By Paul Upham: There have been a number of reports over the last twenty four hours that a Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton boxing super fight for May 2 in Las Vegas, USA has been finalised. Team Hatton are urging the many passionate fans of Ricky Hatton to wait until an official announcement of the fight, before booking accommodation and flights to the USA.
There is expected to be a huge demand on the limited amount of arena seats that will be available. “I know all the fans would like to see it as well because you’ll get the excitement,” Hatton’s father Ray Hatton told the
Telegraph newspaper in the UK.
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Manny Pacquiao’s wife Jinkee gave birth to the couples’ fourth child
Queen Elizabeth at 6:37am on Tuesday in Los Angeles, USA. Mother and daughter are doing well. The Pacquiao’s other children are named Jemuel, Michael and Mary Divine Grace, who is also known as Princess.
***
Manny Pacquiao was decorated with the Philippine
Legion of Honor in a ceremony marking the 73rd founding anniversary of the Armed Forces. A reservist in the Army, Pacquiao was presented alongside fifteen soldiers, who were decorated for bringing honor by fighting in their own battlefields. Pacquiao was saluted for bringing pride and honor to his country by his remarkable achievements in the ring. Pacquiao, who turned 30 on December 17, returned to the USA with his three children last week to be with wife Jinkee.
While he has plenty of big fight options in front of him for 2009, Pacman is also considering appearing in a new movie, in which he will play the leading role. The film would be directed by well-known Filipino director Carlo J. Caparas.
***
WBC/WBO middleweight world champion
Kelly Pavlik attempts to get his career back on track on February 21 when he faces one of his mandatory contenders Marco Antonio Rubio of Mexico. In what will be his first fight since his loss to Bernard Hopkins, Pavlik will fight in his hometown at the Chevrolet Centre in Youngstown, Ohio.
***
U.S Senator and Republican nominee
John McCain lost to Democrat Barack Obama in the 2008 race for the U.S Presidency. A fan of boxing, McCain recently spoke to Norm Frauenheim in a story published at the
The Ring magazine’s website.
“I’d be sorry to see Oscar do it (fight again),” McCain was quoted. “But this Pacquiao is a phenomenon. He truly is. I would love to see him with Floyd Mayweather. That would be one of the great fights of the century.”
***
Filipino writer Dennis Principe has reported on a burgeoning feud between knockout artist
Edwin Valero and Oscar De La Hoya. Valero was one of De La Hoya’s sparring partners for his fight with Manny Pacquiao.
27 year-old Valero 24-0 (24) felt De La Hoya snubbed him after receiving a black eye in sparring. The
Golden Boy publicly giving one of his other fighters Victor Ortiz credit for the shiner. Valero has subsequently rethought his intention to sign with Golden Boy Promotions.
“Never, never, never. I will not fight under his group,” Principe quoted Valero. “For a fighter like him, he knows I deserve some respect.”
A Pacquiao-Valero fight, previously suggested for one of the new casinos in Macau, is still being considered for the future by promoter Bob Arum.
***
The Ring magazine senior writer William Dettloff was not too impressed with
Joe Calzaghe’s recent comments about the state of boxing.
“World light heavyweight champion Joe Calzaghe got himself in the news last week by telling the Associated Press that boxing is a
dying sport because, among other things,
there are no stars anymore,” Dettloff wrote in his column at
The Ring website. “This dovetails nicely with the sense, held among many, that the sport is in real danger because its lone huge star, Oscar De La Hoya, is 35 years old and at the brink of retirement following his humbling loss to Manny Pacquiao. Before we get to that, it’s worth noting the immense hypocrisy inherent in Calzaghe’s observation that there are
too many belts and too many champions, which dilutes real champions like myself. This is like Rod Blagojevich complaining that American politics is too corrupt. For 10 years, Calzaghe paraded around as the WBO
champion, helping to publicize what had been at the beginning a mostly European, mostly unknown and entirely laughable sanctioning body.”
***
Speaking of
The Ring, the magazine has declined to put its vacant welterweight world championship on the line for the Antonio Margarito vs. Shane Mosley match on January 24.
“The decision was made for several reasons,” explained Editor
Nigel Collins. “First and foremost, was the fact that No.2 contender Miguel Cotto holds a decision victory over Mosley. And whenever filling a vacancy, it is best to have a clear-cut case of the No.1 contender vs. No.2, and we have never heard a word of criticism when that formula has been used. Taking a conservative approach in such vital matters has proven the best course of action.”
***
Joe Calzaghe’s girlfriend
Jo-Emma Larvin has urged animal lovers to make the festive period even better for sick pets at the
People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) in the UK.
“We often receive gifts we already have or don’t really need. So rather than leaving them to gather dust at the back of a wardrobe why not donate them to PDSA instead?” suggested Larvin.
***
The
WBA has ordered a panel of judges to review film of the controversial Nikolay Valuev-Evander Holyfield fight in Zurich. Anyone else smell an ordered rematch?
***
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***
While Evander Holyfield pursues what he sees as justice, it seems there is going to be a long line of other boxers trying to get the WBA title off
Nikolay Valuev. Former champion
Ruslan Chagaev wants his mandated rematch for the belt that was stripped from him when he was injured.
John Ruiz is suing the promoters of his rematch with Valuev on August 30 in Berlin. In the lawsuit, Ruiz contends Valuev’s team cheated during the bout, which Valuev won on points and that Germany-based promoter Sauerland Events is illegally withholding a portion of Ruiz’s share of the purse. Ruiz wants a federal judge to award him the disputed portion of the purse and other “damages against Sauerland as determined at trial” for the alleged cheating,
***
While he has no plans to retire just yet,
Ricky Hatton has an idea to have his own television chat show when he does hang up his gloves. The
Hitman believes his sharp Mancunian wit and large fan base will be very appealing to UK network television executives.
***
Thomas Hauser’s newest book
The Boxing Scene was published on December 12 by Temple University Press and features writings by the best boxing scribe in the world today, as demonstrated by the following book review comments.
“Brilliantly crafted.” -
The Washington Post“The best writing so far on the business of boxing.” -
New York Daily News“No one has ever done it better.” -
The Ring magazine
“Thought-provoking and engaging.” -
Newsweek “This is the best; thorough, honest, well-researched, good, entertaining, informative.” -
Philadelphia Daily News“Hauser should be read by critics as well as boosters of professional boxing.” -
The Associated Press “Hauser has firmly established himself as A.J. Liebling’s current day successor.” -
Boxing Collectors’ News “Hauser writes about professional boxing in a way that no one has ever done before.” -
Playboy “Thomas Hauser is the rarest of rare among boxing writers. He’s a relentless reporter, a good listener, a thorough source-developer, a conscientious fact-checker, and a super writer. If Hauser writes it, you know it’s true.” - Jerry Izenberg,
Newark Star-Ledger “Nobody else does what Tom Hauser does for boxing. And if they tried, they couldn’t do it as well.” -
Larry Merchant,
HBO Sports“There are two kinds of people in boxing. Those who say, ‘Oh, boy; Tom Hauser is writing an article about me,’ and those who say, ‘Big problem; Tom Hauser is writing an article about me.’” -
Jim Lampley,
HBO Sports ‘Thomas Hauser gives boxing fans a press pass into unrestricted places.” - Teddy Atlas,
ESPN“Thomas Hauser is the conscience of boxing, which makes him the conscience of the unconscionable.” - Jay Larkin, former head of
Showtime Boxing “Thomas Hauser respects boxing and boxers. He gives readers insight into what happens in and out of the ring. Everything he writes is fair-minded and reality-based with a human touch.” -
Lennox Lewis “If it comes from Tom Hauser, it’s the truth.” -
Roy Jones Jr “These pages are devastating.” -
The New York Times “Hauser’s reconstruction of events reads like a Hitchcock thriller.” -
The Los Angeles Times
“Some books come merely recommended, but every person of conscience should read this one.” -
The Philadelphia Inquirer “Hauser has earned a storm of bravos.” -
New York Daily News “First class entertainment.” -
The New Yorker “Suspensefully and compassionately reconstructed. Masterfully handled.” -
Publishers Weekly“A gripping memoir. This compelling account deserves a wide and attentive audience.” -
Kirkus Reviews “This is heady stuff. A book you will not be able to put down.” -
Newsday***
SecondsOut.com’s lead feature writer
Thomas Hauser, the author of 35 books including
‘Muhammad Ali: His Life And Times’, wrote a ground breaking Internet three part series in 2008 on the life and times of John L. Sullivan.
Read
Part 1 of his “John L. Sullivan Revisited” series now at
SecondsOut.com HERE!Read
Part 2 of his “John L. Sullivan Revisited” series now at
SecondsOut.com HERE!Read
Part 3 of his “John L. Sullivan Revisited” series now at
SecondsOut.com HERE!***
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