Pacquiao as best pound-for-pound fighter

MANILA, Philippines - The 2008 Annual Gabriel “Flash” Elorde Memorial Boxing Awards and Banquet of Champions will honor Filipino boxing great Manny Pacquiao for the eighth straight year as well as three world champions of the past year in ceremonies to be held during the 74th birth anniversary of the Da Flash on March 25 at the Manila Hotel Tent City.

Pacquiao, the Philippines’ most prominent boxer since 2001, will receive the distinct honor as the World’s Best Pound-for-Pound Boxer during the ninth Elorde Memorial Boxing Awards where Filipino national, international and world champions of 2008 will gather for the country’s most prestigious awards in professional boxing.

“The Elorde Memorial Awards had bestowed the highest honor in boxing to our very own Manny Pacquiao during the last seven years. Last year we inducted him into the Elorde Hall of Fame after he became the first boxer to earn the highest award for the seventh straight year.

“Now we are conferring on him another distinctive honor – the Best Pound For Pound Boxer Award – for which he is acclaimed the world over,” said Laura Elorde, wife of Da Flash.

The boxing awards are given annually by the family of the late Flash Elorde, the longest reigning world junior lightweight champion – from 1960 to 1967.

Elorde was the second Filipino, after Pancho Villa, to be enshrined into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Villa, the US flyweight champion from 1922 to 1925 and the first Filipino to be enshrined into the International Hall of Fame, will be posthumously enshrined into the Elorde Hall of Fame.

Villa, Elorde and Pacquiao are considered the country’s greatest boxers of their generation and the three greatest Filipino fighters of all time.

“It is only proper that the great fighter Pancho Villa occupies an honored place in Philippine boxing history through the Elorde Memorial Awards,” said the late champion’s wife.

Laura Elorde will herself present the Hall of Fame Award in honor of Villa as well as the World’s Best Pound for Pound Boxer Award to Pacquiao during the ceremonies which include the Banquet of Champions, an exclusive gathering of the country’s national, international and world champions, and other honorees in the field of boxing.

The Elorde Sports Foundation, which is holding the event in cooperation with the Elorde clan, said the Awards Night includes, for the first time, an amateur boxing award to be given to the most outstanding Filipino amateur boxing campaigner in 2008.

The regular awards categories include Boxer of the Year, Major Awards (World/International/national champions), best fight best boxing manager and citations.

The event will be capped with a women’s world boxing championship and a Philippine title fight.

The Elorde Awards is sponsored by the Johnny Elorde International Management, Elorde Foundation, Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corp., Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and Manila Hotel. - (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)

Pacquiao versus Hatton Prediction

Pacquiao vs Hatton Prediction

On May 2nd, Ricky Hatton and Manny Pacquiao will go toe to toe for what is the ‘P4P’ championship. It already has boxing fans salivating at the prospect of their two all-action styles clashing in Vegas. There are so many intangibles with this fight I don’t know where to start, so lets examine their recent performances. 2008 was a phenomenal year for the Pacman, starting with a razor thin split decision over world class Juan Manuel Marquez..

Despite the controversy, these two guys put on a breathtaking spectacle for twelve rounds and neither really deserved to lose. Next he disposes of the extremely game but limited David Diaz. Diaz was the perfect opponent for Manny’s lightweight debut; his plodding feet and not much head movement meant it was just target practice for the Philippines. Then in December he is catapulted into the big league with a dominant win over the Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya. Whatever people say about this fight you cannot deny this was a masterpiece by the little man. Ok, so De La Hoya looked a bit shot but you could argue that Pacquiao made him look like that. The speed of his foot movement, his balance and combinations just blew him away.

On December 8th 2007, the Hitman was picked apart for the first time in his career by the surgeon Floyd Jr. This was a competitive bout for six rounds, but Maywether showed why he is the best in the world, taking advantage of Hatton’s increasingly gung ho tactics. Ricky still has frustration about the way the referee handled the bout. You may agree or disagree; personally I feel Joe Cortez was getting in way too much during the first four rounds. Whether that changed the result of the fight who knows, only a rematch in England would tell us. The ‘homecoming’ win over Juan Lazcano was a rusty performance, presumably because he was coming off such a crushing defeat. Then it emerges that training camps with Billy Graham are not what they once were resulting in Floyd sr taking over the reigns. This proved a wise decision after he took his nearest rival, Paulie Malignaggi to school for eleven rounds. As a result of his new trainer he showed more jabs, feints and head movement, which he will need in abundance against Pacquiao.

An obvious factor to look at in this fight is the weight and the size of the fighters. Hatton was born at 140 pounds and his best performances have come there. Pacquiao has never fought at 140 and is therefore an unknown quantity. The weight was not really an issue for him against De La Hoya because he was allowed to box his own fight, getting in and out quickly without wrestling and inside fighting. I imagine the first thing Hatton will do in this fight is get inside and see how strong he really is. In my opinion Hatton will throw him around like a rag doll, which will take a lot more out of Pacquiao. The tactical battle of both trainers will centre on this issue, with Hatton trying to impose his strength inside and Pacquiao trying to box from the outside.

Strength and punching power are two separate attributes, and although I’ve never been in a ring with Pacquiao, I imagine his punching power is more fearsome. He has scored some incredible knockouts, albeit in the lower divisions and because of this we don’t know if he really has the power to stop Hatton in his tracks. In contrast we know Hatton is a good puncher in this weight class, not a murderous puncher but one who can hurt you with the right shot. This could be a telling factor as the fight unfolds.

Pacquiao has a clear speed advantage of both hand and foot over his opponent. He has the ability to hit his rival with combinations and get out of range before they have time to react. This is the problem that De La Hoya and almost all his opponents have encountered. Hatton is no slouch either but he will have to be very sharp if he is going to catch him consistently.

This piece is entitled prediction, and as such I must give one despite my shocking record. I think Hatton knocks him out in the later rounds of what is a great fight. I feel his strength, body shots and aggression will pay dividends in the second half of the fight. My guess is that we will see an end similar to Cotto vs. Margarito where the little man simply has nothing left and folds. A fanciful idea I know, but I’ve got broad shoulders so the Pacquiao fans can unleash their bile on me.