Manny Pacquiao hailed by Sports Illustrated

Manny the PacMan Pacquiao was hailed by the world-most read sports magazine Sports Illustrated.

Sports Illustrated, the widely-read sports magazine, has come up with its latest pound-for-pound rankings, and it was no surprise to find the name of the Filipino icon on top of its short, distinguished list.

Sports Illustrated described Pacquiao as “dazzling at whatever weight class he chooses to fight,” and that on May 2 the boxer who started out at 106 pounds will shoot for the IBO light-welterweight crown.

Pacquiao takes on British superstar Ricky Hatton at the MGM Grand, and a victory will give him a fifth world title in different weight classes, including the flyweight, super-bantam, super-feather and lightweight.

Pacquiao fought in three different weight classes last year and won all battles against Juan Manuel Marquez (130 lbs), David Diaz (135 lbs) and Oscar dela Hoya (147 lbs). He will fight Hatton at 140 lbs.

“A win over Hatton all but guarantees a shot at former pound-for-pound champ Floyd Mayweather Jr., who many feel is lurking in anticipation of a Pacquiao victory,” Sports Illustrated wrote.

As expected, Marquez, the crafty Mexican counter-puncher, is next on the list, ranked second behind Pacquiao. He is the reigning lightweight champion and is eager to fight the Pinoy slugger a third time.

The SI pound-for-pound list puts welterweight king Shane Mosley in third, followed by light-heavy Bernard Hopkins, Chad Dawson, Israel Vasquez, Kelly Pavlik, Miguel Cotto, Paul Williams and Vic Darchinyan.

Marquez is the only asterisk in Pacquiao’s fight profile following a very controversial draw in 2004 and a very close decision last March. A third fight is needed to finally put the issue to rest.

But there’s also Mayweather who seems on his way out of retirement to face either Pacquiao or Marquez if he wants to reclaim his old title — the pound-for-pound king.

Source: PhilStar

The Pacman-Hitman Updates 2

The fight between the greatest fighters of the West and the East is still many weeks away but the great conditioning of Manny Pacquiao attest his true power.

Manny Pacquiao went through the usual routine he does at the Wildcard Gym under the guidance of the Michael Moorer, Eric Brown and Buboy Fernandez.

"The Pacman" also did the usual shadow boxing, double and single speed bags, jump rope, heavy bag and abs exercises and stretching.

The only difference was he did the mitts with his old buddy Buboy Fernandez because the famed coach and guru at the Wildcard Gym, Freddie Roach, is in England to be on the corner of Amir Khan. The British lightweight is scheduled to fight Marco Antonio Barerra on Saturday, March 14th at the MEN Arena for the WBA International title as well as the WBO Intercontinental Lightweight crown.

See below for some pictures of Manny the Pacman Pacquiao with Buboy Fernandez.

Training for speed in Pacman's pucnhing.

Do some leg stretching.

The Hitman-Pacman Update

Manny "the Pacman" Pacquiao is now in London to promote the "EAST vs WEST" bout in boxing.

Hundreds of our kababayans awaits the King of Pound-for-Pound boxer in Westminister Cathedral for Sunday's service, and after the mass Pacquiao went to see and greet his fellow kababayans in a local hotel where he signed autographs and took some time for photo-ops.


Yesterday, at the press conference at the Imperial War Museum in London. The two best fighters of the world in their mega-UK media tour promotions of their "EAST vs WEST" world junior welterweight championship fight on May 2, 2009 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This fight of Hatton vs Pacquiao is presented by Top Rank and Golden Boy and will be available in HBO Pay per View.

PacMan vs Hitman: Speed vs Power Again

Indeed a clash between power and speed will again determine who will emerge as winner in the upcoming superfight between Fililipno boxer Manny "the PacMan" Pacquiao and England's Ricky "the Hitman" Hatton on May 2, 2009 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada

The forthcoming fight between popular boxers Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines and Ricky Hatton of England will be another show of power, speed, and heart.

Freddie Roach, now the world’s most popular trainer and owner of the famous Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, California is so confident that his ward will finish Hatton in the later rounds. Asked why he thinks Manny will beat Hatton, Roach said ‘speed kills’, referring to Pacquiao’s trade mark fighting style.

Speed is indeed a potent weapon of Pacquiao and from all indications, Roach is determined to fine tune Pacquiao’s natural speedy boxing style. As a season boxing coach and trainer, Roach is expected to supplement Pacquiao’s hand and foot works with other techniques that will further enhance his speed power.

‘Speed kills’ as Roach appropriately coined for Pacquiao’s speedy fighting style, could be Roach major training direction that is specifically aimed at neutralizing Hatton’s bullfight boxing style. This simply means that changes and improvements on Pacquiao’s natural skills will be concentrated on the effective usage of his speed particularly his hands and footwork.

In all probability, Hatton will ONLY capitalize on his punching power and will surely put to test his original fighting style with Pacquiao to see if it works. Hatton, the powerful and rugged brawler from Manchester will definitely be in great condition as he will fight in his comfortable weight range. He has been most effective in the 140 pound limit where he remained unbeaten and Pacquiao has never fought in the 140 pounds level. But he does not have the skill of Manny Pacquiao and if he is not careful with his defenses he will definitely hit the canvas and Pacquiao will finish him with his rapid and powerful punches.