Manny Pacquiao KO's David Diaz in the 9th round!

Sorry for my long absence, college, you know? Anyway, I'm back and as a treat I will be providing a link for you guys to download the Manny Pacquiao vs. David Diaz fight at the end of this post. On to the results:

In a very exciting fight, Manny Pacquiao knocked David Diaz out in the 9th round earning the WBC Lightweight Championship belt and the record of being the only Asian fighter to win world titles in four weight divisions. As a Filipino, I have to say I am really proud he is my countryman. David Diaz fought a good fight and I thank him for trying his best. Unfortunately for him, PacMan, on his move up to lightweight, also brought with him his agility and punching power. Diaz was no match for PacMan as he got hit a lot and obtained a cut on his right eyebrow. It was a bloody fight for Diaz. (Pic from FightNews.com, by the way, and here's more pics from MannyPacquiao.ph.)

What's next for Manny? Rumour is that he plans to move to 140 lbs and fight Ricky Hatton. Probably sometime in November... I think he should stay in lightweight before moving up again so suddenly.

You can download the fight here, although it starts in round 2. If it doesn't work then try VLC Media Player, although Windows Media Player should work. It's in Chinese so sorry about that, but hey, it's free, right?

Philippines wins the Boxing World Cup against Mexico 5 to 1

Turns out that the fight wasn't on pay-per-view and I don't have HBO so I can only read news about it and Fightnews.com has the early results which shows that Philippines is ahead of Mexico by 3 - 0. The first win was a unanimous decision by Diosdado Gabi against Jose Angel Beranza, the second was from Michael Domingo via unanimous decision over Miguel Roman, and the third was a third round knockout of the Mexican Jorge Cardenas by the hands of Filipino AJ Banal. The Filipinos are doing really well so far, but I'm not going to get my hopes up until this is over because I know Mexicans are also very well-prepared for this event.

Philboxing.com says that it's now Z Gorrez and Eric Ortiz in the ring. Gorrez keeps hitting Ortiz with big lefts and is winning the early rounds. Doctor stops the fight in the eight due to a swelling from Ortiz, Z Gorrez wins and it's 4 - 0 Philippines. Good job Gorrez!!

I actually got a software to watch the fight from the advice of the forum guys at Philboxing.com and watched the next fight with Gerry Penalosa against WBO champ Jhonny Gonzalez. Gerry Penalosa was the attacker while Gonzalez did the counter-punching hitting Penalosa occasionaly. It was like this throughout the rounds with an occassional burst of action from both fighters until the seventh... During the seventh, Gerry hit Jhonny with a beautiful left hook to the body which sent him on his knees. The referee immediately started the countdown, but eventually stopped the fight because Jhonny wasn't able to stand up. Philippines 5, Mexico 0.

The last fight, I regret to say for my fellow Filipinos, was a disappointment. Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista was annihilated by Daniel Ponce De Leon in the first round via a left hand. In my opinion, it was just a punch that got lucky and Bautista wanting to attack right from the start because of what the other Filipinos showed through the night. I doubt that there will be a rematch, but if Bautista recovers from this and fought his way up again, he definitely should have one with De Leon again. Losing is not a bad thing and maybe Rey will learn from it and be better than ever. The greatest boxers in history also have losses and that's what makes them stronger. I will still watch Boom Boom's fight no matter what and congratulations to my country, the Philippines, for winning the World Cup by a landslide 5 to 1!!!

The Boxing World Cup looms over the horizon...(Update!)

Photo courtesy of Philboxing.com.

Mexico has been long known for its world-class boxers and it has produced many throughout boxing's history. One could say that the country of Mexico dominates the lighter divisions of boxing. However, one country has been quietly challenging Mexico's long time domination of the lighter weight classes. Queitly pouncing not only on its best fighters, but also on other country's fighters. Every fight fan knows what country I am talking about and they have seen one of the major upsets caused by this country's emerging fighters.

The country I am talking about is none other than mine: the Philippines. I'm not going to hide the fact that this article might be biased since I'm writing it, but I try to be an honest writer. Fight fans have seen and felt the big splash that Manny Pacquiao has been causing and he's not the only one doing it. Recently, other Filipino fighters have been making names for themselves and for their country. Manny Pacquiao vs. Marco Antonio Barrera 1 and his Erik Morales trilogy, Nonito Donaire vs. Vic Darchinyan, Florante Condes vs. Muhammad Rachman, Z Gorrez vs. Fernando Montiel, and Rey Bautista vs. Sergio Manuel Medina, those are just some of the most exciting fights we have seen. The Philippines continues to tighten its grip on boxing.

One such event that will finally showcase the competition of both countries in boxing is closing in on us all. The Boxing World Cup, Philippines vs. Mexico, is not far away and each country's boxing fans and fighters alike will be watching this event (that includes me, of course). The event will pit each country's best fighters against one another (too bad it doesn't include the fight between Pacquiao and Barrera, but both will be attending the event). Which country will win the cup? Well, Philippines, of course, seeing as it is my country. But seriously though, I will choose to avoid any single fight prediction in this one since getting the cup depends on which country will win the most fights and the competition is very high.

As my last and closing statement on this article, I just want to say: Good luck to the fighters from both countries and I hope to see them fight with all they've got! More info on the event on Philboxing.com (Philippine website in English, since I'm no good at reading Spanish).

Update: So I just called up my uncle in Folsom, CA and he told me he had breakfast with Rey Bautista, Z Gorrez, and the others. What the hell?! I told him: How did you know where they stayed? He said he checked MannyPacquiao.ph and saw the address there and then got driving directions for it. I mean, he just knocked on their door and straight up asked them for breakfast! Although being the good people that they were, they agreed and my uncle told me that they were really nice people. As for myself who is really far away from Sacramento right now, I just asked my uncle, who will be ringside, if I could have their autographs.

Miguel Cotto vs. Shane Mosley

So the internet boxing world is buzzing with the recent news of the Miguel Cotto vs. Shane Mosley fight becoming possible this November 10th. It is going to be held at the Madison Square Garden and both their titles will be up for grabs for whoever wins. This may offend those Mosley fans out there, but Shane is facing off against a fighter in his prime and still improving. He, on the other hand, is past his and has probably learned everything he can about fighting. Mosley has great boxing skills as he proved by beating De La Hoya and Vargas not only once, but twice. Miguel Cotto needs more high caliber opponents (not old guns) and his true test is still yet to come, in my opinion. Although Mosley may have experience and a good roster of opponents in his record, he is past his good years and Cotto might get the win on this one.

Rodel Mayol stopped by Ulises Solis in the eight!

Ulises Solis, brother of Jorge Solis whom Pacquiao knocked out on his last fight won against Filipino challenger Rodel Mayol. Rodel Mayol walked into Solis' big right and was stopped in the eight round. I think Mayol wasn't really ready for that fight, Solis' is a good fighter, maybe better than his brother, and he was more experienced than Rodel Mayol. Maybe Solis should try Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista next time...

David Diaz decisions Erik Morales

Pics and info from Fightnews.com.

It seemed a bad night for Erik Morales just like many of his fight nights, lately, as he lost to David Diaz via a unanimous decision which was pure BS, in my opinion. Morales was fighting in Diaz's hometown and he scored a knockdown against him during their first round in which the judges didn't even took notice. Morales boxed smartly tonight against Diaz and won the early rounds, but surprisingly, he lost the rest of the later rounds resulting in Diaz's victory. Sure Morales was getting old for boxing, but he was clearly better than Diaz. The post-fight presscon showed all the controversy Team Morales felt when his dad stated the facts I had just mentioned and Morales commenting on what dad said. Diaz retorted back on those issues by saying that that's what he always did: fight aggressively and come back in the later rounds and that's what he did tonight just like any other nights. Meanwhile the camp of Erik said that the referee and one of the judges ignored Diaz's rough tactics and illegal blows which caused them to lose. Because of this fight, Erik Morales has also decided to retire.

A bad outcome for the fight and I didn't expect Diaz to be that much of a rough fighter. I didn't think that hometown decisions would also be involved in this one, but it turns out that it might be. Nonetheless, one way or another I always thought that Morales was on his way to retirement and I just hope everything goes fine with his life after boxing. To read more info on the presscon click here.

Israel Vazquez defeats Rafael Marquez in the sixth!

In what one could consider a bloody brawlfest (which was better than the first fight, in my opinion), Israel Vazquez shocked Rafael Marquez with a left hook in the early opening of round six, and went for the kill on Marquez who was still fighting back when referee Guadalupe Garcia stopped the fight. It seemed that what Vazquez had in store for Marquez was a fierce left hook and a renewed determination and hard training that clearly showed tonight. Marquez had a harder time with Vazquez than during their first fight, but each fighter was clearly hungry for the win. Each had caused cuts on each other in the early rounds which made it a bloody fight from the start.

They started exchanging punches fiercely throughout the round, but Vazquez was the better fighter in the ring tonight staggering Marquez in round three and finally stopping him on the sixth. Although the stoppage might cause controversy again because Marquez was still fighting back, I think Vazquez would've still won the fight and he said that if it wasn't stopped during round six, he would've stopped him in the next. This controversial stoppage can only mean one thing for both fighters and fight fans: a third fight. Both fighters have expressed their interest in a third fight and it is highly possible to happen. We can only look forward to the last chapter in this newly born trilogy. Additional info on Fightnews.com.

Morales vs. Diaz lightweight championship fight tonight!

Pic courtesy of Fightnews.com.

Tonight is also Erik Morales' comeback fight against the Lightweight champ David Diaz on HBO Pay-per-view at 9pm ET/ 6pm PT. Now with the fight between Vazquez and Marquez also happening tonight, which fight to watch? Well, the Vazquez vs. Marquez rematch, of course! One, because it's free if you have Showtime; and two, because these guys are bound to be more exciting to watch than a washed-up Morales, right? Although I think the Showtime fight will be more worth watching than the pay-per-view, I don't think Morales is washed-up. He can still bring exciting fights like he always does and I'm sure he will give it his all in the ring tonight. I'm also sure some of my fellow Filipinos out there will be watching the Morales-Diaz fight. Since I haven't seen Diaz's fights, I will not make any predictions because it's bound to be unfair for Diaz, but I do hope that Morales wins. He can brawl and box and it depends on which side of him comes out in the ring tonight.

Rafael Marquez vs. Israel Vazquez rematch is today on Showtime 9pm ET/PT!

The rematch between these two exciting fighters is today and if anybody has Showtime then you should watch it. Rafael Marquez, the brother of Juan Manuel Marquez, will defend his WBC Super Bantamweight title against Israel Vazquez for the second time. As most fight fans already know, Israel Vazquez lost to Rafael in their first match when he quit the fight in the seventh, probably either due to an injury or he just doesn't have the heart. Marquez was clearly the better fighter that night staggering Vazquez several times while Vazquez himself did fought valiantly. Rafael clearly has the better boxing skills giving Israel a hard time that night. I still believe Vazquez could have continued the fight, but if a fighter tells his coach he wants to quit, I think there's nothing he can do (or us fight fans). Tonight they are having their rematch and I hope both fighters fight to the end this time, no quitting. If Vazquez wins this fight, then we are going to have ourselves another great trilogy if a third fight becomes possible. I think Rafael Marquez still has the better technique and heart; however, Israel Vazquez will come out hungry for the win tonight and he has trained hard for it. Who knows what Israel has in store for Rafael come fight night, but my prediction leans toward a second win for Rafael Marquez via a knockout during the late rounds (or Vazquez quitting the fight again). For those of us whose memories need to be refreshed, here's a short video summary of their first fight:

Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Ricky Hatton?

There has been talk that both fighters' camp are negotiating a fight between the two. Now that's what I'm talking about! Finally, two young, undefeated, unproven fighters facing off against each other! I would definitley watch this fight since I'm sure one of them will lose and a lot of us think it's Hatton. I always have a very big interest when it comes to watching an undefeated fighter lose for the first time, just to see how he would take it. Ricky Hatton is a smaller fighter than Floyd Mayweather and for Ricky, that is a huge disadvantage since Mayweather is used to fighting opponents naturally bigger than him. Some of us would think that Hatton might get slaughtered here. However, I think it would be an interesting fight since both of them are young and hungry fighters and they're both at their prime. There's only one thing that I think is strange though: Oscar De La Hoya expressed an interest to fight Hatton and that would mean more money for Hatton than Mayweather whose fights aren't that exciting to watch, instead he opted to fight Mayweather instead. I have no complains though, because Hatton looks like he wants to prove himself by beating the guy that everybody considers as the best fighter in the world, pound for pound. Ricky Hatton is going to be the underdog in this fight and it would be good if he could pull off an upset. I have been wanting to see Mayweather lose a fight for a very long time and I have been wondering who that guy will be. I almost thought it was Oscar De La Hoya, but it turned out to be just another one of Mayweather's fight where he was running away against his opponent. If he keeps running away against a smaller fighter in the form of Ricky Hatton, then I'm going to turn off the TV right away. All of us want to see a new aggressive Mayweather, not the same thing over and over again and now that Hatton is a smaller fighter than him, would he still do a hit and run? W'ell see when the fight really happens on December...

Update: The superfight is official and will be promoted by none other than Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions and (what's this?) Floyd Mayweather's Mayweather Promotions! Talk about irony here... The fight is on December 8 and is dubbed as "Undefeated". A lot of people are thinking that Hatton's 0 is gonna go, but it will be an interesting match-up. The fight venue is at MGM Grand in Vegas.

Vernon Forrest's win over Baldomir

It seems that Forrest won himself a championship belt via a unanimous decision against Baldomir... I'm really neutral for this fight, and I say a good start for Vernon Forrest coming out of a long break from boxing. Now all he has to do is find a new opponent to defend the belt against. That's really all I can say about that as I'm not an avid follower of these guys. More info on Fightnews.com, though.

Vernon Forrest vs. Carlos Baldomir on HBO BAD...

Pic from HBO Boxing.

It's tonight and since it's not on pay-per-view, maybe it's worth watching. But to put it bluntly, these guys haven't been on the spotlight for a while and their performances have been disappointing lately. Still this can be a good watch for fans of both fighters, but I'm afraid to say that I'm not one of them... I haven't seen Forrest fight for a while and he lost to Mayorga which is a fighter that I consider to have the least skill in all of boxing (probably alongside Edwin Valero) and Baldomir's win over Gatti didn't really do it for me since Gatti has been on the decline. And him vs. Floyd Mayweather was the most boring fight and mismatch I have ever seen. Maybe I'm just too much of a fan of blood and gore in fights, but I don't think these guys has the potential to make an exciting fight. Either way, I predict a win by Carlos Baldomir due to the fact that he has been more active than Forrest. Both guys weighed in at 154 lbs, by the way.

UFC 74 website now available!

Yep, UFC 74 website is up and running if y'all want to check it out. It has all the information you need on the fight and then some. Tell the Boxing and MMA Rantings sent you.

The noise has died down for this week...

Not much going on in the world of boxing and MMA lately. Some news are appearing, but most of them are about the upcoming fights this August or about promotional companies' plans for the future. However, the coming months will be interesting with the World Cup of boxing coming up, Pacquiao vs. Barrera 2, Morales vs. Diaz, UFC 75 on Spike TV, and maybe Vargas vs. Mayorga as well. We'll see what happens...

Bernard Hopkins beats Winky Wright!

It seems that Winky brought the action to Bernard. But in the end, Bernard showed the judges who was the better boxer when he pulled off a unanimous decision over Winky. Bad night for me again, it seems that the boxers I'm going for keep losing! By the way, the scores were 116-112, 117-111, 117-111 all for Bernard Hopkins. But can't complain since in boxing...ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. Maybe after this, Hopkins will finally retire. I don't know about Winky, though, we'll have to see. As usual Fightnews.com provides the earliest fight results. Fight pics below...

Pics courtesy of HBO Championship Boxing. (More info there!)

Michael Katsidis decisions Czar Amonsot

In a fierce war between the two, Michael Katsidis drops Czar Amonsot on the second and tenth to finally earn a unanimous decision. Czar Amonsot gave it his all in a fight which should have a rematch, just so the fighter that I was going for can have another shot. But, really, the fight does deserve to have a rematch. I'm sure every Filipino out there is proud of Czar's performance and will want to watch him fight again. Congratulations to Katsidis, no hard feelings.

Michael Katsidis vs. Czar Amonsot tonight!

Tonight on the Bernard Hopkins - Winky Wright undercard, another one of my fellow Filipino fighters will again be faced with an undefeated Australian opponent (think Darchinyan-Donaire). Czar Amonsot (18-2-1 10 KO's) of the Philippines will be fighting Michael Katsidis (22-0 20 KO's) for the WBO Lightweight title. Both of Amonsot's loss were against Simson Butar Butar of Indonesia although I regret to say that Czar was unprepared for both fights. But now with the help of his team he is more than prepared and during the weigh-in was 133 lbs, 2 lbs under the 135 lb division while Katsidis was 135 lbs. Again this match may be compared to Darchinyan-Donaire, but I don't see any similarities in this fight since Katsidis is clearly not what you would call a Darchinyan kind of fighter, he is a good fighter. However, Czar Amonsot is also a good fighter that just needs a good mentor to bring out the best in him and I do think that he is in the best shape coming in to this fight. Although chances might go against Amonsot just looking at his and Katsidis' records, I will be going for him and I predict Czar Amonsot by either late round knockout or unanimous decision. Good luck to all the fighters tonight.

Hopkins vs. Wright, will it be worth watching?

July 21st will see Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright facing each other in an HBO Pay-per-view event. Both these guys have been great fighters and their records speak for itself. Bernard Hopkins looked great in demolishing Antonio Tarver, Felix Trinidad, and stopping Oscar De La Hoya. Winky Wright had two wins over Shane Mosley, a win over Felix Trinidad and Ike Quartey, and a draw with Jermain Taylor (which I thought he won). Lots of good fighters on their records and both of them fought the same guys in Felix Trinidad and Jermain Taylor. It's about time they fought each other, but I think they waited too long. These guys should've fought when they were both younger then it would have been more interesting. These guys are best known for their defense than their offense and for them to have an exciting fight, their opponents should be the one pushing the action to them. In other words, they do good when faced against offensive fighters like Felix Trinidad, for example. But what would happen when two defensive geniuses are faced against each other? I think they would just be defending against each other, but one of them has to push the action. Although this might be a good match-up, I don't think this will be an exciting fight (although it will be more exciting than Mayweather's fights). If you were a fan of both fighters in the past then you would watch it, but for casual fans looking for action, just watch the replay. I don't expect a knockout, but a decision and I think Winky will take the decision. He is the younger fighter and maybe faster considering that Hopkins is getting old. Nonetheless, expect a very technical fight much like playing chess. Winky Wright by unanimous decision.

Erik Morales vs. David Diaz, does Morales still have it?

First of all, I respect Erik Morales for his always exciting performance around the ring and his classic bouts with Marco Antonio Barrera and Manny Pacquiao. He is a great fighter who always gave his all inside the ring and is a very tough opponent to beat. His recent trilogy with Manny was one of the best. However, his loss has been accumulating lately and everyone seems to believe he is a washed-up fighter. His latest bout will be against WBC Lightweight champ David Diaz whom I should say that I haven't seen any of his fights, to be honest. But despite what the public thinks, I still think Morales still has it and I hope he wins this fight. It's true that he had a hard time making weight in superfeatherweight so lightweight should be good for him. If he boxes smart and don't brawl like he did with Manny Pacquiao then he will win this one (although Erik CAN brawl, it's best to be on the safe side). Don't get carried away Morales and Viva Mexico!

For more info, check out TopRank's website.

Cotto vs. Williams?

Photo courtesy of Eastsideboxing.com.

We all thought that Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto were destined to fight each other and both of their roads in boxing is bound to cross each other for sure. However, now that Antonio Margarito has been dethroned by Paul Williams, is that possible match-up no so far away? I don't think so. Paul Williams vs. Miguel Cotto might now be highly possible, but so is Margarito vs. Cotto. Everybody wants that fight and Margarito will be looking to redeem himself either with a rematch against Paul Williams or a new championship title shot with Miguel Cotto. I'll be expecting one of those match-ups to be announced...