The Manny Pacquiao of the 70's

I found out about this great video from a boxing forum...



The star of that video is Ben Villaflor one of the former Pinoy boxing champions. He held the WBA world Junior Lightweight (now called Super Featherweight) championship during part of the 1970s. He won the wored championship belt by knocking out the champion Kuniaki Shibata in the first round (see the video above). The two combatants fought to a 15 round draw when they fought about seven months before the fight.

Some people describe him as the Pacman of the 70's because of his Southpaw style and his punching power. Of course, it might also be reversed it and we can also describe Manny as the Ben Villaflor of today.

Villaflor ended his career with a record of 54 wins (31 KO's) , 8 losses and seven draws. Six of his losses happened during the early part of his career. He fought for the last time when he lost the title to fellow 130 pound great Samuel Serrano by unanimous decision. Villaflor was never stopped in his career and stands among the best fighters in Philippine boxing history.

Pretty Boy KO's the Hitman

This weekend, "Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather scored an impressive win over previously undefeated British boxing star, Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton.

Mayweather's KO win was a surprise as most boxing fans did not expect Mayweather to go toe to toe with Hatton. Floyd utilized slick movement, quickness and hand speed to earn convincing decisions over his previous opponents. I personally felt that it would be unwise for him to engage Ricky Hatton in close quarters. However, Floyd's talent and underrated toughness allowed him to overcome Hatton's attack en route to scoring a knock out.

This win solidifies Mayweather's standing as the top Pound for Pound fighter in the world. This puts him well ahead of Manny Pacquiao who is considered by many to be the second man in the P4P list. The Pinoy boxing star can still catch up with Pretty Boy if he pulls off an impressive performance against Juan Manuel Marquez next year. However, winning against Marquez will be a difficult challenge for the Philippine boxing icon.

The next question would be what's next for Mayweather. A possible bout against Miguel Cotto is a boxing fan's dream. However, that is up to Mayweather who might just make good on his decison to retire from boxing. He is 30 years old which is not too old for his weight class and he is obviously at the top of his game. I hope that he will fight Cotto next year in another mega fight.

Pinoy Boxing Stars Score Impressive Wins

Philippine boxing was again in the limelight this weekend when three of its stars scored victories against Mexican opponents.

Filipino boxing star Nonito Donaire was out to prove that his KO victory over Vic Darchinyan was no fluke against Mexico's Luis Maldonado. Donaire, the reigning IBF and IBO flyweight ruler dominated mandatory challenger Luis Maldonado en route to a via eighth-round technical knockout victory at the Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket,
Connecticut.

Donaire went off in an impressive start against Maldonado as he ripped the challenger with accurate and crisp left hooks and right crosses. Donaire's punches caused cuts in both of Maldonado's eyes and it seemed that the challenger would not be able to last the champions firepower. However, Maldonado was able to put himself together and scored with some big shots as Donaire began throwing wide punches in the hopes of finishing the bleeding challenger.

The challenger's hope were dashed when Donaire resumed his accurate counter punching barrage and neutralized his challengers attacks. Maldonado finally succumbed to the champions assault in the closing seconds of the seventh round. The brave challenger answered the bell for the eight round but was met with aggression and power punches from the champion. Donaire rained punches on his bleeding opponent as the challenger covered up along the ropes forcing the referee to stop the contest. This TKO victory proved that Donaire is no one punch wonder and has the talent to become successful in the flyweight division.

Filipino boxing prospects, Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal also delivered wins for Pinoy boxing at a card held at he Araneta Coliseum. Bautista made the first step towards his comeback to contender status with a morale boosting unanimous decision win over Antonio 'Barrio' Meza of Mexico. The scores were 117-111, 116-112, and 118-110 for Bautista in his first win after being annihilated by Daniel Ponce de Leon.

AJ 'Bazooka' Banal, an undefeated Pinoy boxing prospect continued to impress with a brilliant performance against Mexican Jovanny Soto. The two fighters went against each other with desire to win but Banal's superior talent and power lead to a 9th round KO win for the Filipino boxer.

These victories will whet Pinoy boxing fans appetite for the super rematch between MNanny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. The superfeatherweight stars produced a thriller in their first meeting and their long anticipated rematch has fight of the year potential.