Breaking News Oscar agreed to fight Manny come December 6 as stated in the news. After a 10 day negotiation halted when Manny opposed the 70-30 revenue split… Manny wanted 40 percent of the lions share but Oscar insists on its initial offer which is the same revenue percentage Oscar gave to Floyd Mayweather Jr. that rake Millions of dollars in pay per view buys.
Oscar needed a big time exit and with “Money” Mayweather out of the picture there’s no one in the sport who is a perfect income generating partner but Manny.
Oscar doesn’t want to fight a game Antonio Margarito who could beat him severely or with the contender fighter Sergio Mora who still has a match against sturdy Vernon Forrest or the Punisher Paul Williams who could clearly dominate him. Although all are good match-ups but nothing will ever surpass the suppose megafight against Pacman. It’s a box office fight and will gather millions of pay per view buys. Until now the Delahoya-Pacquiao fight is a hot item and everybody is talking about it. The hype the excitement the thrill all boils down to boxing’s Golden boy and the pound per pound king.
Oscar granted Manny’s additional 5 percent to the 70-30 split and so far it looks pretty bright but then again it’s still not a signed and sealed deal so anything can happen.
Oscar is eyeing for revenge for all the Mexican fighters who have fallen in the hands of Manny and Manny is eyeing for immortality as he moves 2 weight classes up and make history. Many sees this as an overrated hype mismatch but Oscar is past his prime and this would be an interesting fight with Manny’s speed against Oscar’s power.
This is history in the making folks… This is Manny’s golden opportunity after this fight he would be top of the food chain and if Oscar wins he will avenge the so called mexicutioner. Business wise or any other way this bout should be done… Win or loose both pugilists’ ends up with millions on their pockets and their legacy intact as well as their names carved down in boxing’s great history. This fight will happen…this should happen…so will someone give them a pen…

There’s no team up to now who could replicate the famous Michigan Wolverines Fab Five… We all remember how the brash talking stereotype fab five who dominated each and every game and made collegiate basketball a breath of fresh air with their baggy shorts and first-class talent.
Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson and Jimmy King are all freshmen who stormed NCAA with a Beatles like charisma. The most watched college basketball team in NCAA history and the controversial one.
They never won any championships… And the team was covered with hullabaloos with game fixing and money laundering issues. The blue collared chips fab five players played basketball like their own playground and their breath taking talents made them an instant celebrity.
We all remember the famous Webber timeout with zero timeout left in the game. Webber was slapped with a technical foul and causes their championship game against North Carolina. Webber decided to enter the NBA draft amidst the talks and continued a long and multi million dollar NBA career. Webber was indicted with accepting an illicit loans while still in highschool and gave a period to the controversial most renowned recruiting class program of Michigan State. So what happened to the once mighty Fab Five?
Chris Webber- move on to the NBA and had a long 15 year career he started his career in Golden state and became the rookie of the year in 1993 he played on teams such as Washington Bullets, Philadelphia Sixers, Detroit Pistons and Sacramento Kings after a brief retirement due to injuries Webber tried to play again as a Golden State warrior but at age 35 his legs gave in and call it quits.
Jalen Rose – went on to his junior year before being drafted in the NBA. His career highlight would have been guarding Michael Jordan in two Eastern Finals conference in the NBA. He ended his career in Phoenix and became a courtside commentator for ESPN and TNT.
Juwan Howard- Joined Jalen Rose as a junior before turning pro. Juwan is currently playing at present but his playing minutes gradually decreases each year. Juwan is a good post up player and have taken his team all the way to the playoffs as a Washington Bullets playing together with Rasheed Wallace and Mark Price. Juwan’s career is derailed with injuries and a retirement is eminent coming to next season.
Ray Jackson- The only member of the Fab Five who didn’t make it to the NBA. A journeyman who found himself cut from every roster from the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons. Played in the CBA and is now retired and runs a moving company.
Jimmy King- Like Ray, Jimmy played in the CBA and fortunately for Jimmy he was able to play in the NBA with limited minutes as a Raptor in 1995 and traded to the Denver Nuggets before trying his luck in the CBA for Quad City thunder and was named MVP in 1998. Jimmy is now working as a financial advisor in Wall street.

The Michigan’s Fab five will be always remembered. But with all the hype and expectations they are just short lived. They never won any championships and neither one of them won any NBA ring. Only 3 out of the five had a career in the NBA but most of them made a career after basketball. Maybe the team was bound for greatness and maybe greatness comes in different ways… Remembering the fab five….

It takes 36 years before Mark Spitz Olympic record has been broken. A young 23 year old Michael Phelps captured his 8th gold medal in a dramatic fashion. A jubilant Phelps raised his arms in the air and the loud cheers echoed around the arena yes Michael is now safe to say the greatest Olympian in sports history.
Diagnosed as having an Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder at an early age he made swimming as an outlet for his energy. He made the Sydney Summer Olympics in 2000 and became the youngest American male swimmer for the last 68 years at age 15.
He could have made the $1million bonus from Speedo if he had won 8 golds in the 2004 Athens Olympics but he failed. Michael had to endure such fate in order to feel the fruition of his success.
The previous record of 7 Olympic medals by Spitz in 1972 made Mark an instant celebrity but also to his early retirement at age 22. There was a lot of pressure surrounding him and at that time it was best for him to retire although he tried coming back in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics at age 41 but he failed to get the qualifying time at the Olympics trial. Michael Phelps in the 2004 Athens Olympics knew his time will come winning 6 gold medals and 2 bronze was a definite sign of things to come.
Phelps won his 8th gold in the Beijing Olympics which started at 8th of August 2008. Truly 8 was a magical number and Michael Phelps broke records and won gold medals and became the be-medaled Olympian of all time.
Now Phelps has an estimated $5 million endorsements not to mention the 1$million bonus from Speedo.
After serving 18 months in probation for driving under influence of alcohol Phelps said he let his self and his family down… his people and his country… but after winning his 8th gold medal he doesn’t need to apologized anymore his people and his country were so proud to call them their own. I’m honored to witness Phelps greatest performance a once in a lifetime feat by the greatest Olympian ever.

Kevin Ferguson otherwise known as Kimbo Slice is a product of the new age internet technology. He was a Youtube hit with all his underground Mixed Martial arts fights. Edwin Valero a virtually unknown boxer who made a living destroying his opponents by a perfect KO record was discovered mainly on Youtube since he was banned from America because of his accident which damaged a minor part of his brain. Edwin fights more overseas and with his 18 first round KOs everybody was intrigued about his power and a lot of times being matched up against pound per pound fighters among boxing fanatics. Ricky Rubio was only 14 years old when he played pro basketball he was considered a child phenom with all his passing skills and fancy dribbling he was a hit in every youtube addicts. The 6’4” young point guard made some NBA scouts booked themselves to Spain to see the so called Pete Maravich reborn. His maturity is way beyond his years. He is not only a talented ball player but he knows pretty well how to play the game. Pistol Pete is not the fastest player or the most talented player in his years in the NBA but what made him great was the understanding of the game the fundamentals are there spicing up with great passes and fancy dribbling and Ricky is not far fetched from the great Maravich and the kid is still improving each and every game.
Now Ricky has the chance to prove himself in the ongoing Beijing Olympics where billions of people are eagerly watching. The internet born Ricky will now be known all throughout the world and a chance to play against the best of the world is not only a privileged but also an honor for young Ricky. The Overtime come from behind win against the hometown China was the highlight of Ricky’s Olympic debut. He made the crucial passes, steals and the maturity to handle China’s pressure no wonder Jose Calderon stayed more minutes in the bench.
But after their devastating loss against the mighty USA, Ricky Rubio look ordinary as Jason Kid, Chris Paul and Deron Williams take turns in guarding Ricky. Maybe he was just in awe with banging against Kobe or the NBA stars but beyond his maturity at 17 years old Ricky is still a kid.
Kimbo Slice had a hard time against unheralded Thompson in his primetime debut in live television. Edwin Valero with all his record has fought with unknown fighters and up to now he is still the hype untested fighter and booking a big name in boxing is still clueless.
Ricky Rubio with all his hyped and talent was proven human after all.
Ricky will be a household name in the near future and there is no rush in putting him in the rugged terrain of the NBA. He needs the exposure in the Olympics but he also needs the experience to ripen up in a physically demanding 82 games in the NBA. There’s no rush let the kid grow and find his place. Kimbo, Valero and Ricky are products of the internet and its not a guarantee that they will come out a legend. We won’t know our limitations if we are not tested. But so far all of them passed with flying colors.
Lastly the words to live-by by the great Simple plan…”I’m all alone tonight, nobody cares tonight, cause I’m just a kid tonight..Im just a Kid!”

When push comes to shove Manny refused to be an easy prey and Oscar finally had his match. Manny Pacquiao refused to fight in Oscar’s term the 70-30 split in revenue was all Oscar can offer to Manny but Manny feels he deserve more than that. Floyd Mayweather fought Oscar in a 70-30 revenue split but Floyd is not Manny. People don’t pay to watch Floyd fights they watch to see Floyd gets clobbered. First of all Manny has to move two weight divisions up a quite startling feat considering he started at the 106lbs. division and with only one fight as a lightweight Manny is not only risking his career but he is also risking his life. Oscar past his prime may be too slow for Manny but Oscar has been through a lot of notable wars in the past and made experienced as his ally against Pacman. One punch could make a difference and Manny is not spared for that. When you are in the ring anything can happen.
Oscar knows pretty well that a fight with Manny can cultivate high pay per view buys and earn muchx2 more than fighting against Mora or Margarito. Mora has to fight Vernon forest in a rematch this Sept. and Margarito could very well make his retirement in a bad note.
Manny just wanted a fair share on the millions both fighters could earn a 60-40 split may not be so bad. He just wanted a much bigger slice on the cake but Oscar won’t budge.
The Golden boy of boxing has turned himself from a boxer to a businessman.
I think Manny did the right thing. Oscar has been dictating everybody he fights with his terms but Manny made it strong about his conviction. The risk is too great for Manny and with all the money both could earn Pacquiao let his mind dictate his heart after all its his life on the line.
Oscar made a name by fighting the best in boxing. Manny is much more like Oscar and with a crowded lightweight division all Manny’s got to do is clean it up.
There won’t be any Oscar next year and Manny has still two or three years to go and he doesn’t have to worry about cashing in because it’s gonna be his time and will be fighting this time in his terms.

I remember one episode of the Ultimate fighter reality show wherein a fighter has to drain 20 pounds in order to make the weight limit in just two days. The result was a disappointment because when he went from 190 to 175 a 5lb overweight in the weight limit he just gives up. He would have made 170 but he just simply quit.

The recent buzz among Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya was the fight was stalled because of the recent conflict of the 70-30 revenue split. Oscar initially made the deal at 80-20 but decided to give in as well as fighting in the 150lb weight limit. Oscar has to fight at a welter weight at 147lbs. and have to agree on fighting using an 8ounce gloves.
He has give-in on two demands to Pacquiao and a 70-30 take it or leave it is all what Oscar wants. Manny wanted a 60-40 deal but Oscar was firm in his decision. There won’t be any Dec.6 showdown with both pugilists if neither one of them gives-in.
Manny would have earned an estimate of 15-20$ million a purse he can get by fighting 4 to 5 times with different opponents. He would have made history and win or loose his legacy will be intact. Freddie Roach would not insist in fighting De La Hoya if he doesn’t see Manny winning the fight.

The fighter in the Ultimate reality fighter show and Manny has a common denominator… Opportunity comes only once… We would never know if it happens again. Maybe Oscar and Manny’s fight is bound to happen or maybe both of them call it quits and move on.
Shit happens.

After barely escaping three knock downs in the first round Juan Manuel Marquez gathered all his strength and relied on his counter punching skills. His will to survive was there but his determination to finish the fight was surmountable. If Juan Marquez was an ordinary fighter he would have given up long before the second round begins.
His battles against the no.1 pound per pound Manny Pacquiao was a classic. He survives a draw and a split decision loss against him. He is the kryptonite or Manny’s super villain who gave Pacman one of the hardest fights he fought from all notable Mexican legends.
So what’s up with “El Dinamita”? At age 34 Juan’s time is slowly catching up although he was unsuccessful in his two fights against Manny but still there’s a lot of unfinished business left between them. And between us fans we would all love to see a trilogy to tie the loose ends and to put a period in this thrilling saga.
Juan Marquez needs Manny practically because he is the biggest fish in the ocean right now and at his age he might not see a fight that could give him the biggest payday and could secure him a good retirement.
We all remember how Pacquiao offered Marquez a rematch after their first fight but Marquez turned down a sizeable amount of money to fight for pennies in Indonesia the result was a loss from Chris John and opportunities to fight marquee fighters in his division. There was no logic why Juan accepted a $30,000 purse in Indonesia instead of a guaranteed $100,000 megafight against Manny but nonetheless Juan knew his lesson and the rematch happened four years in the making.
Now Marquez followed Manny in the bigger 135lb division a fight with Joel Casamayor will book him another showdown against Manny next year but the WBO champion Casamayor is not a gimme fight. Casamayor is a natural lightweight who is like Pacquiao a southpaw who has a vaunted power who could also counter punch like Marquez.
I don’t know if it’s a good fight to see since both fighters are defensive minded only thing is there’s a lot of things on line for both fighters it’s either make it or break it.
So Juan Marquez once again had to dig deep on his arsenal with a very big mountain to climb. Throughout his career it was always like that. Everything was not prepared in a silver platter. Juan knew how hard it is to fight Pacquiao again… I guess Marquez had to start walking the path now because so far it’s been a long road for redemption.

Leandro Barbosa was scoring at will on the FIBA Americas tournament with lesser resistance. He average about 27 points per game until Kobe came and eat Leandro alive with his suffocating defense. Barbosa scored a measly 4 points that night and Kobe with his entire offensive and defensive prowess is now the designated stopper on team USA.
Team USA mightily struggled to obtain the no.1 status in world basketball for two Olympics now. They have succumbed to Spain’s supremacy and are trying to get back to where they really started… on top.
So how would USA match-up against the growing number of talents around the world? Will Kobe, Lebron, Anthony and coach K finally went back to their glory days?
USA is on bracket B on the summer Olympics and could easily breeze their way against China (8/10/08) and Angola (8/12/08) but could very well feel the competition against Greece (8/14/08), Spain (8/16/08) and Germany (8/18/08).
Kobe will have his hands full against top scorers on their respective teams. The talent level on international competitions is getting higher. So how will Team USA handle the fight?
China- China’s twin towers Yao Ming and Ji Lian Yi will give team USA some problems and as the host team millions will be cheering and a hostile and boisterous crowd will be in full support to the highest level. Team USA’s composure will surely be tested.
Angola- This time Team USA would handle Angola easily though talent wise Angola has got what it takes to be on top but being in a soccer world country basketball might not be part of their country’s sports development. A raw and inexperience Angola team is no match for team USA.
Greece- We all remembered how Greece got a win against team USA some Olympics ago. The precise passing and team offense surely made team USA push the panic button. Although Greece this time will parade some new faces but their roster is still intact. Team USA whipped Greece on their exhibition match in Macau but theirs a big difference between exhibition and the real thing right?
Germany- the Dirk Nowitzki team could handle team USA defensively but I don’t think if they can handle them offensively. Just try to fathom Kobe, Lebron and Anthony all in one roster.
Spain- This would be the toughest test team USA will have throughout the tournament. Exhibition games and practices all roads lead to team Spain. They are the no.1 team in the world but as mighty as they might think team Russia exposed Spain’s flaws as Russia handed Spain a loss in FIBA Europe.

Team USA will have the chance for redemption but they will have to go through nails to be on top. Teams are preparing for them and will give all their best to get a monumental upset. The World is closing in on basketball and talent alone doesn’t give you any advantage… They cant count on Kobe or Lebron alone they will have to play as a team.
Defense wins games. A designated stopper would have to be team USA not Kobe in perspective. So how will USA fare with other teams? I think the level of competition this time would be so much different. They will always be the team to beat and I do believe this time they will grab the gold with pride and redemption but then again all remains to be seen…

Have you ever wondered why MMA is slowly overtaking Boxing for contact sports? MMA though has many branches or governing bodies but there is only one recognizable belt held for every champion the UFC belt. Boxing has started way before MMA was created but with the controversies and politics surrounding the sport MMA is slowly etching ahead with fans shifting to UFC fights rather than HBO boxing.
Boxing has grown into a lot of governing bodies thus creating multiple champions in every weight class. The hierarchy is like a Picasso and seems it’s likely to stay that way.
WBC, WBO, IBF and WBA are legit governing bodies in boxing but there are more joining the bandwagon like NABF, WBU, IBO, WBF, IBF-USBA, PABA and ABC to name a few. Imagine how many fighters are perceived champion in every governing bodies mentioned even Ring Magazine has its own belt also.
So what’s the catch with all the sanctioning bodies? It’s simple… Money… Imagine paying sanctioning fees for every championship match…
That’s why fighters sometimes fight with no belts on the line. It cuts an ample amount of money from the boxers and could save more from boxing promoters.
The need to fight for a legit belt needs to be done to ensure a brighter prospect and earn recognition but with the recent blunder some sanctioning bodies made some fighters now are more choosy about whom and who they are fighting Thus creating a bigger Vacuum for good and entertaining fights.
The Banal-Concepcion fight was recognize as a WBA super flyweight championship fight with Cristian Mijares elevated as the super champion status after dethroning Alexander Munoz. After Concepcion’s victory against Banal WBA declared Concepcion as the interim champion and still has to fight the Dec.15 Nashiro-Kono winner which is now the regular WBA super flyweight championship fight. So to sum it all there would be one super champion, one interim and another regular champion. In less than a year WBA has created 3 champions in a same weight category. I tried to understand the logic here but there’s only one answer I could think of… Sanctioning fee… Every championship fight WBA collects a hefty sum of $20,000 so with 3 championship fights they could earn $60,000 in cold cash.
After an eliminator fight against Darchinyan and Gorres for IBF super flyweight championship. Gorres salvage a Draw but since Darchinyan is ahead in ranking he was given a championship fight against Kirilov. Naturally after Darchinyan’s 5th round victory Gorres is next in line but instead IBF decided to held another eliminator and this time Gorres has to faced Arce or who’s next in rank. So fighting a title Gorres has to undergo two eliminator fights.
Is it fair? Is it logical? Is it worth it? Boxing’s governing bodies has made boxing a complicated sport. They should put it on mind that they don’t put their lives on the line in every fight. They should think more about the fighters ware fell and not rob them deep in their pockets. Its still not too late for change but with MMA rapidly growing fan based it wont be too long before boxing’s popularity fades. Blame it on the rain or better yet blame it on boxing’s ABC blunders.

The hype is on and talks between Top rank and Golden boy has been on course of action as they discuss the possible Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao showdown on Dec.6.
The topic seems to be a hot item in every corner around boxing forums and blogoshpere. Many disagreed about Manny’s hefty decision in facing a bigger but slower De La Hoya. The weight and height discrepancy is just way too immense for the smaller Manny. It might be a career threatening fight for Manny and still at 29 the horizon is still so wide to make an abrupt change for his future. Manny has already made a legacy of his own and a fight with Oscar doesn’t affect his legacy which he already anchored in the world of boxing. In other words there’s nothing much to proved for this fight. So why Manny do still wants a piece of Oscar?
1. Money talks and fight happens- Mike Tyson could fight Kimbo Slice or litte Ivan Calderon could fight the trash talking Armenian in Vic Darchinyan. Mismatches don’t count as long as the money is good and any fight can happen. Manny Pacquiao is certainly the no.1 pound per pound in the world today and there’s no fighter today that could cash in so much money than Oscar De La Hoya. Floyd Mayweather benefited his split decision win in Oscar and made so much money that he changed his moniker to Money Mayweather. Oscar has one last fight left before hanging up his gloves for good. This is the only time Manny can earn more than what he is earning now and with two years or less left on his boxing career he will be stupid not to take this fight.
2. Coach says so- Freddie Roach would not take this fight if he doesn’t think Manny has an ample chance of winning the fight. Freddie has trained Oscar on his fight against Floyd and he sees his flaws and weaknesses in other words Freddie knows what it takes for Manny to win or knock Oscar out. Speed and power will equate Oscar’s weight and height disparity. Coach Freddie knows how to solve the puzzle now it’s up to Manny how he executes.
3. A period after an exclamation- Manny has conquered many wars on his budding career… He had notable wins against Mexican legends like Barrera, Morales and Marquez. Although with or without De La Hoya, Manny has already proven himself worthy to be at par with the greats in boxing. But a showdown with Oscar will make history win or loose Manny has a lot to gain and nothing to loose his legacy intact and his name forever be mentioned.
There you go folks. I personally believed this fight will happen and although others see it as a circus freak but we never know what will happen. This has already happen in the bible on David and Goliath. Manny knows he can take this fight… who are we to stop him from believing… so what’s your take? Will this ever come about? There’s no signed paper yet the least we could do is just to speculate….