SPORTS ROUNDUP 5: BOXING FANS WILL SEE A YOUNG MANNY PACQUIAO SAYS FORTUNE
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 10 Jul 2018
Head trainer Buboy Fernandez said Manny Pacquiao prepared long and hard for the fight with Lucas Matthysse. "He?s ready to prove he still belongs to that list of world champions,? he told The Manila Times.
?He?s 100 percent ready. We covered everything that is to be covered. No less. We?ve watched and studied almost all of Matthysse?s previous fights, especially those he lost and found his weaknesses and assets, set our game plan based on those factors."
Pacquiao ended his two-month training camp with a five-round sparring session, two with Philippine junior-welterweight champion Jerich Chavez and three with Australian lightweight George Kambosos Jr.
Strength and conditioning coach Justin Fortune said they planned together the several strategies of attack to make the necessary adjustments in order to triumph over Matthysse.
?Boxing fans all over the world will see a young Manny Pacquiao this time, throwing a lot of punches, more footwork, head movements and all he?s been showing before when he was acclaimed the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world,? Fortune said.
?Yeah, we?ve laid everything out, plans B, C, everything and Manny?s been studying them all in earnest, executing in training. We couldn?t ask for more," declared Fortune.
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WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will return to Wembley Stadium for his next two fights. The 28-year-old Joshua has signed a two-fight deal to fight at the national stadium on September 22 and April 13.
Joshua defeated Wladimir Klitschko in that place in April 2017 but after that he fought twice at Cardiff's Principality Stadium. "The opportunity to fight in such an iconic stadium is normally a once-in-a-career opportunity, so to be given the chance to fight there again is amazing," Joshua told BBC Sports.
His opponent on September 22 is expected to be Russia's Alexander Povetkin, the WBA's mandatory challenger, with the hope of fighting American WBC world champion Deontay Wilder for the unification of all four belts in April.
Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn is planning to surpass the 90,000 attendance for the April fight, which would better than the British record for a boxing match held by the Joshua-Klitschko bout.
Hearn tweeted: "Capacity for Anthony Joshua's next fight on 22 September will be at 90,000 - we are expecting the 13 April capacity to be extended to over 100,000."
* * *
According to ESPN reporter Stephen A. Smith, Damian Lillard may join the Los Angeles Lakers which is a "very real" possibility this summer. The New York Knicks may also a possible option.
"Damian Lillard is pulling in over $45million a year in Portland, this brother is chilling," Smith said on his podcast. "But... it is entirely possibly and very real that Damian Lillard could end up a Los Angeles Laker or a New York Knick."
The report says that "being happy in Portland is no longer a priority for Damian Lillard." It added he wants to be in a "situation where he has a chance to compete."
In the 2017-18 season, the Blazers finished 49-33 and had the No. 3 seed in the Western conference. They were swept by the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round playoff series.
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