PACQUIAO FINALLY DECIDES TO FIGHT SAYS ARUM
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 25 Dec 2017
Eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao (59-7-2, 38 KOs), who just celebrated his 39th birthday, has finally decided to fight, according to Top Rank CEO Bob Arum. Pacquiao, as relayed by his trusted adviser Michael Koncz, communicated Arum saying the eleven time world champion is eager to get back into action. ?We are going to find him a date in April,? said Arum as quoted by the Manila Bulletin.
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Pacquiao has not fought since he lost surprisingly a twelve-round unanimous decision to an unknown Jeff Horn at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia last July. Pacquiao was not able to take advantage of the rematch clause, supposed to be held last November, citing conflicts with his Senate duties as the main reason.
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As far as the exact date of Pacquiao's return is concerned, Arum hopes to make things clear in the next two weeks because it should not be in conflict with Pacquiao's Senate schedule. Arum wants Pacquiao to make a tune up fight, and then face the winner of Horn's mandatory defense against Terence Crawford set on April 21 in Las Vegas. Asked on the possibility of Pacquiao fighting on the undercard of that event, Arum answered the negative. ?Manny doesn?t want to fight in an undercard and he wants an interesting fight when he returns,? Arum said.
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The opponent has not been named and the venue has not been identified. But Pacquiao is excited to get back into action and regain his lost glory among the boxing greats. ?I am looking at April as the date of my return to the ring,? said a confident Pacquiao, who strives to come out of a harrowing unanimous decision loss to Jeff Horn.
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Pacquiao himself could not say who would be his opponent although he had proposed a possible encounter with MMA star Conor McGregor in the ring like Floyd Mayweather last August. Despite the rumors circulating over Pacquiao?s plan to face McGregor, no formal negotiations have began. The veteran promoter Bob Arum has proposed of setting up a card with Pacquiao as the main event in the US.
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Arum has to know about Pacquiao?s schedule in the Senate, because it has a great effect on his preparations for the Horn fight. During his training for Horn, Pacquiao's legislative duties made his schedule for gym practices sometimes irregular. Pacquiao seemed to take the then unknown Horn lightly despite claims by the Filipino champ's camp that they were training seriously and got a surprise when Horn razed him to an astonishing decision win.
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Chinese boxing superstar Zou Shiming?s career maybe over because he might have a detached retina he detected on a flight to Shanghai from Beijing. He attended the Laureus China Top Ten Sports Awards, when he complained to his wife, Ran Yingying, that he has a problem seeing with his left eye on Thursday. The 36-year-old two-time Olympic gold medallist last fought and lost to Japanese Sho Kimura in his first world title defense last July.
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?He will stay in hospital and things are not looking good. The check up is still going on but his spirit seems to be OK,? reported Sina Shanghai. Ran wrote in her Weibo microblog: ?I can?t sleep. I will wait until the morning and start with a different check-up. Today is the worst day for me.? Photos by Chinese media show Zou wearing dark glasses holding his wife upon arriving his hometown Shanghai.
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"I might not return to the ring," said Zou (9-2, 2 KOs) after a shocking WBO flyweight title defeat to Kimura, suffering his first knockout as a professional. Zou has problems with his left eye since his amateur days complaining of ?double vision? in winning a second gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. He also rested for months after suffering an awful headbutt to the same left eye against Kwanpichit Onesongchaigym of Thailand in their 12-round Macau fight in the undercard of Manny Pacquiao-Chris Algieri in November 2014.
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Former five division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. has challenged retired NBA superstar Kobe Bryant to a one on one game of basketball with a bet of a million dollars. Bryant has been one of the NBA?s most popular and versatile players even in his 17th NBA season. Very few players have maintained that level of performance at an advanced age, and Mayweather did.
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Mayweather commented in Bryant's Instagram to challenge Kobe to a basketball game of one-on-one, which became a viral in social media within hours. Mayweather is a heavy gambler who bets large sums on several sports. But he would just be a laughing stock if the game would push through. Floyd would be shorter by about a foot in height and 50 to 60 pounds lighter to Kobe. The Los Angeles Lakers recently retired Kobe Bryant?s Nos. 8 and 24 jerseys.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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