UFC vs. Boxing

UFC vs. Boxing

UFC vs. Boxing is a debate that many combat sports enthusiasts always debate! The UFC aficionados say that the UFC has surpassed Boxing in entertainment value and offers a lot more in their pay-per-view card. On the contrary, the Boxing fans say that UFC are a bunch of uneducated "street-fighters" that really have no technical ability compared to boxers. These views of the UFC are most prevalent in the world-class promoter of Top Rank, Bob Arum. However, the UFC President, Dana White, has been on record multiple times saying he has nothing against boxing and is a big fan. He has attended many boxing events but has stated that boxing only puts out 2 or 3 major fights in a calendar year with the undercard not being entertainment. Boxing has a legendary/historic story that goes back to the basis of combat sports, whereas UFC is a such a young sport with a history that is still in their teenage years of existence. Come Saturday, November 12, 2011, the two sports will collide once again but this time, a lot more is at stake for both events.

UFC Broadcast Partner

UFC will be on network television for the first time in the promotions history. UFC confirmed that on the Fox network, they will only show one fight but the one fight is of mammoth proportions. The number 1 contender, Junior Dos Santos, will be looking to take the belt away from current UFC Heavyweight Champion, Cain Velasquez. Cain Velasquez has not fight in over a year due to a shoulder injury suffered from previous bout that needed to be surgically repaired. Whereas, Junior Dos Santos has had a few bouts before but most recent was his destruction of the behemoth known as Shane Carwin in Vancouver. Both fighters are strikers but Junior Dos Santos is more of a boxer based while Cain is more muy-thai based. One advantage, pundits, experts and fans alike always point out to Cain's wrestling background and superb Cardio, which has been the achilles heel of many heavyweights. What these people forget that Junior Dos Santos has world class Jui-Jitsu and from his recent bout with Shane Carwin, his wrestling is above average. For having only one fight on network TV, UFC is definitely giving the fans a gargantuan size bout that as Dana White has said "can go 15 seconds to 25 minutes...nonetheless, it will be an explosive match."

Juan Manuel Marquez vs Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao

The UFC will be free for everyone to watch but the boxing will not. The boxing will be televised on pay-per-view between Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez. This will be the third time, these two legendary boxers will meet in the ring for the WBO Welterweight Championship Belt that Manny currently holds. The first two fights ended in undesirable results for Marquez, since the 1st ended in a draw and the 2nd ended in Manny being the victor, in which many believed Marquez won the fight. They first fought in 2004 then they fought again 2008 and now they will settle their feud in 2011 in the Welterweight Division. Since both fighter have been fighting each other since 2004, the bouts have gone from being only professional to personal since both fighters believe they won the fights, and now they have one more chance of redemption. This time around, Marquez "properly" gained the weight and strength to compete with the heavier opponent. The last time, he went up in weight, he was dismantled by a technical Floyd Mayweather. Will Marquez come even close to the blinding-speed of Manny Pacquiao? To say this fight isn't personal, both camps have been on record saying: Manny Pacquiao has said that he will knock out Marquez and Marquez, as well as his trainer said that they know Manny well enough to deter the Floyd Mayweather mega bout that many speculate will happen on May 5, 2012. 

UFC vs. Boxing on November 12, 2011 is what a combat sports aficionado dreams. Not only will Boxing and UFC be shown but the main event bouts have so much implications in both sports. Both fights are for a major world title as well as a major payout in future match-ups that will only create exciting bouts for the fans. Furthermore, the implications for the UFC is being accepted as part of mainstream sports and media. For boxing, it is whether or not, Manny will come out victorious and fight Floyd Mayweather. Dana White stated in one of his recent Vlogs that the Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez bout will not be missed, if one were to choose to watch the UFC on Fox. As with most boxing cards, the undercards are not entertaining only if one is a true boxing fan, so watching the UFC on Fox is a good addition to the main event that everyone especially Mexicans and Filipinos will be waiting to watch. Will you being watching the UFC on Fox and miss the boxing undercard, or will you be strictly watching the boxing event?

Time To Get "Vicious" Ortiz On "Money" Mayweather

Floyd "Money" Mayweather vs Victor "Vicious" Ortiz at Weigh-Ins

After the decimation of a old and depleted Shane "Sugar" Mosely, Floyd "Money" Mayweather returns to the ring to fight a young up-and-comer by the name of Victor "Vicious" Ortiz. The last time Mayweather fought was on May 1, 2010 as for Victor, it was on April 16, 2011. Since negotiations between Manny Pacquiao's team and Mayweather's team is still at a stand still, a quality opponent had to be lined up to fight Mayweather. Many boxing experts, pundits and fans alike thought it would be then-Champion Andre Berto. Everyone thought it most likely would have been Andre Berto because he was an undefeated fighter that had the strength, speed and technical abilities to match up against Mayweather's boxing prowess. However, what everyone seemed to forget that before an Andre Berto vs. Floyd Mayweather bout can transpire, Berto had to fight an "unknown" boxer by the name of Victor Ortiz. Everyone wrote off Victor in this fight and everyone had Berto winning decisively but what transpired was a bout that still holds as one of the most exciting boxing bouts of 2011. Contrary to the experts, pundits and popular opinion, Victor Ortiz won via unanimous decision; he managed to knockdown the then-WBC Champion, Andre Berto four times. Not only did Victor Ortiz defeate Andre Berto, but he catapulted his stock as a world-class boxer, which eventually earned him a shot at the "boxing magician" that is Floyd "Money" Mayweather on September 17, 2011 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Neveda, U.S.A.

Now that the bout has been set between "Money" Mayweather and "Vicious" Ortiz, who do the experts, pundits and fans have as the favorite? The last time, these so called "experts" chose the favorite, the underdog took it upon himself to make them eat their own words. The only difference this time is that the favorite, Mayweather, is no Andre Berto. Mayweather is an established name with world title defenses, world class technical abilities that commands up to 10 million per fight. In other words, he is the biggest draw in the sport of boxing other than Manny Pacquiao. With that being said, will Victor Ortiz knock Mayweather down 4 times? Probably not! Will Victor Ortiz win via unanimous decision? Probably not! Does Victor Ortiz have a punchers chance? Absolutely! Ever since Shane Mosely landed a punch on Mayweather's chin which lead him do the "stanky leg", many people have wondered if Mayweather can take a punch from a younger boxer, since it came from a over the hill boxer. It is evident from the Andre Berto bout, that Victor Ortiz has power and if they land flush on Mayweather's chin or liver, Mayweather would be in some serious trouble. But the reason why Mayweather has risen up the ranks to be (self-proclaimed) greatest boxer ever, is his mastery of the defensive skills and ability to elude punches and then land on his opponents. Victor Ortiz is in a similar position like he was in against Andre Berto, but this time he will go against a man who is known to make his opponents look like amateurs. Will Victor Ortiz put on a vicious bout against his greatest challenger or will it seem like he just showed up to collect his money?

The Floyd Mayweather Sweepstakes

L to R: Manny Pacquiao, Freddie Roach, Amir Khan

There have been talks about the richest fight in, perhaps, boxing history between Floyd "Money" Mayweather and Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao but they have been shot down due to both parties not agreeing to terms. As a result, many boxing fans and experts think that this fight will not happen. The most heard excuse comes from the camp of the Filipino Congressman of not wanting to take a blood test for the fight due to superstitions; its this excuse that pro-Mayweather fans use for the "Pac-Man" to not fight Floyd. On the other hand, the pro-Manny fans say that it isn't an excuse, and Mayweather is twisting the situation in order to the duck the World's #1 Boxer in the world; which many fans think can be the one to tarnish the unblemished record of Mayweather. The other roadblock in the negotiations is how the purse will be split and how much will each fighter will make. It was reported that Floyd wanted to make 100 Million Dollars for the fight as oppose to 50 Million Dollars that apparently was the initial offer. Before the this mega-fight can happen, the legal fight between both camps need to come to a decision, so the fans can reap the benefit of one of the most highly-anticipated boxing bouts in its historic history. Luckily for Freddie Roach, the trainer of Pacquiao, he also has another very talented boxer, Amir Khan, in his Wild Card Gym that has his name being thrown around in the Floyd Mayweather Sweepstakes.  "There are those dream matches, you know, and sometimes they happen, and sometimes they don't," said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer. "Maybe it will happen, and, maybe not, meaning, the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight." 

Between Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan winning the Mayweather sweepstakes, the odds are in favor of Amir Khan coming out victorious for several reasons. As everyone is well aware of, the Pacquiao-Mayweather talks have not been successful whereas Khan-Mayweather talks are ready to go. The Khan-Mayweather talks will not go down the same route as Pacquiao-Mayweather because both Khan and Mayweather have ties with the Golden Boy Promotion which would make negotiations a lot easier than how it was with Bob Arum's Top Rank Promotions, who negotiates Pacquiao's fights. Lastly, Manny has an ongoing lawsuit in play against Mayweather for defamation of character for a controversial rant Mayweather did sometime ago (see video below).

As far as Freddie Roach is concerned, he believes both his fighters have the ability to defeat the Floyd Mayweather and has come to terms that if one of his fighters were to fight Floyd, it most likely will be Amir Khan. "I guess that that's a possibility, because Amir and Floyd are with the same [promotional] company, and it seems like nobody is getting along nowadays, unfortunately," said Roach. "I think that I have the two guys that can beat Floyd, but I guess that it could happen that Amir gets him first. A fight with Amir Khan, albeit not so lucrative, can be an attractive alternative to Mayweather, since he will be fighting a boxer trained by the great Freddie Roach and the training partner of Manny Pacquiao. "Amir Khan is young, he's fast, he's very skilled, and he has a great team behind him. So Amir Khan is obviously  an attractive proposition for Floyd Mayweather," said Schaefer. 

The Floyd Mayweather Sweepstakes do not have an expiration date especially since Floyd will be fighting in September against a rejuvenated Victor Ortiz. Manny Pacquiao will have yet another fight with Juan Manual Marquez, and for those who have seen the previous fights between them, know that this is not a walk in the park for the "Pac-Man." As for Amir Khan, he just came out victorious from a bout with Zab Judah and is expected to return at the end of the year. So the Floyd Mayweather Sweepstakes will have to take a back-seat for awhile to see how these fights turn out, but if recent history tells us anything; it will say that these fights will be something to watch. If one were to ask Freddie Roach which of his fighter would he like to see fight Floyd Mayweather, he would say "...he prefer to see it be Manny against Floyd because that's the bigger fight." But who do the fans think will fight Floyd first - Amir Khan or Manny Pacquiao?

Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao V. Shane "Sugar" Mosley Recap

Weigh-Ins (A Day Before Fight Night)

Events starting from the Showtime boxing show, Fight Camp 360, leading till the main event, the hype for Manny 'Pac-Man' Pacquiao V. Shane 'Sugar' Mosely was tremendous. Every sports bar, every combat sports fan, everybody with Filipino roots, every pro-Mayweather fan, and every other 'every (insert here)', had their eyes glued to what could be Pac-Man's toughest bout. Both camps have stated "that this was their best camp ever, the fighters are in the best shape they have EVER been", and etc. Boxing fans and the world, know that fighters and their camp make these vapid proclamations to sell as many fights as possible, even when many people think otherwise. Let's see if what both camps told the public media is true; if actions speak louder than words, then the weigh-ins would speak volumes to how good this fight will be. The Pac-Man weighed in at 145lbs (66 Kilos) and Sugar weigh in at 147 (67 Kilos). As seen from the picture above, both Pac-Man and Sugar passed the 'eye-ball test.' From the appearance of the fighter's physique, both fighters do, in fact, look like they are in the best shape, they have EVER been. One proclamation that was to be seen and highly-anticipated came from the Mosely camp - "I got this!", said Mosely; signifying that he will be the man to dethrone the 8 time world champ-well, did he?

Before the bout started, 'Sugar' Shane came out to the likes of LL Cool J's -Momma Said Knock You Out, whereas Manny decided to let the people know that in this fight, he had the "Eye of the Tiger" and will once again, make his Filipino brethren proud. As he sung in the last episode of his Fight Camp 360 - "My fight, your fight, its all our fight for Filipinos." With this being said, it was evident that the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA was a pro-Manny crowd, and it seemed that the only pro-'Sugar' fans were his camp and his stunningly beautiful girlfriend, Bella Gonzalez. A Filipino singer, Charice Pempengco, performed the Filipino anthem with such grace that a grown man could have cried, singer/actor, Tyrese performed the National Anthem, and Jamie Foxx performed "America The Beautiful". Once the referee, Richard Bayless, addressed both fighters in the middle of the ring and once that bell rang, the itch that many fans endured all throughout the Showtime series, the media coverage and etc, was about to be scratched.

In the first round, no one would have expected that the fighting pride of the Philippines would look human against an aging boxer, but that is exactly how the champ looked. Both fighters did the usual, 'feeling each other out' to see what they would do; it was evident, from round one that they both were trying to establish their jab. Nothing special happened; only that Mosley still had his confidence. Round two, brought a similar fate to each fighter, only difference is that Manny was starting to realize that he is no mortal. Round three was a round that would have had Vernon Forrest angry at Manny because Mosley went down, after a straight left connected to the side of his head; this was the second time in Mosley's legendary career that he's hit the canvas, Vernon being the first. Not only was Mosley's pride hurt but all hope was hurt, abandoned, lost, 'insert adjective' here, because after round 3, the boxing bout became a cat and mouse chase. Rounds 4,5,6,7,8,9 can be summed up as Manny was the cat and Mosley was the mouse; all that was displayed was Mosley's boxing IQ is high, not because he can parry punches and tactfully evade Manny's assaults but because he kept clinching, circling and not engaging. On the opposite end, Manny was the aggressor, chasing Mosley around the ring, throwing those punches that had the pro-Manny crowd in a frenzy, in hope of a knock out but to no avail.

"Sugar" Shane phantom Knockdown

However in round 10, both fighters were clinched after a flurry from Manny, and when they disengaged Mosley pushed Manny off him which led to him falling, but Richard Bayless saw that as a knocked down. It was clearly a push, how Bayless saw that as a knocked down will go down in the annals of mystery. Just as the saying goes, "everything happens for a reason", well one can say this happened to lite a spark under Manny's feet because after the missed call, Manny came out with a vengeance. Round 11 and 12 was the pace that every Manny fan has known to love. He fought those rounds as if someone had stolen his money and he wanted it back, and was willing to do anything to get it back.

Manny's Powerful Punches

To put this bout in perspective, two judges scored this bout 120 to 108, and how one judge scored it 119 to 108 is beyond logic. That simply means that Manny won all 11 rounds with 1 round being a draw. Maybe the 1st round, in which both fighter were 'feeling each other out' was seen as a tie, but nonetheless, Manny Pacquiao continued his pummeling of world-class boxers to 5 in row. Will Floyd Mayweather finally step up and take on the champ or will there be another world-class boxer other than Floyd Mayweather to fight the pound-for-pound king?

Who's Left for The 'Pac-Man?'

Hi, I am Manny Pacquiao

One after another keep falling as if it were the domino effect without any dominoes present; just world class boxers. Every time this boxer enters the ring, the fans know one thing that the opponent seems to deny himself, out of professional pride, which is they are about to be knocked down. Not only has this boxer look unbeatable in his previous four bouts, he actually looks like the game character 'Pac-Man' on 'power pellets' eating his way through stages with tremendous velocity and nothing stopping him. Everyone knows of this boxer, whether or not, they are boxing fans but because he is a man that carries a small pacific island on his sleeve every time he fights or attends an event; he is no other than Manny Pacquiao, short for Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao, but known as the moniker- 'Pac-Man.' The past four bouts have been described by boxing experts, pundits, hardcore fans or just someone who came over to watch the fight, with one word - WOW!! He has fought Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey and Antonio Margarito, and the results have been the same - by utter domination.

"Sugar" Shane Mosely

However, on May 7 2011, he will face his stiffest opponent; even though the opponent is not from out of this world, which would only be logical, since the previous bouts can only make one think that only some boxer out of this world would be able to defeat Manny, but because his name is 'Sugar' Shane Mosely. Shane brings a lot of different elements that the other fighters did not bring on fight night - world class speed, high-boxing IQ, never been knocked out and, most important the confidence of a fighter knowing that he will come as the victor.  As his former trainer and dad, Jack Mosely, said, "Shane’s got the tools to beat this guy. He knows what he has to do and he has the ability to go out there and do it.” Although Shane brings these elements, according to Las Vegas odds makers, he is an 8-to-1 underdog. The reason behind such odds can be contributed to his age, 39 on the verge of being 40, a one-sided loss to the defensive wizard, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and a draw against, Sergio Mora. For some boxers, especially after their previous lackluster performances, would not be so convinced that they will defeat a man, who can be paralleled to a freight-train, on fight night but Shane isn't some boxer. Referring to his previous bouts, “I don’t think they will have anything to do with what I do against Pacquiao because styles make fights,” Mosley said. “But if it wasn’t for those two fights, I probably wouldn’t be here today. So those fights were needed.”

Battle of Legends

One thing is for certain on May 7, 2011; and that is Manny will fight till the very last second, for himself and the whole Filipino population watching back in the Philippines and all over the world. He is a world-class boxer with a world-class attitude. For instance, the fight he completely dominated Antonio Margarito, in which he mutilated his face with power and precise punches, he stopped for a second to give the referee a look of "hey, he is taking useless punishment, stop the fight"; the referee did not stop it, but Manny toned down his onslaught on Margarito because he knew he had won the fight and doing more damage will serve no purpose. On the other side of the ring, 'Sugar' Shane Mosely will also bring the fight to Manny because his style is to go after his opponent, and so is Pacquiao's, meaning that his fight will be non-stop action. For the price of 55 USD (standard definition) and 65 USD (high-definition), one can see this battle between legends. Will the fighting pride of the Philippines have a sweet-tooth and make it five world-class boxers in a row or will the "Sugar", Shane is going to bring to table, be too sweet for a man known to decimate anything in his path? Will Shane Mosely reprise the role of Ricky Hatton (see picture below) or will the tables be turned? Come fight night, will you be watching Pacquiao V. Mosely?

KO'd Ricky Hatton for the IBO title

What Do You Call An Underdog Defeating A Favorite?

Upset Defeating Man O'War

This past weekend was a gambler's worst nightmare. For most gamblers, they usually put money on the favorites, and in this case, it was in the NBA Playoffs but was not limited to just basketball. However, when the teams projected to win, do not, it is considered an upset. The word upset originated in the sport of Horse Racing, during its golden era, around the early 1900s. Story goes: A horse by the name of Upset defeated Man O'War, a horse that had an unblemished record and was considered to be unbeatable, in a race that had gamblers dumbfounded of the outcome. The outcome had many people, not only gamblers, scratching their heads asking each other how was that Man O'War lost to a 'no name.' As a result of such a gran feat, the word upset later became to mean - to defeat unexpectedly. Upsets are what exactly happened in the first round of NBA playoffs and in a highly touted boxing bout. 

All across the NBA, in the Eastern and Western Conferences, there were upsets. Two upsets occurred in the Western Conference and one in the Eastern Conference. The two teams in the West that were upset were the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs. The reason behind the 'shock' of these two teams losing were the fact that both teams had some of the best records in the NBA, and losing to 'lesser' teams in the first game of a five game series, was by many experts not expected. The Memphis Grizzlies were the team that everyone wrote off because their record was below average, but as they proved, records mean nothing. Paralleling the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs efforts, were the Orlando Magic. But the Orlando Magic did not have that 'shock' factor because they were playing a team, in which, according to the NBA seeds were 'equal.' 

The NBA Playoffs were not the only sport that upsets happened, for an upset also happened in Boxing. The magnitude of the upset that occurred in boxing can be paralleled to the Memphis Grizzlies defeating the San Antonio Spurs. In this case, Andre Berto would be that of The Spurs and Victor Ortiz would be that of The Grizzlies. As with both The Grizzlies and Ortiz, no one, especially gamblers, gave them the chance to defeat such 'giants' in their respective sport, because of their previous outcomes. Unblemished record, top three fighter in the weight class, Andre Berto was the heavy favorite against Victor Ortiz, especially after Ortiz's previous fight, in which, he 'quit', but as the sports world knows and what this article insinuates; being the favorite is merely a praise and not a guarantee. 

The favorites should not underestimate any opponent because, as history has shown, an upset can occur to anyone and/or any team at a moments notice, which would give way for Freddy Krueger to stalk the dreams of those gambler's, who put money on the favorites to win.

For The Love or Money?

Show Me the Money...lots of it!

No matter what kind of sports fan you are whether its only Football, Baseball, Soccer or whichever, the one thing that all sports fans want to see is the fight between Floyd 'Money' Mayweather Jr Vs. Manny Pacquiao. The reason behind this is simple - they are the best boxers in the world and arguably 1st ballot Hall of Famers in Boxing. Both parties are interested in making this 'instant classic' bout happen but the only, and I use the word only very loosely, issue is of how much of money does each boxer get? As his nickname and picture to the right depicts Floyd Mayweather Jr. wants the promoters to 'show him the money', and he wants them to show him quite a lump sum of money. To be exact, he rejected 50 million dollars for his services but considers 100 million just right for his services, just for ONE FIGHT!!!!

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is not the only professional athlete that wants to get 'cashed out' for his tremendous talents, every professional athlete with tremendous talents more or less the potential for tremendous talent, want to get 'cashed out' for their services. For instance, the players in The National Football League are notorious for such antics. Many experts call The NFL 'a copycat league', meaning, that everyone follows suit after each other ranging from types of defenses/offenses to contract negotiations. Consequently, if a player 'holds out' (the process of not showing up to work to achieve a lucrative contract) for an X amount of time or a certain player gets X amount of money, then the next player observes what happens and tries to 'copycat' him. It is understandabe trying to maximum monetize the efforts but when they constantly tell the media 'It's not about the money, I love this game and would play for free', it irks the fans and they begin to question the motives of professional athletes.

The major contributors to these athletes are the fans. The fans are what make these athletes lucrative through the purchases of player jerseys, stadium tickets, team paraphernalia, and etc. Once the fans have shown support and talent is proven, the front office sees the popularity of the athlete among the fans, and more than likely a lucrative contract is signed. However, if the fans begin to not purchase player jerseys, stadium tickets, team paraphernalia, even with the talent proven, the front office will have doubt on whether this athlete will create revenue, because the fans have shown that they will not purchase team paraphernalia more or less, the athletes gear. In the end, do these athletes really love their sport or the money that is to be made in their sport?

What Should An Athlete Do?

What would you do; if someone where to tell you that 'you can participate in your last competitive and important tournament of your entire career but chances are that you will require surgery is more likely than 100%?'

That is what one of the athletes is going through - He broke his hand, during an intense practice. This kid has been working hard for four years (off-season included) to achieve a top six spot at what could be his last tournament of his high school career. According to the rankings, this kid is in the top five wrestlers that could accomplish a top five finish and even though rankings are nothing but stats on paper, more so than anything, rankings are a good indicator on the abilities of such athletes.

That being said; what is the best course of action that an athlete can take? Risk surgery for a cause that the athlete has been working so hard for four hard years? Risk regretting not participating in the last tournament of a grueling career? Participating in the tournament till the body tells the athlete that it can no longer keep up with the mind set and withdraw?  In the end, a dedicated athlete will not be in the right mind set in terms of knowing whats best for them, so the coach will have to evaluate the situation/outcomes of all scenarios and suggest the best course of action with the athletes best interest in mind.

The Inauguration

What up everybody,
I am Coach P from the Archbishop Riordan High School Wrestling team. I want to welcome you to my blog about wrestling, MMA, Football, Baseball and everything sports related in my life. Thank you for taking time off from your web-surfing to read this nice little introduction. In addition, if you would like to know what is going on in this wonderful world of ours through articles ranging from fitness, health, travel, food, weather, technology and etc; follow me on Twitter @ PAH89 (http://twitter.com/#!/PAH89) or any of the popular social media sites. In addition, check out Social Marketing Factory sites to see how you can use the benefits of social media effectively. I wish you all of you the best in your web-surfing and hopefully, you find awesome deals, informative articles, cool pictures and/or amazingly entertaining videos. Much Love to you all.