3SOF

November 18, 2006

HBO PPV: MANNY PACQUIAO VS. ERIK MORALES III
"THE GRAND FINALE" SET FOR NOVEMBER 18 at THOMAS & MACK LIVE ON HBO PAY-PER-VIEW
August 12, 2006

It's official. Three-division world champions MANNY "PAC MAN" PACQUIAO and ERIK "EL TERRIBLE" MORALES will get it on for the third time to determine who really is the best man inside the ring. Pacquiao and Morales each own a victory over the other in their two previous fights - both considered "Fight of the Year" candidates -- which have attracted over 700,000 pay-per-view buys combined. The announcement was made today by Bob Arum, chairman of Top Rank and Shelly Finkel, Pacquiao's manager. Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Wynn Las Vegas, Pacquiao-Morales III will be a 12-round super featherweight bout, taking place Saturday, November 18, from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV, and broadcast live on HBO Pay-Per-View.

"Erik is very determined and he is anxious to take on Pacquiao for a third time," said Arum. "These two great champions have always given it their all, each and every second in the ring, especially against each other. I expect this third fight to be the most exciting of the trilogy - and that's saying something!"

Finkel put it more simply. "Manny will start training in the U.S. on September 1. He is thrilled to have this rubber match to show he is the better man."

"For drama and excitement, there's nothing quite like the deciding match of a great boxing rivalry", said Mark Taffet, HBO Senior Vice President of Sports Operations & Pay-Per-View. "We have every expectation that Pacquiao-Morales 3 will result in their trilogy being as memorable as Barrera-Morales and Gatti-Ward."

Pacquiao, (42-3-2, 32 KOs), from General Santos City, The Philippines, returns to the ring looking for his third victory of 2006. He won a 12-round unanimous decision over former world champion Oscar Larios on July 1 at the sold-out Araneta Coliseum in The Philippines, the same arena that hosted Ali-Frazier III - the "Thrilla in Manila."

On January 21, Pacquiao avenged his previous loss to Morales scoring a dramatic and historic victory dealing "El Terrible" his first-ever knockout loss, stopping him in the 10th round, utilizing his secret weapon -- the savage punch known as "Manila Ice." Pacquiao has gone 16-1-2 in his last 19 bouts with 15 of his victories coming by knockout, including a sensational stoppage of world champion Marco Antonio Barrera. A former WBC flyweight, IBF jr. featherweight and The Ring magazine featherweight champion, Pacquiao is the WBC's and the WBO's No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger for the 130-pound titles and a consensus Top-Three "Pound-for-Pound" fighter. He is trained by Freddie Roach.

"I will beat him in this fight just like I beat him last fight," said Pacquiao. "I am the best super featherweight in the world and I cannot wait to prove it to Erik Morales...again. Morales will fee the strength of the people of The Philippines behind every punch I land on him. This may be the 'Grand Finale' on our trilogy, but it is just the beginning for Manny Pacquiao."

Morales, (48-4, 34 KOs), from Tijuana, Mexico, is universally recognized as one of the best boxers in the world at any weight, pound-for-pound. He is also one of the most exciting and has fought in several of the most sensational battles of recent years, including his 12-round unanimous decision victory over Pacquiao in their first battle. A former WBC super bantamweight champion, two-time WBC featherweight champion and WBC super featherweight champion, Morales became the second fighter from Mexico to win world titles in three weight divisions - Julio Cesar Chavez was the first. Like Chavez, Erik is also a certain future Hall of Famer.

Morales' Hall of Fame caliber resume boasts victories over Pacquiao, Marco Antonio Barrera, Carlos Hernandez, Jesus 'El Matador' Chavez, Guty Espadas, Paulie Ayala, Injin Chi, Kevin Kelley, Wayne McCullough, Junior Jones, Jose Luis Bueno, Daniel Zaragoza and Hector Acero-Sanchez.

Morales is also a true sportsman as he displayed after his loss to Pacquiao in January.

"I ran into a guy with a lot of ambition who wanted to win very much," said Morales. "He was in great condition and was obviously well-prepared to fight me. It was a very tough, intense fight. I think I had some good moments early, but was getting very tired as the fight was going in the later rounds. I have nothing but respect for Pacquiao, he's a good person and he beat me. You won't hear any excuses from me."

Boxing

For those of you who did not watch fight of the year... this is a nice clip from the Final Chapter 3 "The Legedary Trilogy"

Pacquiao "Pacman The Destroyer"  VS:  Morales "El Terrible"

http://www.youtube.com/v/YT4KeEIfQpA

Round 3 KO

That guy Morales got overwhelmed by Manny pacquiao speed punches.

Total Power Punches
Pacquiao                                        Morales
Landed - 83                                     30
Thrown - 131                                  101
Percent - 63%                                 30%

http://www.youtube.com/v/4m3d3RCQvKk

Don't miss this fight, it's going to be a HUGE money in it
see ya in Vegas!!

Pretty Boy vs. Golden Boy ----> May 05, 2007

http://www.youtube.com/v/Fd2eHuXWwCk


http://www.youtube.com/v/FYQyrpyfl3U

De La Hoya is not afraid to fight with the undefeated Mayweather...
Since July 18, 2005 as of now, Mayweather has been rated by The Ring magazine as the number-one pound-for-pound boxer in the world.


Nice fight with Arturo Gatti Vs. Floyd Mayweather back in 2005.

http://www.youtube.com/v/62E4H6BuSqA

Ring Magazine the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world

Rank              Fighter                       Record              Weight class
1          Floyd Mayweather Jr.   37-0 (24 KOs)         Welterweight
2          Manny Pacquiao           43-3-2 (34 KOs)      Super featherweight
3          Winky Wright               51-3-1 (25 KOs)      Middleweight
4          Jermain Taylor              26-0-1 (17 KOs)      Middleweight
5          Bernard Hopkins           47-4-1-1 (32 KOs)  Light heavyweight
6          Marco Antonio Barrera 63-4-0-1 (42 KOs)   Super featherweight
7          Rafael Márquez             36-3 (32 KOs)        Bantamweight
8          Ricky Hatton                 41-0 (30 KOs)         Super lightweight
9          José Luis Castillo          54-7-1 (47 KOs)     Super lightweight
10        Joe Calzaghe                 42-0 (31 KOs)       Super middleweight

Hey Terliso, it's been awhile since I posted, been busy with school, but I didn't know you were a boxing fan. I'm a huge boxing fan, my favorite fighter is Miguel Cotto(as in the avatar), with manny pacquiao a close second. I was jumping out of my seat at home during the 3rd fight. It's always nice to see another fan of pugilism 

Tale of the tape

Mayweather wins split decision over De La Hoya
By TIM DAHLBERG, AP Boxing Writer
May 6, 2007

Floyd Mayweather Jr. celebrates with his championship belt after winning a split decision over Oscar De La Hoya in their WBC super welterweight world championship boxing match on Saturday, May 5, 2007, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
AP - May 6, 1:58 am EDT
More Photos

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Floyd Mayweather Jr. couldn't win over the crowd, or even his own father. All he could win was the only thing that really counted Saturday night, his fight against Oscar De La Hoya.

Boxing's bad boy beat the Golden Boy in one of the richest fights ever, using his superb defensive skills and superior speed to take a 12-round split decision and win the WBC 154-pound title in his first fight at that weight.

He didn't impress the pro-De La Hoya crowd that roared with every punch thrown by their hero, and even Floyd Mayweather Sr. thought his son had lost. But Mayweather landed the harder punches and landed them more often, and that was enough to eke out yet another win.

"It was easy work for me. He was rough and tough, but he couldn't beat the best," Mayweather said. "I was having fun in there. It was a hell of a fight."

The fight that was supposed to save the sport may not have done that, but it was entertaining enough and competitive enough to keep everyone's attention even though neither fighter seemed to hurt the other and neither went down.

Both proud champions fought from the opening bell to the end of the final round, which finished with the brawl De La Hoya wanted all along. But it came too late to help De La Hoya, who lost four of the last five rounds on two scorecards, sealing his fate.

"I could see I was hurting him," De La Hoya said. "I was pressing the fight, and if I hadn't pressed the fight there would be no fight. I'm a champion, and you have to do more than that to beat a champion."

De La Hoya threw far more punches than Mayweather in an almost desperate bid to overcome Mayweather's slippery defense. He trapped Mayweather on the ropes and in the corner almost every round, throwing flurries to his head.

But many more missed than landed, allowing Mayweather to dance away, often after countering with a punch or two of his own.

"I just fought the best fighter in our era and I beat him," Mayweather said.

The sellout crowd of 16,200 that paid a record $19 million gate didn't think so, booing the decision just as it had booed Mayweather when he came into the ring wearing a sombrero on Cinco de Mayo.

And neither did Floyd Mayweather Sr., the estranged father of the undefeated champion and the former trainer of De La Hoya.

"I thought Oscar won the fight on points, threw more punches and was more aggressive," said the senior Mayweather, who munched popcorn as he watched the fight from a $2,000 ringside seat given to him by De La Hoya. "My son had good defense and caught a lot of his punches, but I still thought Oscar pressed enough to win the fight."

Two of the three ringside judges, though, gave the fight to Mayweather, who has never lost in his pro career and won a title for the fifth time in as many weight classes.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. , left, and Oscar De La Hoya trade blows during the tenth round of their WBC super welterweight world championship boxing match on Saturday, May 5, 2007, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
AP - May 6, 1:54 am EDT
More Photos
Mayweather was favored 116-112 by judge Chuck Giampa and 115-113 by judge Jerry Roth. Judge Tom Kaczmarek had De La Hoya ahead 115-113. The Associated Press had Mayweather winning 116-112.

Because this was boxing, the fight didn't end without some controversy. De La Hoya's corner said it might protest the decision after noticing that the scorecards circulated at ringside had the fighters in the wrong color corners, but the director of the Nevada Athletic Commission said they were correct.

The fight lacked the drama of the slugfest that De La Hoya wanted when he offered Mayweather a chance to make at least $10 million to fight him for the title. De La Hoya made at least $25 million for only his third fight in the last three years.

De La Hoya wanted Mayweather to trade punches in the middle of the ring with him, thinking he would win the fight on power against a fighter who moved up in weight to challenge him.

"The champion in me wanted to stop him," De La Hoya said. "I was just trying to close the show."

The fight ended with the crowd on its feet and two fighters trading punches wildly at the final bell. They then stopped and embraced each other.

In the end, Mayweather was simply faster and more slippery, and landed more punches.

Ringside punching stats heavily favored Mayweather, crediting him with landing 207 of 481 punches to 122 of 587 for De La Hoya. Mayweather also landed more power punches than De La Hoya, outscoring him 138-82.

Mayweather said before the fight that De La Hoya would fade as the fight went on, and it seemed as though he did. He used the jab more early, but got away from it from the eighth round on, giving Mayweather an easier shot at him with right hand leads.

Mayweather had predicted he would dominate De La Hoya and give him a beating, but De La Hoya took his best punches and came back with enough of his own to keep it close. De La Hoya appeared staggered by a right hand with 20 seconds left in the fight, but finished with a flurry as the crowd erupted in delight.

Actually, the crowd cheered wildly every time De La Hoya got Mayweather on the ropes and flailed away. But the punches mostly missed, and Mayweather hopped away, often giving De La Hoya a parting shot to the head.

Mayweather was a 2-1 favorite when the fight was made, but money poured in on De La Hoya and he was a 3-2 underdog by fight time. Still, there was no doubt who the favorite was among the crowd of celebrities and high rollers who paid $2,000 for ringside seats to watch the spectacle.

Oscar De La Hoya, left, punches Floyd Mayweather Jr. during their WBC 154-pound championship boxing match in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 5, 2007. Mayweather won by split decision.
AP - May 6, 1:54 am EDT
More Photos
De La Hoya was the aggressor throughout, managing to get through Mayweather's defenses in the early rounds as Mayweather moved away and counterpunched without great effect. Every time Mayweather went near the ropes, De La Hoya tried to trap him there and land a flurry of punches to the body and head.

De La Hoya wanted to get Mayweather into a brawl, but he was having no part of it, content to pick his spots. In the fifth round, however, the fight seemed to shift into a different gear as Mayweather stood his ground and landed some hard combinations to the head.

"He's getting tired. He's getting tired," Mayweather's trainer and uncle, Roger Mayweather, told his fighter after the round.

It was a night of ebb and flow, with both boxers fighting in flurries and both having their moments. The pro-De La Hoya crowd roared loudly anytime he threw a big punch, while Mayweather smiled at his opponent every time De La Hoya landed a punch that got any reaction from his fans.

In the end, though, Mayweather's hand was raised in victory. His father got in the ring with him and they embraced.

And boxing had survived for one more night.