Beyonce is a Pacman fan

Manny Pacquiao in Nike's BOOM!

Edrin Dapudong: Another Filipino prospect bites the dust

Highly- touted Filipino prospect Edrin “The Sting” Dapudong arrived in Cancun, Mexico with high hopes of retaining his WBC silver flyweight title against Wilbert “Hurricane” Uicab, but it was not meant to be. The Hurricane proved too much and way too elusive to be stung by the Filipino's vaunted fists.

All hopes that Dapudong will have a second consecutive victory in hostile territory clearly evaporated in the first minute of the first round as Uicab, with whirlwind fists, quickly jumped on the surprised Dapudong as he peppered the Filipino with shots coming from all angles.

It was an omen of things to come as The Hurricane, buoyed by the partisan crowd, quickly established his rhythm and wrecked havoc against the flat and leaden- feet Filipino champion for most of the first half of the fight.

Edrin Dapudong failed to exploit his height and reach advantage against his shorter opponent as Uicab enticed him to fight in close quarters and clearly exploited the chances given in his favor as he repeatedly tagged the champion with whirlwind combinations to the head and body.

Although Dapudong somewhat recovered and won the middle rounds, he failed to sustain his momentum into the championship rounds as he obviously ran out of gas, outgunned and faded badly. There was no sense of urgency from him and his corner. Dapudong just contented himself with clinching and exchanging a few insignificant wild punches with Uicab even though it was obvious that he was behind in the score cards.

The Dapudong that showed up in the fight was not the same fighter that destroyed, in one round, the feared Jesus “The Destroyer” Jimenez to take the then vacant WBC silver flyweight belt just months earlier.

Edrin Dapudong was obviously not in the best of shape; his legs deserted him early, the sting in his punches were nowhere to be found and he was already breathing through his mouth in the early rounds. He appeared tentative and lost against the wily Wilbert Uicab which left us to wonder whether his team had a game plan or even scouted his opponent at all.

Thus, another brave Filipino fighter failed in his quest for glory and lost his crown on the world stage. Like the rest before him who were hyped but came unprepared to handle the pressure of big time fights, Edrin Dapudong went out there to fulfill a dream but ended up in a nightmare.

The list is quite long and growing; Bernabe Concepcion, Boom- Boom Bautista, AJ Banal, Fernando Lumacad, Ciso Morales, Rodel Mayol, and the Sonsonas, Marvin and Eden.

And now we wonder, when will these fighters and their handlers ever learn that heart and talent alone will not win the fight, rather hard work and dedication to improve one’s craft will always be a huge factor that will make a difference in the heat of the battle. Also, a good game plan and thorough preparations will always be helpful to effectively handle and overcome a difficult situation. It will also go a long way if one has the mental toughness to handle any adversaries inside the ring.


These tenets are well-proven and practiced by the highly successful fighters throughout the history of boxing.

Just ask Manny Pacquiao.

*first published in 8CNews

Pinoy Boxing: Mercito Gesta KO's Genaro Trazancos in Arizona

Mercito "No Mercy" Gesta (19-0-1, 9 KOs), one of boxing's bright prospects from the Philippines, knocked out Mexico's veteran fighter Genaro Trazancos (22-12-1, 13 KOs) in the 7th round of their 8- round bout at Casino Del Sol in Tuscon, Arizona to remain undefeated.

The Filipino junior welterweight was not tested enough and toyed with Genaro Trazancos for most of the fight but stepped up his attack starting the 6th round as he peppered his opponent with various combinations to the head and body. The most telling were his left straights and upper cuts that would make Trazancos stop momentarily in his tracks everytime the Filipino's power punches found its mark.

Despite Trazancos' experience, Gesta was just superior in all departments and there was no doubt in the spectators' minds that the Filipino can end the fight anytime if he wants it and are just waiting for the inevitable outcome to happen.

Mercito Gesta came out of the corner smoking in the 7th determined to end the fight and not put the decision into the hands of the judges. He showed no mercy and chased the reeling Trazancos all over and with just 53 seconds into the round, a powerful left straight to the kisser put the game Trazancos on his back for the count.

Mercito "No Mercy" Gesta improves to 19 wins with 9 KOs while Genaro Trazancos dropped his losing record to 12.

Paul Pierce: "Manny Pacquiao is the best P4P boxer in the world."

We all know that Paul Pierce and the Celtics love Manny Pacquiao. No surprise there.

But FanHouse's Elie Seckbach cutting off ex- Laker Rick Fox while the guy was still talking on the camera in favor of his lady got me into stitches.

I guess, Elie found it too hard to resist the lady's charm.

Go Green? Nah, I'm a Lakers fan.






*Video Credit: ESNEWS

Pompyang: The Legend of the Manny Pacquiao double punch

When Manny Pacquiao did the patented "FPJ- pompyang" double- punch on Joshua Clottey in their fight dubbed The Event at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Texas last March 13th, many were actually surprised by the pound-for-pound king's actions. Many thought it was a spur of the moment decision made by Pacquiao because of Clottey's unwillingness to fight.

Now, it can be told. The "pompyang" double- punch was actually first put into action during his training camp en route to his fight with Joshua Clottey.

In a video by YouTube user, Chaplindj, Manny Pacquiao playfully unleashed the "pompyang" double- punch on his sparring partner, 17- year old prospect Jose Benavidez.

Mouthpiece: What now, Floyd?

The withdrawal of Andre Berto in his January 30th fight date with Shane Mosley further pushed Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s back to the wall. Earlier in the year, Manny Pacquiao boxed and fenced him in and now Shane Mosley will provide the nail on the coffin for Money May to finally man up and step up to the plate lest he will be labeled as the ‘greatest coward of all time.’

This recent development coupled with his impasse with Team Pacquiao regarding the so-called Olympic- style drug testing put Floyd Mayweather, Jr in a very tenuous position. This recent development means Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s days of shooting from the mouth are over and now he has to let his fist do the talking.

The onus is on Floyd to prove to the boxing world that he is for real, and that all his pronouncements of him being the best there is, are not just idle talk. Whereas if he was able to cherry-pick his opponents as well as fight fighters not his size in the past and get away with it, Floyd Mayweather, Jr literally and figuratively will now have to put his money where his mouth is. .

After the falling out of his mega fight with Manny Pacquiao, boxing fans will not be too keen of seeing him fight a green fighter like Saul Alvarez or a clown like Paulie Malignaggi or an old man in Nate Campbell or even a smaller Timothy Bradley when a real and ‘badder’ welterweight is just around the corner.

After the falling out of his mega fight with Manny Pacquiao, boxing fans will no longer tolerate him evading and ducking fighters that will challenge his claims of being ’the greatest fighter of all time.’

After the falling out of his mega fight with Manny Pacquiao, fans will not look at him too kindly while he continues to fleece them of their hard-earned PPV money.

After the falling out of his mega fight with Manny Pacquiao, his being a disciple of the roadrunner is over. Yes, he can still run but he cannot hide. Or better still, he cannot run and hide at the same time now. He is left with no other choice but to toe the line and fight Mosley, if you ask me.

After Manny Pacquiao, Mosley is the next best thing there is for Mayweather since he would never step up to fight Paul Williams anyway. You bet, he won’t and will never do a Pacquiao, that is, climb up in weight, fight and challenge bigger and meaner fighters than himself.

And despite his age, Shane Mosley is a legitimate P4P elite fighter. Despite his age, Mosley is still sugary sweet and will be a handful inside the ring for any opponent. Another thing, Mosley is a fighter who will bring the fight to his opponent which will make this one a really good fight. Most of all, Mosley called out Floyd and actually embarrassed him right after his fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.

But this makes us think if and when the fight actually happens, will Golden Boy Productions and Team Mayweather do an Olympic- style drug testing under the USADA aside from the customary testing being done by the Nevada State Athletic Commission since Mosley is an admitted PEDs user?

If Mayweather will not fight Pacquiao, I believe, this fight is the next best thing although I will not deal now with the hypocrisy of preferring to fight an admitted steroids and EPO user rather than fighting a fighter who has never tested for one nor has proven links to people and companies that deal with PEDs.

But this also makes me realize that if and when the fight actually happens, Mayweather can prove to all of his critics and detractors that he is really the fighter that he says he is. He can now silence them and even earn their respect because this will be his most important fight to date and a step up towards becoming a real man. This will be a very significant one if he is really keen on a ‘Battle Royale’ with the Pacman later in the year.

So, your move Floyd.


*First published in Now Boxing