliers beefed up their roster with the return of Joe Smith in a Cavs uni. Starbury signing with the Boston Celtics was no surprise.

Quick thoughts: I'm a bit late on some of the news. My apologies for that. Melo better start acting like a Superstar stop being a pouting little brat for once and do what coach Karl says. It seems to me he's a little jealous because C-Bills is getting all the love from George Karl. Hate to say this but you dropped the ball Melo and you're losing it, son. Get a hold of yourself and be responsible.

D-Wade was a beast in that game. Dropping a lot of dimes to his teammates and that sick block from behind on Grant Hill was just amazing! Bananas I tell you! Shaq's been getting a lot of attention lately after the All-Star break. I'm not sure if he's trying to shake up the L but he better hope that works. Phoenix is about a couple of games behind in the race for the 8th spot in the West.

Joe Smith could be the back-up bigman they needed. With the injured Ben Wallace out, he could fill in the void at the 4 and this could mean that the Cavs are more dangerous in the East and they just got deeper. And lastly, Marbury in Boston could make or break the defending champs' chances of repeating this year. I'm not sure how he's gonna get some PT with Rondo and Eddie House in the rotation. I'm not banking on him being a starter. Rajon Rondo is the Celtics' top point guard. Enjoy the Celtics experience Steph. Better start working on your defense while you're at it. Oh, forgot to mention Mikki Moore signed with the Celtics recently. They got a good backup for the injured Kevin Garnett.

******

That's a wrap for now. I'll be posting perhaps tomorrow on WWE Superstar Batist's recent visit here in Manila. I have yet to post something about the PBA (Philippine Basketball Association). I have to give some love on some of the PBA's best players once in a while. I'm excited for that. I have something cooking up for the EC blogsite. In case y'all didn't know, I'm also a contributor for that site. A lot of great NBA stuff there.

Y'all take care now. I'm out like the Knicks' Nate Robinson with an ankle injury.

Manny Pacquiao's got game, too.

Yup, that's right! Pacman can play basketball, as well. While he's waiting for his upcoming fight against Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton to be finalized, Manny Pacquiao plays basketball on the side. Pacquiao made his debut as a basketball player in the 2nd conference of the Smart-Liga Pilipinas. Unfortunately, his team lost in his first game with the MP GenSan (General Santos City) Warriors. The hometown team was named after the Filipino Fighter, by the way. Wearing jersey number 17, he played just 10 minutes, chalked up only 2 points, 4 rebounds and a single dime drop for the Warriors.


For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

For sure, he balled on his dope PE'd Nikes in his debut game (I didn't get a good look at his kicks, by the way). I'm just hoping he doesn't make career out of playing basketball. He's the best Pound-for-Pound fighter and all, but he might as well stick with boxing. Hope he's only balling just for the fun of it, nothing more.

Word to his Warriors teammates: If he wants the rock, pass it to him if you don't want to get KO'd by him and end up in a hospital bed.