Early February Filipino Boxing Updates

The furor over the result of the controversial Now or Never main event still hasn't died down. There are still plenty of articles made by Pinoy boxing writers on that subject. However, I think its time to move on to other things. Anyway, these are some significant info on Philippine boxing for this month.


Manny Pacquiao

Pinoy boxing star, Manny Pacquiao is currently training hard for his well anticipated rematch against Juan Manuel Marquez. Unlike his training camp for his rematch against Barrera, his training in the US is quiet with no major controversies. The only significant info on his preparations is that he is looking good and is focused on his regimen.

While Manny is hard at training, boxing writers, analysts and enthusiasts are busy making fight predictions. Some think that Manny will win because Marquez has slowed down since there first meeting while others feel that Marquez still has enough skills to outbox Pacquiao. All these discussions are certainly whetting my appetite for this super fight.

Another significant piece of news i have picked up is that Manny has given a donation to aid the family of fallen boxer, Alex Aroy. Aroy passed away due to injuries sustained during a 10-round bout in Villaba, Leyte.


Bobby Paqcquiao

With far lees fanfare than his brother's training camp, Booby Pacquiao is trainign hard for a bout against Urbano Antillon a lightweight contender. After seeing his stack rise with a string of victories aginst well kniown but faded fighters, Booby's career i once again on the way down following his KO loss against Humberto Sotto.

He is facing an uphill battle against Antillon who is fihting at the lightweight division. This Mexican lightweight prospect is undefeated in 21 fights with 14 KO victories. I hope Bobby can give his Pinoy bosing fans a great performance in this one.


AJ Banal Update

Undefeated Philippine boxing prospect, AJ Banal might be fighting Uruguayan Caril “El Raton” Herrera. Herrera is currently ranked No. 5 in the World Boxing Council and No. 12 in the International Boxing Federation. The proposed venue for this bout is the Cebu Coliseum. Let's hope that the boxing fans can keep their cool if this fight will be held there.

This will be a test for Banal as Herrera is also undefeated. If he surpasses this test then perhaps Banal is ready to step up. However, he is still a growing fighter and there is no need to pressure him into taking big fights. He needs to polish his skills and train hard if he wants to be successful at the highest level.


The Donaire Brothers

Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire Jr. the current IBF/IBO flyweight champion has mnade a chance of plans. He has announced that instead of training in Cebu for his forthcoming title defense against Australian Hussein "Hussy" Hussein, he will return to the US for the preparations.

Donaire did not elaborate further on the reason of their sudden change of plan. Well, if he thinks that training in the US is the best way to go then I'm all for it. He needs to train well because he will be up against a very good and experienced fighter. The championship bout is the main event of the blockbuster April 4 card by Third Force Promotions of Noli Eala in Dubai.

Meanwhile, his brother, Glenn "The Filipino Bomber" will face Brazilian Olympian, Jose Albuquerque when he returns to the ring just two weeks away. Glenn and Albuquerque fought to a six round draw in their first meeting. The rematch between them will be scheduled for eight rounds.

Well, I have nothing more to say but good luck to our fighters. I hope that they will train well and give a good performance in their upcoming fights.

2005 KO of the Year!

This is the video of the Ring magazines' "Knock Out of the Year" for 2005. This brutal KO is more popularly called the "18 second knockout." It happened at the Buffalo Run Casino, in Miami, Oklahoma, during the bout between super middleweight contenders, Alan "Sweetness" Green and Jaidon "The Don" Codrington.

Coming into the fight, Green had a record of 17 wins no losses and draws with 11 knockouts while Codrington had a perfect record of 9 wins no losses or draws with all of his wins coming by way of knockout. Every one expected this bout to be exciting but no one expected it to end so brutally quick.

Fortunately, there seems to be no permanent damage to Codrington after his experience with the explosive fists of Alan Green. He has since recovered from the brutal knock out and has won 8 straight fights to improve his record to 17-1-0 1 with 13 knock outs.

On the other hand, Green's career experienced a few bumps after he victimized Codrington. For instance, he came in overconfident and careless against his former sparring mate, Donny McCrary. McCrary knocked down Green in the third round but Green managed to survived and went back and knocked McCrary out in the sixth round.

Green scored a big win by knocking out Olympian and fellow top contender Jerson Ravelo in the 8th round. However, he performed badly against Edison Miranda and lost by unanimous decision in ten rounds. Miranda was knocked down in the eight round but he dominated reen and knocked him down twice in the tenth round. Green has started his comeback with a first round knockout of journeyman Darrell Woods.