SPORTS SHORTS 50: SEAN GIBBONS SAYS ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN MANNY PACQUIAO VS. RYAN GARCIA
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 09 Feb 2021
The possible showdown between former eight - division champion Manny Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) and WBC interim lightweight champion Ryan Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) was first proposed as an exhibition bout but the plan was changed when MP Promotions' president Sean Gibbons declared that if the fight would be realized then it would be held as a real fight.
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Most fans and experts thought that Garcia, 22-years-old of Victorville, California, is still a fledgling fighter compared to the expertise of Pacquiao. Gibbons perceives Pacquiao as a huge favorite to win the fight but won't preclude Garcia scoring an upset. "The kid has youth on his side and can punch. His defense is suspect but the senator is 42-years-old and has been out of the ring for 1 year and 10 months so anything can happen," said Gibbons.
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Garcia's last career fight was on January 2 when he got up from a second round knockdown against Luke Campbell and stopped him in the 7th round. With the victory he captured the WBC interim lightweight title. A potential date has not been determined yet for the fight but Gibbons said that negotiations are still in the works. "They are ongoing and hopefully things will workout," Gibbons told BoxingScene.com.
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However, Golden Boy President Eric Gomez explained that Pacquiao's group was new to boxing, so there wasn't anything to build on or discuss on the fight. He added that after he and Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya met with Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, he mentioned the name of lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez as Garcia's next probable opponent. "Teofimo is more feasible," Gomez said. "It's one of the fights that's obviously of interest to Ryan Garcia. It could be a great fight."
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Former world champion and 1984 Olympics gold medalist Mark Breland pounded his former trainee Deontay Wilder. Breland was Wilder’s co-trainer since he began his career together with Jay Deas, but after the former WBC champion suffered his first professional loss to Tyson Fury last February 22, 2020, the “Bronze Bomber” decided to split from Breland, accusing him of disloyalty for throwing in the towel as "The Gypsy King" was pummeling him with a barrage of punches.
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Breland finally aired his side on Wilder. "[Wilder’s] career is over now, I’m done, and he’s done. I’m done with him. Wilder only has his power, and we’ll see how far that takes him. That’s all I’m going to say. I wish him well and that’s it,” Breland told The Fight Is Right. Breland also answered Wilder’s accusations that he spiked his water. "So many people know me, my character speaks for itself. If you're looking at tapes or whatever and stuff like that, You don’t ever see water in my hands. And regardless of that, I’m there to help you. My attitude is, ‘When you win, I win,’” said Breland.
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The Super Bowl is the annual American football game that determines the champion of the National Football League (NFL). The game ends a season that begins in the previous calendar year, and is the conclusion of the NFL playoffs. Since January 1971, the winner of the American Football Conference (AFC) Championship Game has faced the winner of the National Football Conference (NFC) Championship Game in the culmination of the NFL playoffs.
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Tom Brady captured his record seventh Super Bowl victory, secured his standing as one of the best athletes not only in America but in the whole world. Brady, who joined Tampa Bay last year after two decades with the New England Patriots, helped the Buccaneers demolish the Kansas City Chiefs, 31-9, in the SuperBowl LVI at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Tampa Bay is the first team ever in the sport's history to both play and win the Super Bowl in their home stadium.
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The New England Patriots (6–5) and Pittsburgh Steelers (6–2) have won the most Super Bowls with six championships, while the Dallas Cowboys (5–3) and the San Francisco 49ers (5–2) have five wins. The New England Patriots have the most Super Bowl appearances with 11, while the Buffalo Bills (0–4) have the most consecutive appearances with four (all losses) from 1990 to 1993. The Miami Dolphins (1971–1973) and New England Patriots (2016–2018) are the only other teams to have at least three consecutive appearances. The Denver Broncos (3–5) and Patriots have each lost a record five Super Bowls. The Minnesota Vikings (0–4) and the Bills have lost four. Source: Wikipedia.
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Teófilo E. Yldefonso is the first Filipino and Southeast Asian to win an Olympic medal, and the only Filipino to win multiple medals. Nicknamed "Ilocano Shark", he was born November 5, 1903 in Piddig, Ilocos Norte, and began swimming at the Guisit River as a small boy. He started competing in 1921 and collected a total of 144 medals over the next 16 years. He won two bronze medals in the 200-meter breaststroke event, at the 1928 and 1932 Olympics, and placed 7th in 1936.
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