SPORTS SHORTS 76: MANNY PACQUIAO TO FACE THE FINAL CURTAIN OF HIS STORIED BOXING CAREER
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 11 Mar 2021
Manny Pacquiao said they are leaning towards Mikey Garcia, but they are also talking to Terence Crawford as told to Dyan Castillejo of ABS-CBN. “It depends on who I get to face, what’s important is I’m ready."
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He never really got complacent and always continuously worked out by playing basketball aside from boxing. After his last fight with Keith Thurman, he didn’t work out in boxing, but he kept exercising through basketball.
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Mikey Garcia says he would bet on himself up to $2 million if in case he gets to fight against Manny Pacquiao. Garcia (40-1, 33 KOs) believes that a fight against Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) is possible, and he is now waiting if it can happen this year.
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It seemed the former four-division world champion Mikey Garcia believes he will earn a large purse against the Filipino boxing icon Pacquiao. Many thinks it would likely be sold on pay-per-view.
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He added he will not bet his whole purse. But he will bet some money, probably bet a million on it, as told to ESNEWS on his dream fight against Pacquiao. Mikey answered on the affirmative when asked if he would beat $2 million on himself to beat Pacquiao.
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“I’ve said it before. I never said my whole purse. I’m not that stupid. What if I hurt my hand or if I fall or something or something stupid like that? You never know. But if I’m getting a big purse, and I expect to get a good purse, I‘m down to at least one million bucks."
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Garcia said it's not official yet but Pacquiao's team and the senator himself like the fight, it makes sense, and it’s the best fight that Mikey can also get. “If he’s on board and I’m on board, we should just get everything else straightened out. I hope to get it, man,” Mikey said hoping that he can get the deal for the Pacquiao fight.
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“It would mean that much more for me to win a world title at 147. I know for a fact that Manny hits really hard, and he’s very fast,” said Mikey.
“I know for a fact that he’s fast, and he’s strong. He hits hard, and he’s very fast."
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Mikey revealed his time sparring with Manny. He didn't know if it was Erik Morales or Juan Manuel Marquez that Pacquiao was training for. "They asked me to fight in that style, counter-punching. We did great, and they kept calling us to come back. We were there for a whole month, sparring three days a week."
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“Towards the end, we were sparring 10 rounds straight with him. 8 rounds, 10 rounds a couple of days. It was good sparring. He’s genuinely a good person,” said Mikey.
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Pacquiao is planning to fight twice this year before retiring for good. The first fight could be on late April or May 15th in Las Vegas before a September to November farewell fight in front of his countrymen which is possible.
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In Las Vegas, Nevada, an MGM Grand farewell fight could be held in the spring then to be followed by an adieu fight at the 55,000-seater Philippine Arena in Ciudad de Victoria, Bocaue, Bulacan.
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Proposed opponents will be Mikey Garcia in the spring then a fitting finale battle for a world title against Terence Crawford in the Philippines.
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The eight-division world champion is going to face the final curtain of his storied professional career, considered one of the best in boxing history. Pacquiao could then focus his time, talent and treasure on the national elections in 2022, whether to seek the highest position, second highest or get reelected at senate.
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He posted on social media the happiness of going back home to his land of birth, Kibawe, Bukidnon. “It always feels good to look back at where you came from in life. To bring a little smile to people who were part of your past,” said Pacquiao.
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"It reminds us that no matter how hard life is, one should never stop dreaming," reminisced Manny. "Going back to my birthplace in Kibawe, Bukidnon has re-energized my passion for serving our people," Pacquiao continued.
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“It strengthened my resolve to do more to give justice to the poor. It fueled my will to provide a better life for the people of Kimbawe. And the entire Filipino nation. Thank you, Kibawe. For the warmth and the love,” he added.
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Totally retiring from boxing would not be consummated, because Pacquiao will surely get exhibition offers at the time he hang up his gloves for good. Mayweather, Pacquiao’s greatest rival, is presently doing these exhibitions. And we know that still the biggest draw in boxing is a rematch between the two former pound-for-pound kings.
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Chocolatito Gonzalez (50-2 41 KOs) won his first fight with Estrada (41-3 28 KOs) in November 17, 2012, which was his final fight as a world light flyweight champion.
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Two years later, in his 40th pro fight, he became a three-weight world titlist by beating Akira Yaegashi in Japan for the WBC and Ring Magazine world flyweight titles.
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His September 10, 2016 triumph over Carlos Cuadras earned him world titles at a fourth weight with the WBC super fyweight belt.
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Chocolatito was always honored as part of the rich boxing history of his country Nicaragua, led by one of the all-time great fighters, the late Alexis Arguello.
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“I won that third title in Japan and then a fourth title came, where everybody was waiting expectantly to see if I’d win it. I trained a lot because it was one of my dreams. And then… boom! I won the title and Nicaragua welcomed me like never before."
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Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball strengthened his claim that he’s the real deal by breaking an insane rookie record that stood for six decades. Per Elias Sports Bureau, Ball is the only player in the last 60 seasons to lead all rookies in total points, rebounds, assists, and steals at the All-Star break.
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Ball has a total of 553 points while first overall pick Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves came in second with 536. In rebounds, Ball has 211 while Isaiah Stewart of the Detroit Pistons has 196.
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In assists, Ball has a total of 221 while Tyrese Haliburton of the Sacramento Kings was second with 161. And Ball has a total of 57 steals while Haliburton was second with 42.
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Japan has decided to conduct the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics without overseas spectators due to the concerns among the Japanese public about COVID-19, Kyodo news agency said on Tuesday.
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Most Japanese do not want international visitors to witness the Games for fear that a huge wave of visitors could usher a resurgence of infections, a Yomiuri newspaper poll showed. The survey showed 77% of the respondents were against allowing foreign spectators, against 18% in favor.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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