PACQUIAO TO TRAIN WITHOUT SPARRING PARTNER KAMBOSOS
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 17 May 2019
Kambosos (R) with Pacquiao.
Brian Mazique of Forbes.com wrote that Manny Pacquiao?s main sparring partner and Top Ten ranked WBO and IBF lightweight contender George Kambosos Jr. will not be in his training camp with the senator's upcoming unification bout with WBA super champion Keith Thurman.
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Kambosos had worked with Pacquiao together with strength and conditioning coach Justin Fortune in the eight-division champion's last three fights with Adrien Broner, Lucas Matthysse and Jeff Horn.
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According to Forbes.com, the 25-year-old Australian separated with Fortune this week and presently preparing for his coming fight on June 7 in Athens, Greece which will be held in Davie, Florida with his new trainer Javiel Centeno.
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A date has already been set on July 20 and the location was established for the Pacquiao-Thurman fight which is Las Vegas, but still the venue has not been officially announced yet. Pacquiao?s fight last January 19 against Broner was at the MGM Grand.
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According to MyBookie, Thurman is a minus-145 favorite with Pacquiao coming in at a respectable plus-115. Thurman of Clearwater, Florida is undefeated and ten years younger than the 40-year old Pacquiao.
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A likely $20 million or more guaranteed purse certainly helped convince Pacquiao to fight Thurman, wrote ESPN senior writer Dan Rafael. The Pacquiao-Thurman winner most likely will face the winner of a unification fight between Errol Spence Jr. and Shawn Porter.
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Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers announced that the team's leading scorer Kevin Durant will not be going with the team to Portland and will miss Games 3 and 4 of the Western conference finals against the Trail Blazers.
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The former MVP suffered a calf injury during Game 5 of the conference semi-final series against the Houston Rockets. Durant missed Game 6 of that series and likewise Game 1 of the Warriors' conference finals against the Portland Trail Blazers.
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June Mar Fajardo led the San Miguel Beermen in the PBA Philippine Cup finals against the Magnolia Hotshots. But according to ESPN, he only felt too much pressure in the final 4.8 seconds of Game 7, when he missed a pair of free throws that could have kissed the Beermen's All-Filipino five-peat goodbye. "Everyone stepped up. We refused to give up. And we're thankful to repeat as champions," Fajardo said.
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But the Cebuano center remains hungry for more, even after winning seven titles, five MVPs, and several other individual awards with SMB. "I always tell myself I have yet to win any award or championship, [because] that's what keeps my desire burning. That's what motivates me to improve my game," he was quoted by ESPN.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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