Former WBO welterweight Super Champion Manny Pacquiao has made the rank of full Colonel in the Philippines Army.
Pacquiao (59-7-2, 38 KOs) lost his WBO title in defeat to the Australian Jeff Horn in July 2017, and while the Philippines fighter is hoping for a rematch, he took to social media to announce he made the step up from Lieutenant Colonel.
11 years after joining the armed forces, he posed with members of the army on Wednesday to celebrate the occasion.
Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, boxing’s only eight-division world champion and the only sitting Senator to capture a world championship belt, will add another first to his burgeoning list of Hall of Fame-caliber accomplishments with his live debut on ESPN and ESPN Deportes (also streaming live on the ESPN app) on Saturday, July 1 at 10:00 p.m. ET.
The fight will be called ringside by ESPN commentators Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas.
They will be joined by guest analyst Timothy Bradley, Jr., a former two-division world champion recently trained by Teddy Atlas who has met Pacquiao three times in the ring, winning their first match in a decision. ESPN Deportes will pair Jorge Eduardo Sanchez and Juan Manuel Márquez to call the main event in Spanish, with prefight commentary from Pablo Viruega, Leopoldo Gonzalez, Claudia Trejos and Juan Manuel Márquez.
Pacquiao, the Boxing Writers Association of America’s reigning Fighter of the Decade, will defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown against undefeated No. 1 contender and Brisbane’s favorite son Jeff “The Hornet” Horn at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia.
This will be the first time Pacquiao has not fought on pay-per-view since Sept. 10, 2005, when he stopped Hector Velazquez in the sixth round — 12 years and four weight divisions ago.
ESPN’s coverage of “The Battle of Brisbane” will begin on Friday, June 30th, and includes live coverage of the Pacquiao and Horn weigh-in at 7 p.m. ET within SportsCenter on ESPN and within Golpe a Golpe on ESPN Deportes. During the week of June 26, classic Pacquiao fights will also be available on demand and streaming via the ESPN app, on both ESPN and ESPN Deportes, including Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton (5/2/2009), Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Márquez (11/12/11) and Pacquiao vs. Tim Bradley (4/12/14).
The July 1 telecast will also feature Irish Olympic hero Michael Conlan (2-0, 2 KOs), from Belfast, in a six-round featherweight bout against Jarrett “Juarez” Owen (5-4-3, 2 KOs), of Brisbane, and International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior bantamweight world champion Jerwin “Pretty Boy” Ancajas (24-1-1, 16 KOs), of Cavite City, Philippines, defending his title against top-rated contender Teiru Kinoshita (25-1-1, 8 KOs), of Kobe, Japan. The live telecast will open with an eight-round middleweight rumble between Shane Mosley, Jr. (10-1, 7 KOs), of Pomona, Calif. and son of former three-division world champion “Sugar” Shane Mosley, and David Toussaint (10-0, 8 KOs), of Canberra, Australia.
www.boxingscene.com/photos-pacquiao-horn-go-face-face-final-presser–117975?print_friendly=1
By Miguel Maravilla at ringside
Photos: Mikey Williams / Top Rank –
In the third and final installment of their trilogy, Filipino ring legend Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (58-6-2, 38 KOs) scored an entertaining twelve round unanimous decision over two-division former world champion Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley (33-2-1, 13 KOs) in front of a crowd of 14,665 on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The bout started off in tactical mode, but things heated up midway with some exciting exchanges. Pacquiao knocked down Bradley at the end of round seven. Bradley came back to stagger Pacman in round eight. Pacquiao dropped Bradley again in round nine. In the end, scores were 116-110 on all three cards.
www.fightnews.com/Boxing/pacquiao-beats-bradley-scores-two-knockdowns-332663
El filipino Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao y el estadounidense Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley se vieron las caras ayer en rueda de prensa de cara su tercera pelea que se celebrará este sábado en el MGM Grand Hotel de Las Vegas, Nevada, EE.UU.
El teatro David Copperfield del MGM Gran Hotel fue el escenario que albergó el acto público entre Pacquiao y Bradley, a falta de dos días para subir al tinglado.
La conferencia fue dirigida por el promotor Bob Arum, quien se encargó de llamar al estrado a las figuras principales.
Declaraciones de Timothy Bradley:
“Agradezco a mi familia por el apoyo, en especial a mi esposa quien es mi pilar fundamental, sin ella esto no fuera posible. Mi mente esta puesta en el sábado, es ahora o nunca”.
“Pacquiao es un boxeador único y le agradezco por esta revancha, vengo listo para dar una gran pelea y buscar la victoria a toda costa. El trabajo con Teddy Atlas lo verán esa noche, venimos diferentes en comparación a las peleas anteriores con Pacquiao”, agregó.
Como dato curioso, el púgil estadounidense estuvo acompañado de su abuela en el teatro.
Declaraciones de Pacquiao:
“Quiero agradecerle a todos, principalmente a las personas que me apoyan en Filipinas y Estados Unidos. Este deporte me ha dado mucho, así que este sábado daré un gran espectáculo para mi gente. Luego de este combate quiero compartir con mi familia, atender mis cosas y mi trabajo, veremos que sucede después de esta pelea”.
“Solo puedo decirles que daré lo mejor y quiero pedirles que apoyen el evento, porque vengo con la mismas ganas que cuando llegué a EE.UU. hace 15 años”, agregó.
El dato curioso del filipino se da cuando anuncia que del dinero recaudado por las ventas de los boletos del evento y el que pague por ver (PPV), él dona un porcentaje a los más necesitados en su natal Filipinas.
Título de la OMB:
El título internacional wélter de la Organización Mundial de Boxeo (OMB), que disputarán Manny Pacquiao y Timothy Bradley fue presentado ayer en rueda de prensa por Francisco Valcárcel, presidente del organismo.
La corona tiene un gran valor y está compuesta por 91 piezas de diamantes y un ribete de 150 gramos de oro de 22 quilates.
Photos: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
Eight-division former world champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao and five-time world champion Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley made their Las Vegas grand arrivals on Tuesday, thrilling hundreds of adoring fans. They collide in a 12-round high-stakes welterweight PPV showdown on Saturday in the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Reklama: anglų kalba internetu bei Kaune, Vilniuje ir Klaipėdoje.
www.fightnews.com/Boxing/photos-pacquiao-bradley-grand-arrivals-332027/nggallery/page/1
By Bill Dwyre –
They held the Right Coast promotional scrum here Thursday for the upcoming Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao-Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley Jr. boxing match. Among the revelations that could stop the presses was that there are no villains in this fight.
Leo Durocher said that nice guys finish last. He never considered that they would fight each other.
This kind of warm and fuzzy stuff could ruin the sport. But, in this one, the skeletons in the closet have either been permanently locked up, or they never existed. It got so bad (good) Thursday that, after Pacquiao and Bradley did the usual contrived face-to-face pose for photographers — does anybody actually use this stuff? — they parted by shaking hands and smiling.
Mike Tyson, who once bit off a piece of an opponent’s ear, would be spinning in his grave, were he not still alive. Floyd Mayweather Jr., if he saw this, would go outside and take a baseball bat to a tree.
Where were the insults? Where was the name calling, the out-of-control testosterone, the phony tension contrived to sell tickets? Was this a boxing promotion or the groundbreaking for a convent? In the old days, before George Foreman found God and niceness, this sort of promotion would have driven him either to the heavy bag or the barf bag.
In truth, the best and fairest way to describe what will take place April 9 in Las Vegas is to trot out that terrible cliché of the day: It is what it is. These are two decent people who also happen to be great boxers.
Pacquiao is a congressman from the Philippines, who is universally known for his generosity. Said Top Rank Promotion’s chief executive, Bob Arum, “Most politicians take, take, take. Manny gives, gives, gives.”
Bradley is a once-beaten world champion described Thursday by Arum as, “a great person, who will keep fighting for his family and the people of this country.”
Of course, that is a promoter’s hyperbole. In this case, it also happens to be accurate. The only hope might be to hire Mayweather Jr. to come to a special press day and snarl some insults. Word is he isn’t busy.
Thursday’s event was at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. MSG as a venue symbolizes boxing, and Arum did not miss the chance to point that out. Tuesday’s opener in this two-stop tour event was held in Beverly Hills. The events were mostly the same. Same message. Same warm and fuzzy. Better food in Beverly Hills.
It is 11 weeks and one day until the fight. Including the ever-present good-guy versus good-guy theme, the storylines have been established and are unlikely to change much. That starts with the boxers.
Bradley: “I only have one date on my calendar, April 9.”
Pacquiao, steadfast in his retirement vow: “After this fight, if you want to see me, come to the Philippines. It is a nice place for a vacation.”
Among the discussion points to be dealt with in the next months are:
This fight will be no morality play. You need a bad guy for that. But will the sporting public, which seems to gravitate toward NASCAR wrecks and people fighting barefoot in cages, embrace Little Orphan Annie versus Mother Teresa?
Here Thursday, Atlas gave that public the best reason to do so, relating nicely to our current hypnotic state over politics.
“These fighters,” he said, “have always lived up to their campaign promises.”
fightnews.com/Boxing/pacquiao-and-bradley-ready-to-deliver-on-their-campaign-promises-322000
GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Revered Filipino boxing superstar Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao who has just returned to the Philippines after a 3-week hectic tour that brought him to New York, Los Angeles, London, Miami and Washington, received his WBO super champion belt from WBO Vice-President for Asia-Pacific region Leon Panoncillo Jr Tuesday night here at Pacquiao’s sprawling residence-complex.
The $10,000 WBO super champion belt embedded with swarovski crystals and diamonds.
The $10,000 worth diamond-encrusted custom-designed belt was awarded by the WBO to Pacquiao after the world’s only 8-division world champion and the WBO champion of the decade wrested back his welterweight crown from Timothy Bradley on April 12, 2014. According to Panoncillo, WBO president Francisco ‘Paco’ Valcarcel wanted to have the belt given to Pacquiao earlier but scheduling conflict and Pacquiao’s hectic lifestyle contributed to the delay.
WBO Vice-President Leon Panoncillo Jr (L) handed the belt to WBO super champion Manny Pacquiao at Pacquiao’s residence in General Santos City.
A super champion is a rare recognition given by the WBO, one of the world’s top governing bodies of boxing, to its champions who have achieved preeminent status while holding the championship belt. The WBO’s current super champions include heavyweight world champion Wladimir Klitschko of Ukraine, junior heavyweight champion Marco Huck of Germany and light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev of Russia.
“This is great for the unification!,” Pacquiao, who has tendered a dinner for the WBO and selected guests, blurted out upon receiving the belt to the amusement of everyone present knowing that an elephant in the room – the highly desired and highly anticipated Pacquiao-Mayweather welterweight unification bout for the WBC and WBO belts – casts its huge shadow. Pacquiao later enthralled everyone by discussing the details of his one-on-one meeting with Mayweather and the many details of the ongoing negotiation. “But this is off the record,” he said.
Pacquiao poses with his belt as guests take photos from their cellphones
Pacquiao hosted a dinner after receiving his WBO super champion belt. 
El ex campeón mundial ligero estadounidense Brandon “Bam Bam” Ríos se alista para su trascendental enfrentamiento ante el ex múltiple campeón mundial filipino Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, en disputa del título intercontinental welter de la Organización Mundial de Boxeo (OMB), que se encuentra vacante, que se desarrollará el próximo 24 de noviembre en el Cotai Arena del Venetian Resort de Macao, China, y que será televisado en vivo a través de HBO Pay-Per-View, a través del sistema de pago por evento comenzando a las 9 p.m. este/6 p.m. Pacifico (del sábado 23 de noviembre).
Convencido de que tiene lo necesario para salir victorioso, Ríos (31-1-1, 22 KOs) expresó lo que espera del duelo ante Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KOs), en una conferencia de prensa telefónica desarrollada en la tarde del martes, de la que participó junto a su entrenador, Robert García.
“Lo que tenemos que hacer es entrar allí calmados. Pacquiao aún es un oponente peligroso. Iré al ring con un gran plan de pelea”, advirtió el nacido en Lubbock, Texas, hace 27 años, y radicado en Oxnard, California.
“El campamento va impresionante, no puedo decir que es el mejor, pero va muy, muy bien. Me siento muy bien, porque la cuestión del peso me hace sentir muy fuerte”, informó.
Más allá de que el filipino viene de dos derrotas consecutivas, una polémica el 9 de junio de 2012 en fallo dividido ante el estadounidense Timothy Bradley -que le valió resignar su título mundial welter OMB-, y la otra, el drástico nocaut en el sexto asalto que le propinó el mexicano Juan Manuel Márquez el pasado 8 de diciembre, “Bam Bam” le restó importancia y remarcó la seriedad de su rival.
“No podemos subir al ring pensando en el nocaut de Márquez. Esperaremos para ver qué es lo que traerá. Siempre será peligroso”, recalcó.
A pesar de que muchos consideren favorito al “Pacman”, Ríos manifestó su motivación: “Me encanta cuando no soy el favorito, pues así les puedo probar que están mal. No va a enfrentar a un cachorro. Pacquiao quiere enfrentar a los mejores y yo demostraré q no soy un punching bag. Soy una mezcla de perros de pelea, nada de cachorros. Seré una máquina esa noche”.
Y fue mucho más allá: “Todo el mundo me ve como una bolsa (punching bag). Está bien. Robert y yo tenemos preparado un gran plan de pelea. Sorprenderemos al mundo. Estoy listo para el Pacquiao que ha dominado el mundo boxístico durante tanto tiempo. Estaré listo mental y físicamente.
RÍOS ABRE SU CAMPO DE ENTRENAMIENTO EL JUEVES
Por otra parte, la empresa Top Rank informó que Ríos, junto a Robert García, abrirán su campo de entrenamiento a la prensa este jueves 31 de octubre a las 12 del mediodía. La cita para los medios es en Robert García Boxing Academy (1451 Pacific Ave. en Oxnard, California).
La función Pacquiao vs. Ríos es una promoción de Top Rank y Sands China Ltd., en asociación con MP Promotions y Cerveza Tecate. Pacquiao vs. Rios será producida, distribuida y televisada en vivo por HBO Pay-Per-View, a través del sistema de pago por evento comenzando a las 9 p.m. este/6 p.m. Pacifico.
El actor Kevin Hart, quien es uno de los protagonista de la película de Warner Bros “Grudge Match” estará presente junto con el legendario promotor y miembro del salón de la fama de boxeo Bob Arum.
http://www.notifight.com/artman2/publish/Reporte_7/R_os_Estoy_listo_para_el_mejor_Pacquiao.php