Pinoy Boxing Updates

On June 8, Ranee Ganoy is scheduled to defend his IBF Pan Pacific lightweight title against Indonesia’s Joey de Ricardo in Brisbane, Australia. The hard hitting 27 year old Ganoy is based in Sydney is managed by Dido Bohol who migrated to Australia several years ago. Ganoy is being trained by Dido's sons, Jeffrey and Hermie Bohol. He now has a record of 22-10-2 with 19 knockouts.

Ganoy knocked out former WBC super featherweight title challenger Robbie Peden in eight rounds to win the IBF regional title. The bout happened at Peden’s hometown of Brisbane last March 9. Peden lost a twelve round decision in a title fight against Marco Antonio Barrera on September 17, 2005 and was favored to beat Ganoy.

However, the rugged Filipino had Peden in trouble with some big shots several times in the fight. When Ganoy nailed the Australian with a series of vicious blows in the eighth round, Peden’s corner threw in the towel.

His opponent, Joey de Ricardo, has a record of 11 wins and 2 draws with only one defeat and 7 knockouts. He is coming off a 5th round TKO over Richard Sandikal last October 12. On March 22, 2005, he fought Filipino, Philippines Czar Amonsot to a controversial draw in a ten round bout in Jakarta.

The GAB selected WBO Asia-Pacific minimumweight champion Donnie Nietes of the ALA Boxing Gym as the Boxer of the Month. This was announced in the GAB's latest rankings released yesterday by the government agency.

Nietes' impressive titular defense over Thailand's Thongthailek Por Vorasing last April 21 in Victorias City, earned him he award. It also allowed him the to gain the top-ranking in the WBO latest ratings.

Nietes, who hails from Murcia, Bacolod City, holds a fearsome record of 20 wins, 1 loss, 3 draws with 12 KO's. He is awaiting for his crack at the WBO title vacated by Puerto Rican Ivan Calderon.

Finally, here is an interesting list of the worst boxing judges that are still active today.

Thailand Fight Ban Lifted

Philippine Games and Amusements Board (GAB) Chairman Eric R. Buhain practically lifted the ban in the sending of fighters to Thailand during the meeting of boxing managers and promoters. The event was held at the spacious ballroom of the Elorde Sports Complex in Sucat, Parañaque City.

The ban was recently imposed as an aftermath of Lito Sisnorio’s tragic death. The unfortunate boxer's mismatches in Thailand, South Korea and back to Thailand immediately prior to his death were not sanctioned by the GAB.

During the event, Mr. Buhain also declared that requests for fights of Filipino boxers in Thailand will be evaluated and approved on a case by case basis. After hearing justifications foremost of which is that the ban unduly deprives legitimate fighters from availing fight opportunities opened to them in Thailand, Mr. Buhain decided to lift the ban. Fighters of other countries like Indonesia are now taking advantage of these opportunities.

I think that the decision to lift the ban was good for Philippine boxing because it gives more opportunities for our local fighters. However, the GAB should make sure that another tragedy will not occur. We should learn from Lito Sisnorio’s tragic death and protect our fighters from abuse.

Is Pacquiao Getting the Wrong Advice On Marquez?

Manny Pacquiao is ill-advised on his recent media pronouncements telling the World Boxing Council (WBC) that he is letting go of his mandatory status to WBC super-featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez in the opinion of boxing promoter Rex 'Wakee' Salud. The popular boxing promoter also said that Pacquiao must be getting pointers from people who do not know their boxing, and the art of the deal.

Salud said that, "telling the WBC that he is not interested in being the mandatory challenger smacks of ill-advice. I don't know who is behind this, I'm not even sure if Manny understands this situation."

He added that, "they should not have issued that letter to the WBC. That's a wrong move. They should have let the WBC pressure Marquez to defend his title instead. I know that Sulaiman understands Pacquiao's situation that he cannot accept a smaller purse in case of a purse-bidding as he is the more popular fighter." Under this scenario, a Pacquiao- Humberto Soto clash would have been more feasible because there would have been a strong chance of Marquez getting stripped of the title .


In other news, Filipino lightweight Ariel “King Kong” Omongos moved up in weight to battle WBF Asia Pacific light welterweight champion Jed Syger in a six round non-title bout in Sydney, Australia late Monday. He surprised the champion and the audience with a second round TKO win.

This is a big, morale-boosting victory for the 20 year old Omongos who had a record of only two wins against seven losses and one KO. On the other hand, it was only the second loss for Syger whose record dropped to 9-2 with 2 KO’s.

Pacquiao Declines to Fight Marquez

Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, expressed his surprise upon being informed that Many Pacquiao signed a three-paragraph letter to the WBC prepared by his adviser Michael Koncz. The letter informed WBC president Jose Sulaiman that Pacquiao was relinquishing his mandatoru status and the WBC was free to name someone else in his place.

The letter is a response to Sulaiman's calle for free negotiations or if it didn’t work, a purse bid on June 18. In effect, The Pacman has turned down a mandatory title shot at reigning WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez.

There are some speculations why Pacquiao would decline such a tempting offer. The first is that Team Pacquiao is not willing to accept the usual 75-25 percent split of the purse between the champion and challenger. However the challenger would usually ask the WBC to change the purse split and the WBC usually does it in cases where the challenger is so well known.

Since Team Pacquiao dismissed the offer without making any effort, suspicions abound that the decision to decline the offer was from Bob Arum. It is probable that Arum would want to have Pacquiao pullout since he had earlier wanted the WBC to name Humberto Soto whom he handles, as the mandatory challenger. Soto won a title eliminator against Ivan Valle several months ago. Should Soto beat Bobby Pacquiao in their June 9 clash at Madison Square Garden, he would be elevated to mandatory challenger status against Marquez.

Schaefer is now planning to sit down with Marco Antonio Barrera from whom Marquez won the title earlier this year to discuss the possibility of a rematch in view of Pacquiao’s decision not to fight Marquez. Golden Boy promotions have several other options including Jorge Barrios, Rocky Juarez, Joan Guzman or Edwin Valero should Barrera not wish to do the fight.

Boxing News

Former Bantam Weight Champion Suffers Heart Attack

Let us begin with an unfortunate report that one of the greatest bantamweight champions and legendary knockout artist has suffered a heart attack. Carlos Zarate who turns 56 this week, was rushed to the Siglo 21 hospital after he suffered from chest pains and collapsed. Fortunately, he is now recovering and his condition was reported to be stable according to well-known boxing writer James Blears of Boxing Scene.com.


Edwin Valero Receives Presidential Award

Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, has awarded the the Orden Libertador (Order of Liberation) toWBA super-featherweight king Edwin Valero. The ceremony took place at the Sala Ríos Reyna del Complejo Cultural Teatro Teresa Carreño in Venezuela.

Chavez was quoted by Notifight as saying, “It is with great pride for us all, this fighting young man and world champion. With pride, and in the name of all Venezuelan towns, I have placed in the chest of Edwin the Order of Liberator. This order will be bestowed to the young Venezuelan fighter and champion.”


Slone Paints Pacquiao's Portrait

The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) has commissioned Richard Slone to paint a portrait of Manny Pacquiao. Slone is the official artist of the Boxing Hall of Fame (BHOF). The original painting depicts Pacquiao in his charateristic southpaw pose with a bloody and fiery motif amd measures 16" x 20" Acrylic on Board.

The portait will grace the cover of the Programme for this year's BWAA Annual Boxing Award to be held in New York on June 8. As you probably know, Pacquiao is this year's BWAA top awardee as 'Fighter of the Year'.

The highly sought after British artist have painted portraits of many famous boxing and non-boxing personalities including Muhammad Ali, Lenox Lewis, Oscar de la Hoya, Donald Trump, Hugh Heifner, Glenn Schaeffer and Nelson Mandela. His boxing related portraits and paintings have graced the cover of Ring Magazine, KO Magazine, World Boxing Magazine, among others.

Juan Manuel Marquez: Pacquiao is My Top Priority

A fight against Pacquiao is his top priority, and something that should be given to the boxing fans, according to Juan Manuel Marquez, the reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) super-featherweight champion. He also told compatriot Humberto Soto that he should fall in line and wait for his turn to fight Pacquiao.

However, he understands that a fight with Pacquiao is now at the hands of their respective handlers, and that the details are just being ironed out. A fight with Pacquiao is at the top of his plans for September 15 titular defense set for the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Marquez also announced that he would be more than willing to give Marco Antonio Barrera a rematch. However, he says he is the champion and there are other big fights out there that can be made if the former champion wants to move in another direction.

As a boxing fan, I can say that I am excited for this fight to happen. Pacquiao and Marquez fought to a draw in their first meeting so a rematch is long overdue. Pacquiao probably has the advantage in this fight because he is younger and has improved tremendously since his first boiut against Marquez. On the other hand, Marquez is a very skilled and tough fighter who is coming of a huge win over Barrera so he cannot be counted out. Pacquiao has also been distracted in his distracted with his political campaign and he needs to be in his best if he want s to beat an elite fighter like Marquez.

Pacquiao: There is No Need to Hurry

Let us begin with an update on the national boxing scene:

On June 1, Olympian Danilo Lerio will battle Louie Bantigue for the vacant Philippine flyweight title. The fight will be held June 1 in Angono, Rizal. This event will be promoted by Aljoe Jaro, who also manages Lerio.

This figures to be a good match as Bantigue is on a three-bout winning roll including a Japan victory last October, while Lerio is coming off a huge win over erstwhile undefeated Apol Suico.


Pacquiao Update:

Yesterday, Manny Pacquiao there’s no need to hurry in choosing his next opponent in the ring. His promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, a free hand to choose his next opponent. Perhaps Pacquiao is still recovering from his failed congressional bid. Four possible opponents in Joan Guzman of Venezuela, Edwin Valero of the Dominican Republic, and Mexicans Marco Antonio Barrera and Humberto Soto has been offered by Arum as possible opponents.

Juan Manuel Marquez, the reigning World Boxing Council super-featherweight champion, is down the list although boxing experts believe that it could be the biggest fight of the year. According to online polls, boxing fans prefer a Marquez versus Pacquiao bout. The situation is complicated as , Top Rank is in a legal tussle with Golden Boy, which has ties with Guzman, Valero, Barrea and Marquez.

Pacquiao has said that it's all up to the negotiations and a decision may be made when he arrives on the US. He is scheduled to go to the US on May 28 to receive his 2006 Boxer of the Year award from the Boxing Writers Association of America on June 8 and watch his brother's fight against Soto.

Pacquiao to Move on After Election Loss

To the relief of Filipino boxing fans , Manny Pacquiao has said on Philippine television that he will now concentrate on his boxing after his failed congressional bid. He also said that he will go back to school and expressed his gratitude to friends and kins who supported him during the congressional race.

Pacquiao declared that he is planning to take up Political Science so that people will not look down on me. He boasted that there have been proposals that he take up Political Science at the country's top school and premier state university. There were also proposals that included other top schools i9n the country.

However, Pacquiao said that boxing will also remain on top of his priority list. He is now planning to prepare for a fight possibly against any of the top dogs in the 130-lb division on September or October 6.

It looks like Manny has regained his senses after his painful loss at the hands of Darlene Custodio or maybe he is just setting aside his political ambition. He is at his best when he is focuesd on his training so Boxing fans can rejoice with this development.

Barrera to Retire if He can't have Rematch with Pacman

Marco Antonio Barrera has declared that he will retire if he cant fight Manny Pacquiao in a rematch this year. Barrera has indicated he wants a rematch with Pacquiao to erase the stigma of the eleventh round demolition he suffered in November 2003 in San Antonio, Texas.

Bob Arum has revealed in an overseas telephone conversation with Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today, that he had a number of fighters lined up for an October 6 fight date for Pacquiao. The problem, Arum says, is that, “there is a question about Barrera.”

Despite the fact that Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer has firmly stated that Barrera is under a promotional contract with Golden Boy, Arum “is insisting that his lawyers will demonstrate he can do the fight.” As you probably know, Top Rank and Golden Boy are currently engaged in a sometimes bitter legal battle over who has the promotional rights to Pacquiao.

Barrera has “offered to talk to the Golden Boy people and tell them that’s the fight (against Pacquiao) that he wants otherwise he will retire” according to Arum. Arum added that, he had heard from “all of the possible contenders” and planned to “discuss with Pacquiao exactly who he wants to fight because I am going to produce everybody that I can and leave the decision up to him.”

I think that this will be a good fight for Pacquiao as Barrera is coming off a loss to Juan manual Marquez. He has also aged since he was taken apart by Manny in their first fight. A rematch will also erase the doubts that Pacquiao only got lucky in their first fight. This fight will draw a lot of people even if Pacquiao will probably destroy Barrera ijn the same way he disposed of Erik Morales in their third fight.

ALA Boys to Fight for WBO Regional Belts

Today, ALA Boys Robert Allanic and Fernando Otik will attempt to overcome Korean foes for World Boxing Organization (WBO) regional belts. The bouts will be held at the Shinheung University Gym in Uijeongbu City, Seoul, South Korea.

Otik (6-1, 6KOs) takes on Hee-Jae cho (8-2, 4KOs) for the vacant WBO Asia-Pacific Youth super featherweight title. On the other hand, Allanic (15-3, 7KOs) will take in Chang-Jae Kwon (14-2, 10KOs) for the WBO Asia-Pacific interim bantamweight championship, .

Otik wants to claim another victim via stoppage in Hee. The power-punching super featherweight posted all his six wins via knock out. He flattened Noli Fabroa in the third round in his last ring sortie at the Tabunok Gym in Talisay City last May 1. However, Otik must be extra cautious as Hee is aching to bounce back from a defeat by unanimous decision to Byung Joo Moon on December 17, 2006.

For his part, the 21-year-old Allanic hopes to regain lost glamour after losing his last two matches. Allanic lost by retirement at the end of the eighth round in his last fight against Abner Mares of Mexico last March 2 in New Alhambra, Philadelphia. Let us hope that these ALA boys can bring home the belys.

Pacman KO'd !!!

According to television reports on late Thursday afternoon, Custodio led by nearly 37,000 votes over Manny in General Santos.The Namfrel tally showed that Pacquiao got 50,229 votes while the second-term lawmaker took 87,138 votes.

However, Manny has still refused to accept defeat. He said that his lawyers will question the absence of Commission on Elections (Comelec) watermarks in some election returns. Manny said in a recent interview that he will accept defeat as long as "clean elections" were held.
He also recently accused the Antoninos of raising P100 million to have him killed.

WBC head Jose Sulaiman offered a comment upon hearing news about Pacquiao's impending defeat in the elections. Sulaiman was quoted as saying "Manny Pacquiao’s legendary timing is off….politically wise!" He also mentioned that Manny "doesn’t appear to be having the same dynamic impact at the ballot box, as he does in the ringed square." Sulaiman further told the www.boxingscene.com that, "Manny Pacquiao made a mistake at this particular time. He should have run for politics, after retirement from boxing."

This should wake Manny up from his hallucinations. Now that he has lost his honor and a few million pesos in the elections he can focus on boxing. After all, winning in the ring is the best way that he can regain both of them.

Bobby Pacquiao is Working Hard for His Upcoming Bout

There has been so much buzz about Manny Pacquiao's congressional bid that almost no attention has been given to his brother's upcoming bout. Bobby Pacquiao has a record of 27-12-3 with 12 knockouts while Soto's record is 41-5-2 with 25 KO's. He is coming off a third round TKO win against Humberto Toledo last February 22.

According to journalist Winchell Campos, Bobby Pacquiao who faces WBC super featherweight No. 2 contender Humberto Soto, is ”looking good.” Soto won a title eliminator over Ivan Valle last August 12. Campos added that, Bobby was “working harder than ever” in preparation for his June 9 showdown with Soto at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden. Of course, they were disappointed over Manny’s defeat in the congressional elections. Bobby is currently training under celebrated two-time “Trainer of the Year” Freddie Roach and has reportedly “changed his mental outlook” for the better.

Bobby Pacquiao is expected to give Soto who is handled by Top Rank promoter Bob Arum some problems as he has looked good in sparring. Soto is among four possible opponents of Manny Pacquiao that are being considered by Bob Arum. However, he first needs to overcome the challenge posed by the younger Pacquiao.

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Pacquiao on The Verge of being KO'd on Congressional Bid

According to partial and unofficial results of the election, Opposition Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio continues to pile up her lead over boxing icon Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao. The incumbent, Custodio garnered 16,755 votes while Pacquiao only got 9,133 in the quick count of the National Citizens Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), as of 1:18 p.m. yesterday. This count was held at the Marist-run Notre Dame of Dadiangas College in General Santos City, South Cotabato.

The Namfrel tally represents 21.29 percent of the 1,461 precincts in the first district of South Cotabato, which covers General Santos City and the municipalities of Polomolok, Tupi and Tampakan.

Custodio is running under the banner of the Nationalist People’s Coalition and local political party Achievers with Integrity Movement (NPC-AIM). On the other hand Pacquiao, is being backed by President Arroyo’s party Kabalikat ng Mamamayang Pilipino (Kampi).

Pacquiao, however, says he remains hopeful in his bid for a congressional seat. In fact, the boxing icon sounded hopeful and unconceding, “The counting is not yet over”, when he was asked on Monday night by a reporter about his plans after the election. He also went on radio hours after the polling, thanking his supporters for their votes.

To be honest, I feel happy about the results of this quick count not only because Pacquiao is losing but also because the Filipino voters seems to have matured. They are no longer voting for the more popular but less qualified candidate like they often did in the past. Perhaps they realized that electing actors for public positions is not the best practice. Or maybe they just used their common sense and decided that Pacquiao is not fit for public office.

Nevertheless, this impending loss should teach Pacquiao a lesson. The political arena is so much different from the boxing arena that he dominates. He should just set aside his political amnbitions at this time and concentrate on his boxing career.

ALA Boys Dominate In Quezon City

It seems that more boxers from the famed ALA Gym in Cebu will follow in the footsteps of emerging boxing stars Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista and AJ “Bazooka” Banal. The three pugilist displayed their wares in Barangay Toro, Quezon City last night.

ALA boy Along Denoy scored a 4th round TKO win against veteran Roberto Rubillar in the main event of the evening. The fight was held at the 112-pound limit. The ferocious Denoy finally dropped Rubillar when he nailed the latter with a perfect semi-uppercut to the midsection midway in the 4th round, after gaining little headway in the earlier rounds on the defensively-minded Rubillar. Rubillar simply shook his head when asked by Referee Warren Jaro if he was fit to continue even if he managed to beat the count. this prompted the referee to stop the fight at the fourth round.

Milan Melindo, another rising talent displayed fine boxing technique to outbox Wendell Cajoles over ten rounds. He won via a unanimous decision by the scores of 100-91, 99-91, and 99-91. Melindo also showed superb defense effectively blocking many of Cajoles’ punches with his gloves while evading the others with excellent footwork and good head movement. Melindo used a variety of punches in scoring punishing shots on Cajoles although the latter managed to stay on his feet and finished the round.

ALA upstart Joseph Omanz and Jun Piasidad in the super-bantamweight division were fighting on even terms. That is until Piasidad finally succumbed to Omanz’ pounding of his body. Piasidad was able to block most of Omanz’ wild hooks and crosses and scoring some crisp counters in the process but a left hook in the 4th round sent him sprawling to the canvas, obviously in great pain. He did manage to get up upon the prompting of his corner but went down the second time after Omanz pummeled him again with vicious hooks to the body. Omanz was awarded a TKO win in 1:06 of the 4th round improving his professional record to 6-0 when Piasidad could no longer continue.

It seems that Philippine boxing is booming at this point. The success of Manny Pacquiao has inspired a lot of talented fighters to work hard. Manny's success has also placed more attention to Filipino boxing talent across the country. Hopefully, we will have another world champion in the coming years.

Arum to Aid The Pacman in Fight for Congressional Seat

There is news that Bob Arum is coming to General Santos City in the Philippines in order to provide support for Manny Pacquiao in his congressional bid. As you probably know
the Pacman is running for Congress against the incumbent Darlene Antonino-Custodio. This political bout was highlighted a few days ago by the proliferation of text messages that claimed Manny was killed in an ambush. Expectedly Manny accused his rival as responsible for misleading the voters.

This shop of support is a fulfillment of a promise that Arum made to Pacquiao. However, I think that Arum is just making sure that Manny will stay loyal to him. I sure can't blame him for that seeing as Pacman nearly defected to Golden Boy Productions a few months ago.

As for the possible future opponents of Manny's next bouts, Arum named Joan Guzman, Humberto Soto and Marco Antonio Barrera. I hope that these fights will happen later this year. I think Pacman needs a wake up call so that he will focus on the things that he can do very well.

Goodbye Diego...

I'm afraid that this is a sad day for boxing because former junior lightweight titlist and lightweight champion Diego Corrales was pronounced dead from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident that happened last Monday night. The accident occurred at the intersection of Fort Apache and Russell Roads in southwest Las Vegas, where Corrales has made his home for many years.

This is a great loss for the sport of boxing as he was a fighter who has thrilled boxing fans worldwide with his mental tenacity, physical toughness, shocking punching power and unyielding spirit in the ring for years.

This brave fighter compiled a 40-5 (33) professional record, is survived by his wife of five years and their three children.

Goodbye Diego...

Let's Get Ready to Rumble

The emergence of Pinoy Boxing superstar, Manny Pacquiao has put the Philippines on the map. His popularity and boxing superstar status has paved the way for many other Filipino boxers and has put attention to Philippine boxing. Top boxing promoters are now frequenting the country and a few world championship bouts has been held in the country.

This blog will be dedicated to the promotion of Philippine boxing and Filipino boxers. I will offer my personal views on upcoming fights involving Filipinos as well as boxing mega fights involving boxers of other nationalities. I will also feature stories on active boxers as well as the biographies and records of past Filipino boxing greats.

Now that were done with the introductions let us proceed to boxing. Rumors have surfaced that Pacquiao will be facing Valero in the US. However, I feel a bit skeptical at his news because Valero's license to fight in the US has been revoked. This is because of the injuries he suffered from a severe motorcycle accident in which he wasn't wearing a helmet. He fractured his skull and had surgery to remove a blood clot Nonetheless, this fight will be a very exciting one if the promoters can finalize it.

Edwin Valero has a very intimidating undefeated record in which he has knocked pout all of his opponents. He knock out his first 18 opponents in the first round and he currently holds the WBA super featherweight title. He wrested the title from Vicente Mosquera via a tenth round KO and has successfully defended his title three times. However, the quality of his opponents pale in comparison to Pacquiao's and his injury also raises a lot of questions. This will be a good fight for Pacquiao as it involves a title and Valero is well known in the US. Pacquiao obviously cannot afford to take Valero lightly as he has a lot of power and is hungry for recognition. The Pacman also needs an exciting fight after his lackluster performance against Solis.

On other news, unbeaten Filipino prospect Rey 'Boom Boom' Bautista has been installed as a 2-1 favorite to inflict the first defeat on Argentinian Sergio Manuel Medina. The pugilists will clash in Las Vegas on the first televised portion of the pay-per-view 'The World Awaits' card that will be held this coming Saturday. According to MGM's Sportsbook, Bautista has been picked as a -200 favorite to defeat Medina, while the Argentinian is a +160 underdog going into the fight.

Well that will be all for now, I will discuss Bautista's upcoming fight in more detail as well as other matters on my nest post.