OMB Lleva Clínicas de Boxeo a Cupey Alto Como Parte Del Programa “Kids Drug Free”

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO- La Organización Mundial de Boxeo (OMB) y su exitoso programa “Kids Drug Free”, junto al ex campeón mundial Wilfredo Vázquez Jr., el clasificado mundial McWilliams Arroyo y el prospecto Eliezer “Waa” González, presentó hoy unas clínicas de boxeo a niños y jóvenes de los Campamentos de Verano Cupey Alto.

          La actividad, que contó con la con la participación de decenas de niños y jóvenes de los Centros de Verano, estuvo dirigida a la educación y orientación para mantenerse alejados de los problemas de drogas, así como la enseñanza de las distintas facetas del pugilismo y se llevó a cabo en la cancha bajo techo del Complejo Deportivo de Cupey Alto.

          “Gracias por el apoyo que siempre nos dan a nosotros y por confiar e nosotros para ser un ejemplo para ustedes para que sigan adelante”, dijo Vázquez Jr (21-2-1, 17 KOs). “Hay que trabajar fuerte para llegar a ser alguien de provecho y siempre haciéndole caso a papá y a mamá”.

          Vázquez Jr., junto a Arroyo y González, se unieron al entrenador Juan “Golo” Gómez, para mostrarle técnicas boxísticas a los niños presentes en el Complejo. Algunos de los niños se calzaron los guantes y golpearon las guanteletas con diferentes combinaciones. El juez César Ramos y el árbitro José H. Rivera también hablaron de su labor como oficiales de este deporte.

          “Estamos aquí para apoyarlos a ustedes y ayudarles en lo que podamos. Recuerden siempre hay que practicar algún deporte, sea boxeo, béisbol, baloncesto, el deporte que sea, si no estudiar, y el arte también”, expresó por su parte Arroyo. “Deben mantenerse siempre fuera de las drogas y estar en las cosas buenas”.

Recuerden la 25ta Convención Anual y Elecciones de la Organización Mundial de Boxeo (OMB), que se efectuará del 22 al 26 de octubre de 2012 en el Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino de Hollywood, Florida.

The World Boxing Organization on Wednesday announced it has assigned five judges to re-score Manny Pacquiao‘s controversial loss by decision to Palm Springs’ Timothy Bradley in an effort to convince state commissions to widen the pool of judges for major fights.

Although many at ringside for Saturday’s fight gave Pacquiao between nine and 11 rounds, judges Duane Ford and C.J. Ross scored the bout 115-113 (seven rounds to five) in Bradley’s favor, and a third Nevada judge, Jerry Roth, had it 115-113 for Pacquiao in the WBO welterweight title contest.

WBO President Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel said five judges, from New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico, will re-score the bout and submit their work confidentially to the WBO, with the scores to be gathered by Monday.

Valcarcel said that armed with that information, he will submit to the Assn. of Boxing Commissions by its July meeting a request that state commissions such as Nevada’s work more diligently to bring in judges from outside their states for fights of the magnitude of a world title contest.

Before the Pacquiao-Bradley judges were assigned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Valcarcel said he submitted a list of 20 judges from elsewhere who could be assigned to the bout. None were chosen.

“We’re asking the ABC to make recommendations how a sanctioning body like ours can work better with a state commission, to use this experience to have better scoring in the future,” Valcarcel said.

Valcarcel said he is not considering stripping the WBO belt from Bradley, and will not order a mandatory rematch, because Pacquiao’s contract stipulates he would get a rematch if he lost the bout. In promoting the fight, Bradley had printed up a poster and ticket hyping Bradley-Pacquiao II on Nov. 10.

“This wasn’t Bradley’s fault, and we’re not saying there was any evidence of fraud or corruption here,” Valcarcel said. “That’s outside the scope of what we’re doing.”

He said he’s also not questioning the integrity of Ford or Ross.

“There are excellent judges available internationally, and they should be considered,” Valcarcel said. “We’ve done it here in Puerto Rico, bringing in judges from Nevada.”

By Lance Pugmire

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-boxing-wbo-pacquiao-20120613,0,7574716.story?track=rss

FIGHTING in Thailand for a world championship could be a huge risk for a promising Filipino fighter like AJ Banal because of the country’s reputation for hometown decisions.

But the thought of possibly winning a coveted world title crown is just too precious to pass, which has the 23-year-old Banal ready for the worst case scenario.

“Yes it can be a gamble but we just have to be prepared for whatever happens,” ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer told Sun.Star Cebu yesterday of the possibility of his young ward fighting in Thailand.

Banal, who is No. 1 rated bantamweight by the World Boxing Organization (WBO), is fighting for WBO’s vacant 118-pound division belt against No. 2 ranked Pungluang Sor Singyu.

ALA Promotions is currently negotiating for the world title fight to be staged in the Philippines but One Songchai Promotions also wants the fight to be in Thailand.

“We are still working on it but the Thai promoter wants to promote the fight in Thailand too,” said Aldeguer. “It’s hard to say, it won’t be an easy negotiation.”

Banal, 27-1-1 with 20 knockouts, has been riding a 10-fight winning streak, which includes wins over respected fighters like Luis Alberto Perez and Cecilio Santos. Banal once fought for the interim World Boxing Association super flyweight crown in 2008 but he got knocked out by Rafael Concepcion in the 10th round.

Despite being just 24 years old, Sor Singyu is already a veteran of 42 fights in a span of over seven years. He has an impressive record of 41-1 with 26 knockouts. His only loss was in 2009, a split decision loss to Belgian fighter Stephane Jamoye. He has an 18-fight winning romp, wherein his last five were against Filipinos.

Wherever the fight will be held, may it be in the Philippines or Thailand, Aldeguer is sure of one thing, that this is Banal’s biggest chance to become a world champion.
“Yes it’s a winnable fight for AJ.”

If you listen really carefully, you could hear the sound of laughter. Where is it coming from? From the Palm Springs area in the Southern California desert.

Still do not have an idea who it is coming from? Well, he was criticized by the media and diehard boxing fans for passing up on a guaranteed payday against Amir Khan last year and is about to step inside the ring against Manny Pacquiao this Saturday night.

Timothy Bradley had heard all the criticisms before, yet stood steadfast on his decision and the hope that there would be a big payday down the road.

That hope became a reality when he signed the contract and is only days away from taking on the one of if not the pound for pound boxer today.

Bradley will face Pacquiao in a 12 round bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV. The bout will headline an eight-bout card, presented by Top Rank. The card will be televised on HBO Pay Per View.

Lost in the buildup and hype of the bout is that Bradley is challenging for Pacquiao’s world title belt. However, the bigger prize for Bradley is to assume the mythical title of pound for pound fighter, to certain members of the media, and cashing his biggest payday as a professional fighter.

Bradley (28-0, 12 KOs) is coming off an eighth round technical knockout over faded former world champion Joel Casamayor back in November. Ironically, Bradley appeared on the undercard of the Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez III bout, which Pacquiao won by a disputed 12 round majority decision.

Prior to the Casamayor fight, Bradley was involved in a roller coaster of events. After defeating Devon Alexander in January of last year, Bradley had a guaranteed $1.4 million payday waiting for him and a potential deal lined up to fight Amir Khan.

However, that deal never materialized as Bradley was involved in promotional issues with Gary Shaw and Thompson Boxing. After being sued by both promotional companies and waiting for his contract with both promotional companies to expire, Bradley signed on with Top Rank.

The move by Bradley and manager Cameron Dunkin was widely criticized by the media, especially when there was a guaranteed payday of almost $1.5 million for Bradley after his victory over Alexander.

However, the decision by Bradley turned out to be a shrewd and wise one as he will be making about five million dollars for the fight, about the same amount that Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley made. Marquez and Mosley were Pacquiao’s last two opponents. Not to mention that he has a legitimate opportunity to defeat Pacquiao.

“I heard all the criticisms from the media regarding that deal,” Bradley told Fightnews.com over the phone on Tuesday afternoon. “I didn’t care about what they said about me. I knew there was a better opportunity out there for me and I capitalized on it. Cameron Dunkin deserves the credit for working hard and making this fight happen.”

“When it was all said and done, I was the one who had the last laugh.”

However, the last laugh would be to defeat the popular Filipino fighter, an achievement nobody has done since Erik Morales defeated Pacquiao back in March of 2005.

Bradley’s style could give Pacquiao problems as Bradley has shown in previous fights to press the fight and be the aggressor in an attempt to back up his opponents. However, Bradley has shown in the last couple of years that he could box and not just come forward and throw wild punches.

Bradley’s speed and tenacity could work for him or against him, but one thing that he does not lack is confidence, something that he has showing more of during press conferences and on the hit HBO series, 24/7: Pacquiao-Bradley.

“I talk more now because I have a lot of confidence in what I do. I didn’t have as much confidence as I do now and now that I have that confidence, I’m more open. It’s through all that hard work that I’ve put in with my team (his trainer Joe Diaz and his father, Timothy, Sr.) over the years.”

While Bradley admits that the intensity of this camp has been the most strenuous of his career, he has not had any outside the gym distractions like Pacquiao has had in leading up to Saturday’s fight.

Aside from the hardcore training regimen one is accustomed to seeing in the gym by Pacquiao, most of the news on Pacquiao has been on him participating in bible readings due to prior infidelity issues and the ongoing drama between trainer Freddie Roach and strength/ conditioning coach Alex Ariza.

Bradley does not think that will be a problem for Pacquiao, wanting to fight him at his best and not because of any distractions. Bradley would know about bible readings as he is deeply religious and involved in his church back home in the Coachella Valley.

“Manny is a good fighter and a professional. Being at those bible readings will help make him a stronger person. I don’t think any of those issues with Freddie and Ariza will get to him. He’ll still have both guys in his corner.”

After a stellar amateur career that began when he was 10 years old, Bradley began his professional career almost eight years ago at an outdoor warehouse yard in Corona, CA. No one at the venue knew that night Bradley, nine days shy of his 21st birthday, would be in the position where he is now based on his second round technical knockout over Francisco Martinez.

The Bradley fight opened the card for fighters such as Chris Arreola and Josesito Lopez that night.

Bradley has worked hard to get to where he is at now. While some favor for Pacquiao to win on Saturday night, it has not hurt the ego or confidence of Bradley. He has heard it all too often in the past and has enjoyed proving naysayers wrong.

He did so when he traveled to England and defeated Junior Witter to win his first world title belt. He did so when he got up from being knocked down twice to defeat Kendall Holt.

He is confident he will do the same on Saturday night against Pacquiao.

“I have motivation to fight for my family, but I also have the motivation to prove these people wrong. A victory over Manny will just be the beginning for me. I’ve worked so hard to get to where I’m at now.”

“I can’t wait to fight on June 9th.”

A victory on June 9th will indeed give Bradley the last laugh.

Story by Francisco Salazar
Photos by Chris Cozzone

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/bradley-ready-to-have-last-laugh-117584

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (PNA) – Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao has been accorded yet another honor – that of being the World Boxing Organization’s “Best Pound-for-Pound Fighter of the Decade.” WBO president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel announced this during the Final Press Conference of the Manny Pacquiao-Tim Bradley welterweight championship fight held at the Hollywood theater of the posh MGM Grand here.

Valcarcel gifted Pacquiao an imposing diamond ring, in appreciation of Pacquiao’s 10-year heroics, in a simple ceremony inserted in the program with members of Team Pacquiao and Team Bradley, media men and supporters of both camps.

“This diamond ring is being given in recognition of Manny Pacquiao as the WBO’s Best Pound-for-Pound Fighter of the Decade,” Valcarcel said during the award rite.

After the ceremony, Pacquiao walked toward front of the stage showing the ring in his finger to the audience to the delight of the photographers and camera men.

WBO’s recognition came on the heels of the “Fighter of the Decade” honor handed him by the Boxing Writers Association of America, three “Fighter of the Year” accolade, also by the BWAA, and a couple of ESPY Awards.

Both camps, Pacquiao and chief trainer Freddie Roach, on the one hand, and Bradley and chief trainer Joel Diaz, on the other, expressed confidence of victory even as they assured.
Bradley, the reigning unified junior-lightweight champion who is challenging Pacquiao for his 147-pound crown, spoke first, drawing laughter when he said,” I’m ready because I went through a hell of a training camp,” or something to that effect.

Pacquiao, who up to yesterday had been installed a 5-1 favorite ((minus 480 to Bradley’s plus 360) in Las Vegas’ bookmakers odds, fired back saying he, too, has prepared hard describing his cap as “heaven.”

The cocky challenge, showing confidence of a win, showed all the attendees a poster announcing the Pacquiao-Bradley II and a sample of a ringside ticket complete with the date of the fight and the price pegged at $1,200.

He then looked at Pacquiao sitting at his right, shook the Filipino’s hand and said,”I’m ready, I’m ready.”

During his turn to speak, Pacquiao, 33, meekly said he understood Bradley’s feelings, that he knew his challenger is younger and that he also intent to keep his title as he trained like he is 26 years old.

At the backstage though, during the post-presscon interviews, Pacquiao said he’s refuting Bradley’s gimmickry “in Jesus name.”

Roach, for his part, laughed off Bradley’s rematch gimmick, saying, “Well, we thank him for giving us a rematch, but I’m afraid of is that it won’t happen. We’ll make sure of that.”

“As I have been saying, we had a good camp, Manny prepared without distraction whatsoever. We’ve studied Bradley’s fights and realized his strength and his flaws. His problem is how to connect against a fast opponent like Manny. “ he analyzed.

“We studied all his moves, including his tendency to use his heads and we have found a solution to that,” Roach said. “I think Manny will knock him out.”

Also attending the presscon were Bob Arum, top honcho of Top Rank Promotions who presided over the news conference, MGM Resorts president Richard Stern and representatives of HBO, TNT and Tecate Beer.

By Eddie Alinea

http://philboxing.com/news/story-71096.html

EVEN IF many weren’t satisfied, WBO junior flyweight champion Donnie “Ahas” Nietes believes he did  a pretty good job in defeating Mexican Felipe Salguero in the Pinoy Pride XIV: Night Of Champions last Saturday at the Resorts World Manila.

The ALA Gym hall-of-famer Nietes received negative comments after failing to knock out Salguero. Nietes actually dominated the match but the young Mexican prospect held on to lose only via unanimous decision.

“If they were not happy with my performance, they can’t blame me,” said the 30-year-old Nietes. “I played the way I wanted and I showed everyone how I truly fight in the ring.”

In fact, Nietes, who extended his winning streak to 19 for a total of 30 wins with 16 knockouts, one loss and three draws, believes his recent victory was better than his WBO junior flyweight win against against Ramon Garcia Hirales last year in Bacolod.

“I am very satisfied the way I defeated Salguero compared to when I won against Ramon Garcia Hirales last year in Bacolod, where pressure and fear of losing was on my mind at that time,” added Nietes.

Nietes dominated the entire bout against Salguero as he showcased his vast experience and precision punching to overcome his foe.

“I was a lot more conditioned and prepared in Manila.”

Nietes will rest for a month before he and ALA boxing Promotions will decide about the much anticipated plan of pitting him against WBA junior flyweight champion Roman Gonzales.

“I want to fight Gonzales and win the WBA title. But it all depends on my promoter. They will decided what’s best for me.”

By Dale G. Rosal
Cebu Daily News

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/208301/nietes-believes-he-did-a-good-job-vs-salguero

For his astonishing achievements inside the ring, 8 division champion and current WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao received a conmemorative WBO ring, which puts him along with Oscar De La Hoya as the only two fighters to obtain this honor. CONGRATULATIONS MANNY PACQUIAO!!!!!

Milan “Metodico” Melindo made it a very short night for Jesus Geles of Colombia. Hooks to the ribs sent Geles down three times in round one. Referee Danrex Tapdasan stopped the carnage at 2:21. Melindo remains unbeaten in 27 fights and won the WBO International flyweight belt. He also scored an impressive win against a former interim world champion.

By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.

http://philboxing.com/news/story-70870.html

PASAY CITY – WBO jr.flyweight champion Donnie “Ahas” Nietes of the ALA Gym relied on his vast experience and precision punching to turn back the challenge of Felipe Salguero of Mexico. Nietes wisely picked his spots and scored with his uppercuts and overhand rights. Blood slowly trickled from Salguero’s nose as the rounds progressed.

Salguero kept on pressing the action but he missed more than he landed. In the eighth round, Nietes’ punches inflicted a cut on Salguero’s left eyebrow. Nietes had him groggy several times but could not finish him off. The Bacolod City native has been away from the ring for eight months and this could have affected his timing and blunted his instincts.

But Nietes’ lateral movement and uncanny ability to slip punches made Salguero beat the air.

The judges had it closer at 115-113, 116-112 and 116-112, perhaps giving credit to the Mexican’s toughness and aggressiveness. This was Nietes’ first defense he won last October 2011 against Mexican Ramon Garcia Hirales.

Nietes – who is also a former WBO minimumweight world champ – won his seventh fight at the world championship stage.

By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.

http://philboxing.com/news/story-70870.html

Manny Pacquiao’s June 9 defense of his WBO welterweight belt opposite WBO junior welterweight titleholder Timothy Bradleywill be streamed live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on toprank.com as part of a new deal signed between Top Rank Inc. and MLB Advanced Media, baseball’s interactive arm.

The union will allow MLB Advanced Media to not only stream the HBO Pay Per View event, but also help to develop subscription digital content and create mobile applications as Top Rank seeks to improve its ability to monetize its digital content for major fights.

“We’re pushing to get boxing back into the mainstream,” Lucia McKelvey, Top Rank’s executive vice president, told The Sports Business Journal, “and we were looking to partner with somebody that owns their own content and understands exactly what we’re experiencing and trying to do.”

MLBAM and Top Rank Boxing will participate in a revenue-sharing agreement, selling the live stream of Pacquiao-Bradley separately from the traditional pay-per-view telecast for $54.95. The telecast will cost $54.95 for standard definition, and $64.95 for high-definition.

A series of apps for the Apple iOS and Android mobile platforms and several other connected devices is also under development.

Huck actually practiced Taekwando and kickboxing before becoming a boxer. As an amateur kickboxer he had some success, winning a gold medal at first the W.A.K.O European championships in 2002 and 2003 at the age of 18. Despite his success in kickboxing, Huck decided to switch completely to boxing. In 2004, he proved himself in sparring for promoter Sauerland and turned pro with recognized trainer Ulli Wegner at his corner. As a boxer, he showed an aggressive style, good stamina, power, a decent chin and a strong will to win, making him a very pleasing fighter to watch. In three years, he held a perfect record of 19-0, until he got his first World title shot against IBF Cruiserweight Champion Steve Cunningham. Huck went on to loss by TKO in the 12th round.

Right afterwards he outpointed another world class fighter in undefeated (23-0) contender Vadim Tokarev this time without controversy. After the loss to Cunningham, Huck won six

straight fights by knockout and on March 13,2010 Huck won the WBO Cruiserweight title from Victor Emilio Ramírez. He has since defended this title seven times against Ola Afolabi, Adam Richards, Brian Minto, and Matt Godfrey, Denis Lebedev, Ran Nakash, and Hugo Hernan Garay. His latest fight was a rematch against Ola Afolabi, which once again was a very close fight. Both men fought to a draw.

REGIONAL TITLES:

1. EBU-EU Jr. Heavyweight Champion

2. IBF Inter-Continental Jr. Heavyweight Champion

3. EBU Jr. Heavyweight Champion

WORLD TITLES:

1. WBO Jr. Heavyweight Champion

Dmitry Pirog has seemingly sneaked up on boxing fans across the world. Without a solid amateur background, Pirog has managed to remain low profile unless you follow European boxing. Since his pro debut in 2005, he was matched really well, fighting against several solid and dependable boxers, and won several regional titles during the process. In only his fourth pro fight, Pirog won the Russia Middleweight title. In 2007 he defeated Aliaksandr Vaiavoda by technical knockout to claim the vacant WBC CIS and Slovenian Boxing Bureau Middleweight title. Pirog went on to collect four more regional titles, and in 2010, he got his first shot at a title. On July 31, he faced the undefeated contender Daniel Jacobs for the vacant WBO Middleweight title. Pirog shockingly upset Jacobs via knockout with a hard right hand in the 5th round to win the title, on the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz II undercard. After making his first successful defense against Javier Francisco Maciel, Pirog defeated Gennady Martirosyan by way of knockout. His most recent title defense was a unanimous decision victory over Nobuhiro Ishida

REGIONAL TITLES:

1. WBC CIS Middleweight Champion

2. WBC Asian Boxing Council Middleweight Champion

3. WBO Asia Pacific Middlweight Champion

4. WBC International Middlweight Champion

5. WBC Baltic Middlweight Champion

WORLD TITLES:

1. WBO Middlweight Champion

“I bring more to the table than all the tomato cans Vitali is negotiating with at the moment.”

Vitali Klitschko’s long time trainer Fritz Sdunek has been quoted on a Russian boxing website stating that “Vitali Klitschko would eat Marco Huck alive.” WBO Cruiserweight champion Huck says he is surprised by the statement. “I respect Mr. Sdunek a lot but I am surely no snack for either Klitschko brother,” says Huck. “I guess there was a mistake in the translation. You only have to look at all the names currently discussed as possible opponents for Vitali for September to know that I would be a far better option than any of the guys they are talking about. At least I always come to fight.

“I know that I didn’t have my best day against Ola Afolabi – but I hung in there and defended my title. A fight against either Klitschko brother would be a completely different story. Afolabi was a mandatory fight, so I did what I had to do.
If Fritz Sdunek wants to know what a fight between me and Vitali would look like he should watch the tape of me beating up Alexander Povetkin. That is the kind of Marco Huck Vitali would need to be ready for. And he would look as clumsy as Povetkin who was a huge favourite against me as well.

“But instead Vitali prefers to pick some kind of vegetable from the patch which is known as WBC world ratings. Fritz Sdunek was quoted saying I shouldn’t even talk about a Klitschko fight. With all due respect Mr. Sdunek, you mentioned my name and brought it up right now. And I think it’s because you know that none of the tomato cans Vitali is negotiating with at the moment brings as much to the table as I do.”

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/huck-responds-to-klitschko-trainer-116858