By TIM DAHLBERG, AP Sports Columnist
Buzz up!1 vote PrintWillie Mays said hey to him, and a frenzied crowd at AT&T Park couldn’t get enough of him. Not a bad night for Manny Pacquiao, even if they did run out of his bobblehead dolls.
Not a bad time for boxing, either. The sport everyone loves to bash just lost its biggest cash cow in Oscar De La Hoya, but the reports of its demise are, shall we say, premature at best.
Good thing, because where else are you going to get lines like this?
“There’s going to be another bobblehead night on May 2,” said Freddie Roach, who trains Pacquiao. “Only this time we’re going to use Ricky Hatton’s head.”
They just don’t say those kind of things in baseball, which may be good because guys carry bats in their hands. But that didn’t stop the San Francisco Giants from honoring Pacquiao on Tuesday with a Filipino heritage night promotion complete with 10,000 bobbleheads of the fighter for a packed house against the San Diego Padres.
The night tied nicely, of course, into the promotion for Pacquiao’s upcoming fight against Hatton, his first since sending De La Hoya into retirement. The fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas is officially sold out (more on that later), but promoters want you to open your wallet to see it in the comfort of your living room with family and friends.
HBO wants you to do that, too, which is why it’s airing another episode Saturday night of its “24/7” reality series that surely will feature lots of footage of Manny Mania in the Bay Area. You’ll see Manny being mobbed by fans, Manny throwing out the first pitch, and Manny having a clubhouse chat with Mays.
Pacquiao is a star, at least at home in the Philippines and among Filipino-Americans. Hatton is a star, too, but mostly just in his native England.
That’s boxing these days. It’s a niche sport that caters to niche fan bases, crossing over every once in awhile with a fighter such as De La Hoya who can sell to the mainstream.
That doesn’t mean it’s dying. Far from it.
Yes, promoters and their television partners almost killed it by refusing for years to match the best fighters against each other, but that has changed. And with it has come a resurgence of sorts for a sport that once seemed threatened to be trampled by the onrushing success of mixed martial arts.
De La Hoya may be retired, but even that’s not all so bad. His retirement frees up pay-per-view dates, and, he’ll still be active as one of the top promoters in the sport. Fans will still see plenty of him, with the only difference being he won’t be taking punches to the face.
“I would argue that boxing is stronger with De La Hoya retired because he so dominated the sport,” promoter Bob Arum said. “Now that he’s gone all the other flowers will bloom bigger.”
Indeed, Pacquiao and Hatton would not be fighting next week if De La Hoya hadn’t officially announced his retirement earlier this month. The Cinco de Mayo weekend was always his on pay-per-view if he wanted it, and his fight two years ago with Floyd Mayweather Jr. was the richest fight ever.
Pacquiao-Hatton won’t match that, but the 140-pound bout has got the makings of a pretty good fight by itself. Pacquiao holds the mythical title of best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, while Hatton’s only loss came on a knockout at the hands of Mayweather. Both are eager to trade punches at a moment’s notice, and neither work too much on their defense.
Both have big fan bases, too, which is why promoters were able to announce this week that the 16,000-seat MGM arena was sold out with a top ticket price of $1,000. Then again, the same promoters announced two hours after tickets went on sale for the De La Hoya-Pacquiao fight that it was a sellout, and 2,000 tickets remained unsold at fight time.
Not all is always what it appears to be in boxing, though that’s part of the charm of the sport. But with Mayweather on the brink of unretiring, middleweight Paul Williams looking dominating, and Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye expected to draw 60,000 to a German soccer stadium in June for an intriguing heavyweight title fight, there should be some good days ahead.
De La Hoya is gone, but as good as he was at selling tickets, someone will take his place. That’s the way boxing has always been.
Maybe even someone with his own bobblehead.
Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg@ap.org
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Return Of The Mac - Martin ‘Mac Man’ Lindsay Ready For Belfast Title Clash
Belfast’s Martin ‘Mac Man’ Lindsay (13-0) is coming home in style and is
more than ready for his biggest challenge to date, when he takes on
British Featherweight champion, Scotland’s Paul Appleby (14-0), for his
title on the 25th April at Ulster Hall in Belfast.
Lindsay, the current Irish Boxing Writer’s “Young Prospect Of The Year”,
secured the right to face Appleby for the coveted Lonsdale belt after a
stunning come-from-behind 9th round knockout of Liverpool’s Derry Mathews
in September ‘08 at David ‘Hayemaker’ Haye’s promotional debut event in
Sheffield.
26 year old Lindsay is particularly looking forward to the fight on the
25th April as it will be only the second time he will have fought in
front of his home crowd having campaigned in Canada for Orion promotions
since 2007.
Lindsay, who is managed by John Rooney Jnr. of Gleason’s Gym in London and
sponsored by P.U.G. Athletic, is clearly pleased to be home and has
nothing but praise for his Canadian former hosts when he said. "They put
on brilliant shows out in Canada, gave me some tough learning fights and
also delivered me my first title (winning the IBF Youth Featherweight
title against Uriel Barrera in October ‘07). They picked hard opponents
and I thrived on it.
As much as I enjoyed my time out there (in Canada), I was always hoping to
come back and fight in Ireland and England. Nobody from home really got to
see me fight out in Canada. Fighting in front of my home crowd will give
me a lot more profile and will actually allow people to see what I can do.
In any fight, especially at this level, you’re going to have have to dig
deep and pull it out. The home crowd does help to bring that out of you a
wee bit. It gives you a little bit extra. If things start going
pear-shaped you can always rely on the crowd for that extra boost.”
Don’t forget to put a note in your diary as you will not want to miss
this, 25th April ‘09 at the Ulster Hall in Belfast, because the long
awaited clash between the two most exciting and unbeaten young prospects
is finally on and is surely destined to be one of the highlights of an
already excellent domestic boxing season.
Martin Lindsay’s British title fight against Paul Appleby takes place at
the Ulster hall, Belfast on 25th April. Tickets priced at £35, £50 and £70
can be purchased directly by calling 02890 334455
more than ready for his biggest challenge to date, when he takes on
British Featherweight champion, Scotland’s Paul Appleby (14-0), for his
title on the 25th April at Ulster Hall in Belfast.
Lindsay, the current Irish Boxing Writer’s “Young Prospect Of The Year”,
secured the right to face Appleby for the coveted Lonsdale belt after a
stunning come-from-behind 9th round knockout of Liverpool’s Derry Mathews
in September ‘08 at David ‘Hayemaker’ Haye’s promotional debut event in
Sheffield.
26 year old Lindsay is particularly looking forward to the fight on the
25th April as it will be only the second time he will have fought in
front of his home crowd having campaigned in Canada for Orion promotions
since 2007.
Lindsay, who is managed by John Rooney Jnr. of Gleason’s Gym in London and
sponsored by P.U.G. Athletic, is clearly pleased to be home and has
nothing but praise for his Canadian former hosts when he said. "They put
on brilliant shows out in Canada, gave me some tough learning fights and
also delivered me my first title (winning the IBF Youth Featherweight
title against Uriel Barrera in October ‘07). They picked hard opponents
and I thrived on it.
As much as I enjoyed my time out there (in Canada), I was always hoping to
come back and fight in Ireland and England. Nobody from home really got to
see me fight out in Canada. Fighting in front of my home crowd will give
me a lot more profile and will actually allow people to see what I can do.
In any fight, especially at this level, you’re going to have have to dig
deep and pull it out. The home crowd does help to bring that out of you a
wee bit. It gives you a little bit extra. If things start going
pear-shaped you can always rely on the crowd for that extra boost.”
Don’t forget to put a note in your diary as you will not want to miss
this, 25th April ‘09 at the Ulster Hall in Belfast, because the long
awaited clash between the two most exciting and unbeaten young prospects
is finally on and is surely destined to be one of the highlights of an
already excellent domestic boxing season.
Martin Lindsay’s British title fight against Paul Appleby takes place at
the Ulster hall, Belfast on 25th April. Tickets priced at £35, £50 and £70
can be purchased directly by calling 02890 334455
"Date With Destiny" Ticket Winner - Dana Kraska
(Pictured above: One In A Million, Inc. Fan Dana Kraska holds her winning tickets to Saturday Night's "Date With Destiny" World Title Boxing Card)
After numerous attempts and being a longtime fan Dana Kraska finally got her chance to be the One In A Million, Inc. Ticket Winner. "I have been a boxing fan for sometime now and really enjoy all the One In A Million Events, I don't miss any of their shows. I want to thank Octavius James and One In A Million for bringing such a great show to the area and can't wait for the 25th to get here." said an excited Kraska after receiving her ticketsTickets for "Date with Destiny" are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased at VIP $100, VIP ringside $75, ringside $50, and general admission $30 and they are available from any Ticket Master location at (219) 791-1234, (312) 559-1212, (866) 438-7372 or http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102557998206&s=160&e=001oUwMpppb60iI8SuZPm8K63_Io5oKsIYsAqWWnxLeCmMgLLu3bfTgGMlv-lJzePge9tqCF7iKmQLi4X1Dsb3cljkCSKitOHHwjS1Kq1mLejZZWNBsseL1CBAIygEgdpqxZpcH_xrPPSwxly1XJEdu5QSMoU5J0a3sFbrk5OnqFDftyPYWLoIg5_p5NoKEc8UuKRjwGPXoSSZtCT5edSuGB4_qBSvrZDMpXOczfs-rg2c= and at the Hammond Civic Center box office (219) 853-6378.The Hammond Civic Center, 5825 Sohl Ave. just 20 minutes from downtown Chicago will open doors at 6 p.m. with the first bout at 8 p.m.
Visit us at our new knockout website and leave us some feedback: http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102557998206&s=160&e=001oUwMpppb60hbg7qoC6JLUHVAGDtnNcTMIIK26FLIkc-meAIINHwN1cooQrdhPT34SSOF6TbTKZUWqjNFQHBb07T-KnWnUcSD3Uu_5P7kaFp7NEc2YABQK9qWJRb43pgE
Cestus Fighters Shine in Texas !
By: Cestus Press
This past Saturday night (April 18), Hot blooded Mexican and Mexican American fight fans enjoyed a great night of action packed boxing where Cestus Management fighters Jairo “El BARBARO” Martinez, Hector Ramos, Rodolfo “BABY COBRA” Gomez and James “QUICK DRAW” DuBois produced explosive performances at the I.B.C. World Championship Boxing Event at the Veteran’s Field in Laredo, Texas. The fight card will also be available on Gofightlive.tv .
The second bout was the young San Antonio , Texas , native Jairo “El BARBARO” Martinez (2-0) who got the crowed going early with a dominating performance over the tall and lanky Genaro Castonera over four rounds. Martinez, who is only eighteen, did not skip a beat as he pressured Castonera from the opening round landing vicious combination to both the head and body. In the end, “El BARBARO” was just too much for Genaro and the judges agreed as Martinez won an easy decision.
In the fourth bout of the night former highly decorated amateur and former United States Military Air Force solider Hector Ramos (3-0-0) took on Antonio Gamez in a four round bout. Before the opening bell Ramos looked like he couldn't wait to get started and that's exactly what he did as soon as the first bell rang. Ramos, started fast setting the pace with quick fast double jabs that found their mark followed by a jarring straight right hand followed by a left hook to the body which immediately had Gamez wincing. Although Gamez was tough and hung in their; he did put up a game fight and tried to land as many punches as he could throughout the fight, but Ramos who is a fighting machine methodically disarmed, dissected and punished Gamez giving him a severe beating over four rounds; winning a dominating points victory.
Soon after the Ramos-Gamez bout, the fans where treated to the freaky size of 6ft 3" Welterweight Rodolfo “BABY COBRA” Gomez (4-0-0). Gomez, who is starting to be known for his technical boxing ability and uncanny reach (82"), squared off with Dwight Yett from Austin Texas in a fight scheduled for four rounds. Gomez, who also carries dynamite in both fists, quickly gave the fans what they wanted from the opening round; using fast hard snappy jabs followed by fast combinations to the head and body. Gomez kept this viscous assault going for the first two rounds and looked like he was just getting warmed up, when he went back to his corner at the end of the second round. Yett, to his credit was game throughout the bout and kept trying to bull his way in, taking some heavy bombs in the process, where at the end of the second round he walked back to his corner on shaky legs. That all changed as in the third stanza, as Gomez come out looking to finish the fight and landed a crippling hook to the body and a booming right hand to the head which sent Yett to the canvas which caused the referee to immediately call a halt to the contest.
In the six round co-main event of the evening, San Antonio native James “QUICK DRAW” DuBois (7-0-1) was outright robbed of a fight that he clearly won against the rugged Laredo based brawler Olvin Mejia. Mejia, came out aggressively in the first two rounds trying to land wild hay-makers on DuBois’ chin, but James slick boxing ability made Mejia look clumsy and Amateurish. The classy DuBois made the necessary adjustments needed and began to effectively counter and rip shots down the middle catching Mejia as he rushed in winging shots like a crazy man. By the fourth round of the fight, DuBois was in control breaking Mejia down and appeared to be well on his way to victory, in the fifth and sixth rounds Mejia's face was a mess with one of his eyes swollen and rapidly closing as DuBois had really busted him up. Mejia looked like a loser at the end of the fight and by the expression on his face he new that he had lost and was shocked when the decision was announced a draw.
Gina Iacovou, the company CEO, said, “ Laredo , again, witnessed the talent and quality that our fighters are known for in the boxing world. Jairo ( Martinez ), Hector (Ramos), Baby Cobra (Rodolfo Gomez), and James (DuBois) put on amazing performances and showed what kind of multi talent that will elevate you to the next levels in boxing.”
Mike Michael, said “We are very proud of all of our fighters as every one of them gives better performances every time they fight. Our stable of fighters is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with and their progress is where it should be and will only get better. The boxing fans were able to see some real talented young prospects that have a big future in boxing. Michael added, “I would personally like to thank Gofightlive.tv, Recon Garza Promotions, Anthony Velasquez of Gente Entertainment for their continued support. I would further like to thank the beautiful city of Laredo and all of its fans and city leaders such as Mayor Raul G. Salinas, Sheriff Martin Cuellar, Carlos Villarreal, Jesus M. Olivares,Gene Belmares and Roy Medina for coming out and showing and giving all of their support to Cestus Management.
Other fight results: Reyes Esqueda won a four round decision over veteran Arturo Herrera; Hector Ferreyro won a twelve round decision for the vacant IBC World Heavyweight Title, Heavyweight Bill Willis knocked out Isaac Ruiz in the first round.
CESTUS MANAGEMENT
Makers of Champions
This past Saturday night (April 18), Hot blooded Mexican and Mexican American fight fans enjoyed a great night of action packed boxing where Cestus Management fighters Jairo “El BARBARO” Martinez, Hector Ramos, Rodolfo “BABY COBRA” Gomez and James “QUICK DRAW” DuBois produced explosive performances at the I.B.C. World Championship Boxing Event at the Veteran’s Field in Laredo, Texas. The fight card will also be available on Gofightlive.tv .
The second bout was the young San Antonio , Texas , native Jairo “El BARBARO” Martinez (2-0) who got the crowed going early with a dominating performance over the tall and lanky Genaro Castonera over four rounds. Martinez, who is only eighteen, did not skip a beat as he pressured Castonera from the opening round landing vicious combination to both the head and body. In the end, “El BARBARO” was just too much for Genaro and the judges agreed as Martinez won an easy decision.
In the fourth bout of the night former highly decorated amateur and former United States Military Air Force solider Hector Ramos (3-0-0) took on Antonio Gamez in a four round bout. Before the opening bell Ramos looked like he couldn't wait to get started and that's exactly what he did as soon as the first bell rang. Ramos, started fast setting the pace with quick fast double jabs that found their mark followed by a jarring straight right hand followed by a left hook to the body which immediately had Gamez wincing. Although Gamez was tough and hung in their; he did put up a game fight and tried to land as many punches as he could throughout the fight, but Ramos who is a fighting machine methodically disarmed, dissected and punished Gamez giving him a severe beating over four rounds; winning a dominating points victory.
Soon after the Ramos-Gamez bout, the fans where treated to the freaky size of 6ft 3" Welterweight Rodolfo “BABY COBRA” Gomez (4-0-0). Gomez, who is starting to be known for his technical boxing ability and uncanny reach (82"), squared off with Dwight Yett from Austin Texas in a fight scheduled for four rounds. Gomez, who also carries dynamite in both fists, quickly gave the fans what they wanted from the opening round; using fast hard snappy jabs followed by fast combinations to the head and body. Gomez kept this viscous assault going for the first two rounds and looked like he was just getting warmed up, when he went back to his corner at the end of the second round. Yett, to his credit was game throughout the bout and kept trying to bull his way in, taking some heavy bombs in the process, where at the end of the second round he walked back to his corner on shaky legs. That all changed as in the third stanza, as Gomez come out looking to finish the fight and landed a crippling hook to the body and a booming right hand to the head which sent Yett to the canvas which caused the referee to immediately call a halt to the contest.
In the six round co-main event of the evening, San Antonio native James “QUICK DRAW” DuBois (7-0-1) was outright robbed of a fight that he clearly won against the rugged Laredo based brawler Olvin Mejia. Mejia, came out aggressively in the first two rounds trying to land wild hay-makers on DuBois’ chin, but James slick boxing ability made Mejia look clumsy and Amateurish. The classy DuBois made the necessary adjustments needed and began to effectively counter and rip shots down the middle catching Mejia as he rushed in winging shots like a crazy man. By the fourth round of the fight, DuBois was in control breaking Mejia down and appeared to be well on his way to victory, in the fifth and sixth rounds Mejia's face was a mess with one of his eyes swollen and rapidly closing as DuBois had really busted him up. Mejia looked like a loser at the end of the fight and by the expression on his face he new that he had lost and was shocked when the decision was announced a draw.
Gina Iacovou, the company CEO, said, “ Laredo , again, witnessed the talent and quality that our fighters are known for in the boxing world. Jairo ( Martinez ), Hector (Ramos), Baby Cobra (Rodolfo Gomez), and James (DuBois) put on amazing performances and showed what kind of multi talent that will elevate you to the next levels in boxing.”
Mike Michael, said “We are very proud of all of our fighters as every one of them gives better performances every time they fight. Our stable of fighters is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with and their progress is where it should be and will only get better. The boxing fans were able to see some real talented young prospects that have a big future in boxing. Michael added, “I would personally like to thank Gofightlive.tv, Recon Garza Promotions, Anthony Velasquez of Gente Entertainment for their continued support. I would further like to thank the beautiful city of Laredo and all of its fans and city leaders such as Mayor Raul G. Salinas, Sheriff Martin Cuellar, Carlos Villarreal, Jesus M. Olivares,Gene Belmares and Roy Medina for coming out and showing and giving all of their support to Cestus Management.
Other fight results: Reyes Esqueda won a four round decision over veteran Arturo Herrera; Hector Ferreyro won a twelve round decision for the vacant IBC World Heavyweight Title, Heavyweight Bill Willis knocked out Isaac Ruiz in the first round.
CESTUS MANAGEMENT
Makers of Champions
Visa delay keeps Kotelnik from news conference
LONDON (AP)—Junior welterweight champion Andrea Kotelnik expects to keep his distance in the ring against big-punching Amir Khan. He had no choice Wednesday when visa delays prevented him from attending a joint news conference to promote the fight.The Ukrainian did his talking from Germany.
“I will knock Amir Khan out on June 27 as I am so annoyed right now,” the German-based WBA champion said by phone.
“Khan is a good, ambitious fighter. Like me he won a silver medal at the Olympics and we were beaten by the great Mario Kindelan. But that is where the similarity ends. I am a world champion and I will show my class against this child.”
Kotelnik, who has fought three times in Britain and has a 31-1-2 record, was unable to get a visa in time to fly in for a news conference which was postponed twice. The bureaucratic delays left promoter Frank Warren furious.
“I am very, very disappointed and quite angry about it,” Warren said. “I shouldn’t think he is a threat to national security.”
Warren is confident that Kotelnik’s visa problem will be sorted out before the fight at London’s O2 Arena.
British boxer Amir Khan, left,… AP - Apr 22, 7:44 am EDT
Khan, who is moving up from lightweight, is getting his first world title chance at age 22. He showed his potential with a series of early knockout victories and by beating Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera in a bout that was stopped after five rounds on March 14.
His only loss came when he was knocked out in 54 seconds last September by Colombia’s Breidis Prescott, a defeat that revealed a suspect chin.
Khan said that loss taught him a lesson and he has since been working in the United States with Freddie Roach and sparring in the same camp as Manny Pacquiao, widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
“So much has changed from that defeat. I changed from a boy into a man,” said Khan, who first made his mark by winning an Olympic silver medal as a 17-year-old.“There were times when I would just go in the ring and fight but the Prescott defeat taught me in the right way. If I had gone into that fight and boxed with my mind it would have been a different night.”
Kotelnik has only 13 knockouts among his 31 victories, the last of which was a split decision over the previously unbeaten Marcos Rene Maidana of Argentina in February. Khan’s punching power even in the heavier division should cause the champion plenty of problems.
“I am confident I can do a job on him,” Khan said. “I have got fast feet and fast hands and if I box him cleverly, I think I can make it an easy night and a night I can become world champion.”
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