MANILA (November 1, 2018) — MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO has made a career out of taking opponents to school. He has done it 60 times inside a boxing ring. Now, boxing’s only eight-division world champion has accepted an invitation to return to school himself and speak at the Oxford Union on the campus of the University Oxford and the Cambridge Union, at the University of Cambridge on Monday, November 5, and Tuesday, November 6, respectively.

“To be invited to these beacons of higher learning to speak to their students is indeed a tremendous honor,” said Pacquiao. “I treasure moments like these where I can share my story and my culture, as well as exchange ideas, with the next generation of leaders.”

The Oxford Union has a rich history. Founded in 1823, it has grown to become the most prestigious student society in the world. The Oxford Union, the largest society at the University of Oxford, has hosted world leaders in every field, including Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Malcolm X, Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, Roger Bannister, and former U.S. Presidents Reagan, Nixon and Carter, to name a few.

Founded in 1815, the Cambridge Union is steeped in history, being the oldest debating and free speech society in the world, and the largest student society in the University of Cambridge. It too has hosted an impressive list of world leaders in every field, including Margaret Thatcher, Theodore Roosevelt, Stephen Hawking, Buzz Aldrin, Antonin Scalia, Ian McKellen, and Sebastian Coe.

Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KOs), who hails from Sarangani Province in the Philippines, is the only sitting Congressman and Senator to win a world title. After serving two terms as congressman, Pacquiao was elected to a Philippine Senate seat in May 2016, capturing over 16 million votes nationally. Pacquiao’s boxing resume features victories over current and future Hall of Famers, including Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, and Juan Manuel Marquez. A three-time Fighter of the Year and the Boxing Writers Association of America’s reigning Fighter of the Decade, Pacquiao regained the welterweight title for a fourth time on July 15 by knocking out defending WBA world champion Lucas Matthyssee. The fight took place at Axiata Arena in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia. Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duerte and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad were in attendance, marking the first time two heads of state attended a championship-boxing event.

Pacquiao recently announced that he has entered into an exclusive agreement to work with manager / advisor Al Haymon. The new alliance will have team Pacquiao and Haymon working together to navigate the remainder of Pacquiao’s illustrious career. Pacquiao’s first defense of the WBA welterweight world title will kick off the new partnership and will have him appear on the Premier Boxing Champions series. Pacquiao’s promotion company, MP Promotions, will promote all of his upcoming bouts under this new alignment with Haymon. MP Promotions will also work with Haymon to bring some of the best fighters from the Philippines and Asia to the United States to appear on the PBC series.

MANILA (October 22, 2018) — Senator MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO, boxing’s only eight-division world champion, announced today that he has entered into an exclusive agreement to work with manager / advisor Al Haymon.The new alliance will have team Pacquiao and Haymon work together to navigate the remainder of his illustrious career. Pacquiao’s first defense of the World Boxing Association welterweight world title will kick off the new partnership and will have Pacquiao appear on the Premier Boxing Champions series. Pacquiao’s promotion company, MP Promotions, will promote all of his upcoming bouts under this new alignment with Haymon.

MP Promotions will also work with Al Haymon to bring some of the best fighters from the Philippines and Asia to the United States to appear on the PBC series.

“I’m very excited about this new chapter in my career and I’m looking forward to a fresh start. I’m reinvigorated by the prospects of bringing up new fighters under the MP Promotions banner,” said Pacquiao. “My team will work closely with Al Haymon for the remainder of my career to deliver the most anticipated fights with the top PBC fighters. Those are the fights the fans want to see and the ones I want to have to close out my career.”

“MP Promotions is very excited about this last phase of Senator Manny’s Hall of Fame Career. We look forward to launching this new relationship with Manny’s first world title defense,” said Joe Ramos, who heads MP Promotions. “I would also like to acknowledge matchmaker Sean Gibbons, legal counsel Tom Falgui, and Senator Manny’s aide Steve Jumalon for their tireless efforts and invaluable advice.”

Pacquiao, a three-time Fighter of the Year and Boxing Writers Association of America’s reigning Fighter of the Decade, will return to the ring early next year. The fight, which will be announced soon, will be co-promoted by MP Promotions and TGB Promotions.

With Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duerte and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad in attendance (the first time two heads of state attended a championship boxing event), Pacquaio regained the welterweight title for a fourth time on July 15 at Axiata Arena in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia by knocking out defending WBA champion Lucas Matthyssee in the seventh round.

Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KOs), who hails from Sarangani Province in the Philippines, is the only sitting Congressman and Senator to win a world title. After serving two terms as congressman, Pacquiao was elected to a Philippine Senate seat in May 2016, capturing over 16 million votes nationally. Pacquiao’s boxing resume features victories over current and future Hall of Famers, including Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, and Juan Manuel Marquez.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Manny Pacquiao is close to a deal to face Adrien Broner on January 19th in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao made the announcement Thursday during an appearance at a news conference in Manila for the non-profit International Sports Promotion Society, which named him an ambassador.

Pacquiao said he would be fighting Broner next, either on Jan. 12 or Jan. 19. The fight, which Pacquiao termed “90 percent” done, would likely take place in Las Vegas. However, a source with knowledge of the deal told ESPN the fight would be Jan. 19, not Jan. 12, though a fight likely wouldn’t be formalized until he settled his tax issues with the U.S. government.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the issue of Manny Pacquiao not receiving payment from Top Rank for the July 15th fight against Lucas Matthysse for the American Television rights is being solved.

“Congratulations and good luck to Top Rank Boxing and ESPN on your 7-year partnership agreement,” Pacquiao wrote. “I know both of you have been very busy finalizing the deal. However, I have not received the U.S. rights payment for my July 15 fight against Lucas Matthysse that was broadcast on ESPN plus. Therefore, I am initiating legal proceedings against Top Rank and all other parties based on the non-payment and attempt to restrict my future rights. Thank you.”

“We read the Instagram post and [Top Rank attorney] Harrison [Whitman] handled it with Pacquiao’s attorney, and it looks like everything will be resolved,” Top Rank’s Arum told ESPN.

By Bart Barry-

Saturday on the ESPN+ app Filipino Manny Pacquiao smelted Argentine welterweight titlist Lucas Matthysse in Malaysia. Saturday on no app whatever undefeated Russian cruiserweight Murat Gassiev will fight undefeated Ukrainian cruiserweight Oleksandr Usyk in Moscow to unify their division. If the latter’s lack of an American broadcaster is bizarre, the former’s broadcaster was indeed apropos.

A temptation at times like these is to hedge one’s SportsCenterish prepositional phrase. Y’all know the drill: “in recent memory” is the way you take credit for boldness one word before you walk things back with a comma. Not today. After Saturday’s 25-minute comain of commercials, junior-dev graphics and overwrought pontification, it’s time someone other than an ESPN employee asserts what so many of us feel.

Manny Pacquiao’s comeback tilt in Kuala Lumpur was the greatest ESPN+ fight in history.

Before its cancellation some years back ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights” consistently presented the weakest boxing on television, the sort of underbudgeted slop advertisers and reputable promoters skirred. Far from appearing on FNF himself Pacquiao wouldn’t consider permitting towelboy Buboy to chiefsecond even Manila minimumweights on the program. Yet here we are in 2018 and Pacquiao’s now fighting on the smartphone equivalent of FridayNightFights.com.

A word or two about that, actually. What the hell are commercials doing on a paid stream? Having charged us $5/month ESPN gave us at least a halfhour of commercials during its otherwise-inexplicable 150-minute prefight Pacquiao promotion, and had its commentary crew act like nothing was the matter. “Two revenue streams!” some pitchman inevitably proclaimed, but that’s all sorts of wrong because most Saturday viewers were on a free trial and won’t be renewing after the three hours of their lives they just gave ESPN+ for seven rounds of desired boxing. “But wait,” they say, “there are all those Muhammad Ali fights that come with your subscription!” – like either they don’t know about YouTube or figure we don’t.

Almost a decade ago one of promoter Top Rank’s leaders talked about a concept he called “brand of boxing” – encouraging his peers to imagine their sport as an ecosystem whose general health be far more important than any one of their events. Today an American aficionado spends monthly $25 for basic cable (ESPN), $10-$15 for Showtime, $5 for ESPN+ and soon $10-$20 for DAZN – and that $50-$65 monthly bill assumes both a savvy cordcutting bent for our aficionado and his cancellation of HBO some time ago. But here’s the brand-of-boxing punchline: That kind of money spent the first week of July, our aficionado looks forward to the year’s best fight this Saturday and finds to his amazement somehow not one of these sundry pay services is televising Murat Gassiev vs. Oleksandr Usyk to crown the rarest thing in our beloved sport – an undefeated, undisputed, unified champion of the world.

A word or two about that, too, actually. Gassiev-Usyk is a fascinating cruiserweight culmination of World Boxing Super Series’ inaugural season. Former Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is associated with the WBSS and repulsive. There’s no history needed to make that assertion; if we, as men, were taught to trust our intuition the way mothers do, we’d all have heeded our genuine first impressions of Schaefer 14 years ago. But while Schaefer once combined visibility and repulsiveness in a unique way he’s not otherwise repulsively unique and definitely not repulsive enough to keep us from enjoying what exceptional cruiserweight matches WBSS gave us in its semifinal round. But Schaefer or somebody affiliated with him appears to have repulsed American broadcasters sufficiently to keep Gassiev-Usyk off even our smartphones.

Which makes brand-of-boxing, for the next week at least, toxic.

Writing of which, how about that Lucas Matthysse? We already knew power punchers kept prizefighting’s frailest psyches, but Matthysse’s comportment these last few years makes one consider the symmetrical possibility a boxer’s mental hardiness is inversely proportionate to his punching power.

Five years ago while writing The Ring cover story mentioned on Saturday’s broadcast I came across an exquisite Argentine boxing writer named Osvaldo Príncipi whose Spanish prose and presence make him something like South America’s Hugh McIlvaney. During our correspondence he attributed a whole lot of things like Mathysse’s tattoos to a divorce. I felt for Matthysse then; by all accounts the guy does little in his life but love his daughter, play with his dogs, avoid the media and fight.

Saturday’s second knockdown, though, is hard to excuse. It’s one thing to realize you’re in over your head and race towards unconsciousness, but it’s something else entirely to court it so wishfully – to hope a punch cuts the lights, find it didn’t, then in full consciousness genuflect to your opponent. Let’s move on.

Saturday’s iteration of Manny Pacquiao was a pleasant return to what belligerence once endeared him to so many of us. A return to the man who dealt swiftly and disproportionately with anyone who caused him a sting, a man who didn’t collect grievances or connive but rather sought instant redress – that’s who we saw go after Matthysse each of the three times the Argentine did something offensive to Pacquiao. And it was electrifying.

So Pacquiao fights on. One can’t seriously entertain the possibility GGG is a great middleweight – hard stop – and begrudge Pacquiao three or four farewell tours against career 140-pounders like Matthysse or a talented lightweight like Vasyl Lomachenko. In fact, Pacquiao-Lomachenko in Helsinki might make a great Christmas present for ESPN+ subscribers.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

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https://www.facebook.com/gmanews/videos/10156668063841977/?t=5

HAZARDS OF THE JOB. WBA welterweight challenger Manny Pacquiao is so
anxious to get into the ring on Sunday, July 15 (July 14 in the US)
against champion Lucas Matthysse of Argentina that a little flick of
his fist went a little, too much. That punch actually hurt trainer
Buboy Fernandez during mitts sessions at the Le Meridien Hotel boxing
gym. Fernandez ended up with a chipped tooth. On Saturday, Pacquiao
and Matthysse will tip the scales at the Malaysia International Trade
and Exhibition Center.
MITEC is located at 8 Jalan Dutamas 2, Kompleks Kerajaan.

Pacquiao Expected to Easily Hurdle Today’s Weigh-in Ahead of Matthysse

KUALA LUMPUR–Manny Pacquiao is expected to easily hurdle today’s
weigh-in ahead of WBA champion Lucas Matthysse at the Malaysia
International Trade and Exhibition Center (MITEC) Saturday (July 14)
morning here.

Weigh-in starts at 8 A.M. and will be free to the public. “Fight of
Champions,” the biggest boxing event ever to be shown in Malaysia in
the last four decades, will have 10 more additional bouts in the
undercard three of which are for world titles.

Pacquiao has been one of the smallest welterweight champions in
history and has been tipping the scales three or four pounds lighter
than the 147-pound (66.68 Kg.) limit since he first fought in the
division 10 years ago.

Matthysse, the sledgehammer-fisted Argentine who has won 36 of his 39
victories by knockout (against 4 losses), will be fighting only for
the third time as a welterweight after winning the WBA crown early
this year.

For the 10th time, Kenny Bayless will be the referee starring
Pacquiao. Bayless, 68, first officiated the second meeting between the
Filipino and the legendary Erik Morales in 2006.

Derek Milham of Queensland, Australia will join 74-year-old Stanley
Christodoulou of Johannesburg, South Africa and Glenn Feldman of
Connecticut, USA in scoring the match should it last the full 12
rounds.

The “Golden Boy,” himself, Oscar Dela Hoya, will be on hand for the
weigh-in of Matthysse, a boxer promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.

Unbeaten Jhack Tepora of Cebu City, Philippines, (21-0, 16 KOs) will
vie for the vacant World Boxing Association featherweight title
against Edivaldo “Indio” Ortega (26-1-1, 12 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico in
the main supporting bout.

Carlos “CCC” Canizales of Venezuela (20-0-1, 16 KOs) will try to
prevent Lu Bin of China from becoming only the first boxer in history
to win a world title on his second bout. They will fight for
Canizales’ WBA light flyweight belt.

Veteran Moruti Mthalane of South Africa and Muhammad Waseem of
Pakistan will lock horns for the vacant International Boxing
Federation (IBF) flyweight title–the last of the four exciting world
championships offered by MP Promotions headed by Pacquiao, himself.

The explosive card will open with Thailand’s Ratchanon Sawangsoda
(12-2, 12 KOs) facing Juan Miguel “The Boss” Elorde, grandson of the
great Filipino “Flash” Elorde in a six-round junior featherweight
match.

Malaysia’s local hero Theena Thayalan (5-0, 2 KOs) will battle
Siddarth Ravindra Varma of India (4-1, 1 KO) in the second bout.

Right after the Pacquiao Vs Matthysse battle, five more exciting
matches spice up the star-studded event that is expected to be beamed
to 200 territories throughout the world including Japan’s Yuuki
Kobayashi (17-1, 8 KOs) battling flyweight Vincent Astrolabio of the
Philippines (10-1, 7 KOs) over 8 rounds.

Other matches include Australia’s shining lightweight George Kambosos
Jr. (14-0, 8 KOs) against Jay Ar Magboo, (17-1, 8 KOs); Eleftherios
Tzouramanis (19-3-3, 3 KOs) fighting Jayar Inson of the Philippines
(15-1, 10 KOs); Youngquiang Yang (10-0, 7 KOs) of China facing
Harmonito Dela Torre (19-1, 12 KOs); and Abdi of Indonesia (5-2, 2
KOs) facing Aiman Abu Bakar of Malaysia (7-0, 3 KOs).

(Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Center (MITEC) is located
at 8 Jalan Dutamas 2, Kompleks Kerajaan.)

By Norm Faruenheim-

Manny Pacquiao is just the latest example of how boxing makes fools out of everybody who sticks around too long. Inevitably, the pro ring collects sad clichés like debris around a clogged drain.

I’m not sure how Pacquiao became just another one. Maybe, he needs the money. Maybe, he’s nostalgic for the good old days, although he might have a tough time recalling them if he continues to fight.

Nearly eight years ago, it was hard to imagine that Pacquiao would be poised for still another fight, this time against Lucas Matthysse in Malaysia on ESPN+ Saturday (9 pm. ET/6 p.m. PT) in the Filipino Senator’s 69th pro bout.

He’ll be 40-years-old later this year, Dec. 17. He’s been fighting for nearly a quarter century. His first recorded bout was Jan. 11, 1995, but that formal record doesn’t include all those other unregulated fights on Filipino back streets for a few pesos, or a meal, or just for the hell of it.

Pacquiao had come so far, so fast, that it was easy to think he would be different. His ascendancy from Filipino street kid, to international celebrity, to national hero was like spontaneous combustion. From karaoke to pro basketball, he’s done it all.

For a few years, much of the world stopped and watched on a night when Pacquiao fought.

He could even stop a war.

I recall his victory in a second rematch with Erik Morales on Nov 18, 2006 at Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center. I was seated next to a Filipino journalist who pointed to his computer and showed me reports from Manila on how a civil conflict on one of the nation’s many islands would cease for as long as the bout lasted. Opposing soldiers wanted to see Pacquiao fight before they resumed their own fight.

The truce lasted only three rounds. The soldiers resumed their fight after he finished his. But it occurred to me that Pacquiao’s dangerous hands were rare weapons. They could knock out opponents and wars. Then, the boxing ring looked to be just a stepping stone for a Fighter of the Year on his way to a Nobel Peace Prize. There was no reason to think he would stick around. There was so much more to do. There was too much ambition. But I was wrong, just another one of those aforementioned fools.

Like so many for so long, another opening bell has become an irresistible siren song for Pacquiao. Guess here is that he needs the money. He always needs the money.

Top Rank’s Bob Arum once said he was the only social welfare system in the Philippines. He bought homes and fishing boats for poor Filipinos who asked. Depending on the source, Pacquiao collected between $120 million and $180 million for his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2015. That’s huge money, but not a national budget.

Now, however, Pacquiao is not the attraction he was a decade ago. The beginning of his decline can be traced to one punch in one of his greatest fights. Midway through the sixth round of a November, 2010 fight in front of more 41,000 at Cowboys Stadium in the Dallas Metroplex, Antonio Margarito left him doubled over in pain with a vicious body shot to his left side. Pacquiao went on to win the fight for his eighth world title, scoring a courageous unanimous decision, despite 17-pound disadvantage. But he was never the same, never again the smiling warrior, always as happy as he was fearless.

In the rearview mirror, that would have been the time to think about retirement. But Pacquiao continued, despite that first sign of real vulnerability.

He’s made money, spent money.

He’s won fights and lost a few notable ones – Timothy Bradley, Juan Manuel Marquez, Mayweather and – in his last outing – Jeff Horn.

In the controversial loss to Horn in Brisbane, Pacquiao (59-7-2, 35 KOs) looked like a shrunken version of his former self. He still showed some speed and perhaps enough quickness to win on the scorecards. Matthysse (39-4, 36 KOs) looked shot in his last outing, yet the Argentine had a big punch and power is always the last thing to go Pacquiao’s footspeed might be critical.

The troublesome aspect to the Matthysse bout is talk about Pacquiao’s next move if he wins. There’s already speculation about a bout with lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko, the pound-for pound favorite who is recovering from shoulder surgery. The good news is that there is less talk about Pacquiao against newly-minted welterweight Terence Crawford, whose one-sided stoppage of Horn on June 9 showed just how much Pacquiao has declined. Lomachenko is very good, but Crawford is dangerous, perhaps more dangerous than anybody in the ring today.

Crawford could leave Pacquiao with long-term damage. Lomachenko beats him bad. Those aren’t options. They are a fool’s choice.

https://www.facebook.com/MannyPacquiao/videos/1884248125212538/UzpfSTE0MzgyODkyNTcyMTU1OToxNjg2NzczMTg0NzYwNDUx/

GENERAL SANTOS CITY–Challenger Manny Pacquiao sparred for five rounds
Saturday while WBA champion Lucas Matthysse doubled up the effort as
the main combatants to “Fight of Champions” ground it out with eight
more days before their monumental clash in Malaysia.

Pacquaio, fighting for the first time after losing a controversial
bout with Australian bruiser Jeff Horn last year, looked calm and
happy with the way his preparations have transpired thus far.

The 39-year-old legend of boxing feels rejuvenated. He hopes to win an
unprecedented 11th world title in his 23rd year of boxing come July 15
(July 14 in the US) at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur.

Standing in his way is “The Machine” Matthysse, who is leaving no
stone unturned in his own bid of retiring Pacquiao at all cost, even
hinting of giving up his own life in trying to defend the crown he won
early this year.

Pacquiao sparred for two rounds with compatriot Jheritz Chavez and
another three with unbeaten Australian lightweight George Kambosos
Jr., as training sessions started to taper down.

In stark contrast, Matthysse’s corner is showing a different route of
training as they closed out sparring sessions also on Saturday.
Trainer Joel Diaz was satisfied with his ward’s condition and speed
and was convinced his fighter is ready to fight at any moment now.

Matthysse and his team planed in two nights ago from Los Angeles,
California in hopes of acclimatizing early in his bid to retain his
welterweight belt against the only eight-weight division boxing
champion Pacquiao.

But Pacquiao’s think-tank remain unfazed. Chief trainer Buboy
Fernandez thinks his boyhood friend has done enough in training to
dethrone Matthysse.

“He (Pacquiao), himself, said that he is happy with how training camp
is about to end. He is happy with the coaching staff’s cohesion and
cooperation. Even (Australian) coach Justin (Fortune), his cooperation
being the strength and conditioning coach has rubbed off good vibes
within the camp,” said Fernandez.

Pacquiao is gunning for his 60th victory. He has lost seven time and
drew twice (38 KOs) in his storied career. Retiring is far from
Pacquiao’s mind as he showed moves which he has employed against a
bevy of opponents in the past, when he was a lanky flyweight moving up
to the ranks of bantamweights and even as high as a super
welterweight.

(JULY 7, 2018) ? The next chapter in the storied career of former eight-division world champion and future first-ballot Hall of Famer, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, will stream live and exclusively in the United States on Saturday, July 14 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+ — the recently-launched multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International segment in conjunction with ESPN. This will be Pacquiao’s first fight since headlining cable television’s highest-rated and most-watched boxing telecast since 2006, when he fought Jeff Horn in July of 2017 on ESPN.

Pacquiao will challenge Lucas “La Maquina” Matthysse for the WBA welterweight title at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In addition, in the world championship co-feature, Filipino power puncher Jhack Tepora (21-0, 16 KOs) will face Edivaldo “Indio” Ortega (26-1-1, 12 KOs) for the vacant WBA featherweight title. Pacquiao and Matthysse are expected to enter the ring at roughly 11:30 p.m. ET. ESPN+ is available to all fans on the ESPN App and ESPN.com.

Pacquiao-Matthysse will cap a full day of boxing on the ESPN family of networks, as Regis “Rougarou” Prograis will defend the WBC Diamond super lightweight title against Juan Jose Velasco, and lightweight sensation Teofimo Lopez will face William Silva, live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes at 7 p.m. ET and via streaming on the ESPN App from the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. Undercard action from New Orleans will stream live on ESPN+ starting at 4:30 p.m. ET.

“I am very happy that all of my fans in America will have a chance to watch my next fight on ESPN+, and I am looking forward to putting on a show,” Pacquiao said. “Matthysse is a great opponent. I am training with all of my heart because I want to be champion again.”

“This extraordinary event only affirms ESPN’s commitment to providing boxing fans with the biggest and best fights in the sport,” said Bob Arum, Top Rank’s founder and CEO. “Manny Pacquiao is one of the greatest champions in boxing history, and his fight against Matthysse promises to be a sensational one.”

“This matchup is a perfect example of the world-class caliber of events we envisioned for ESPN+ when we announced our agreement with Top Rank,” said Burke Magnus, ESPN Executive Vice President of Programming and Scheduling. “Pacquiao vs. Matthysse, which will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+, shows the commitment we have to delivering fans the best of boxing year-round on our direct-to-consumer platform.”
Pacquiao (59-7-2, 38 KOs), the living legend from General Santos City, Philippines, will look to score his first knockout victory since 2009. Before losing the WBO welterweight world championship to Jeff Horn via controversial unanimous decision last July, Pacquiao recaptured the title on November 5, 2016 by defeating then-champion Jessie Vargas at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. In a career that has spanned more than two decades, Pacquiao has victories against legendary fighters like Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, and Ricky Hatton.

Matthysse (39-4, 36 KOs) won the vacant WBA welterweight title Jan. 27 in Los Angeles with an eighth-round knockout over Thailand’s Tewa Kiram. One of boxing’s best punchers, pound-for-pound, he is an all-action brawler who has participated in multiple Fight of the Year contenders, including an 11th-round knockout win over John Molina in 2014 and a 12-round majority decision victory over Ruslan Provodnikov in 2015. Matthysse has won two straight since a 10th-round knockout loss to then-undefeated Viktor Postol on Oct. 3, 2015.

Upcoming exclusive boxing on ESPN+ includes the July 28 battle for the vacant World Boxing Organization 130-pound title as Puerto Rican Star Christopher Diaz faces Masayuki Ito at the Kissimmee Civic Center. Diaz-Ito will stream live and exclusively in the United States at 9:30 p.m. ET with undercard action starting at 6:30 p.m. ET.

For more information visit: www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing; Facebook: facebook.com/trboxing, facebook.com/trboxeo, facebook.com/espndeportes; Twitter:twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, @ESPN @ESPNBoxeo,@ESPNDeportes. Use the hashtag #PacquiaoMatthysse to join the conversation on social media.

About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the first-ever multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International segment in conjunction with ESPN. It offers fans thousands of additional live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks.

The ESPN+ lineup includes 18 exclusive, live Top Rank events per year, dozens of fights from other Top Rank undercards, an unmatched library of the greatest fights in boxing history, and two exclusive, original boxing programs: The Boxing Beat with Dan Rafael (Tuesdays) and In This Corner (twice monthly).

It also features hundreds of MLB, NHL and MLS games, Grand Slam tennis, PGA TOUR golf, college sports, international rugby, cricket, the full library of ESPN Films (including 30 for 30) and more. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time.

ESPN+ is an integrated part of the completely redesigned ESPN App. Already the leading sports app, the new ESPN App is the premier all-in-one digital sports platform for fans and is a showcase of the company’s culture of innovation. With a richer, increasingly more personalized experience, the new ESPN App curates all of ESPN’s incredible content into an experience unique to each fan’s individual tastes. ESPN+ is also available through ESPN.com.

KUALA LUMPUR–It’s going to be “war” in Malaysia as WBA welterweight
champion Lucas Matthysse didn’t hide his intentions of defending his
championship belt by retiring boxing’s living legend Manny Pacquiao 10
days from now here.

Just right after landing from a grueling 18-hour journey from the
other side of the Pacific, Matthysse and his team buckled down to
work, hitting the gym and tried to shake the effects of jet lag in his
system.

Fight day will be on July 15 at the Axiata Arena (July 14, 8 PM in the
US) and three other world championship fights are scheduled to add
drama to the roadshow presented by Pacquiao’s own MP Promotions.

So focused is Matthysse that he only has Pacquiao on his mind. How to
beat the fighting Senator from the Philippines, the only eight-weight
division champion of boxing, is the only order of business for him.

“Manny Pacquiao. I want to defeat a legendary fighter like Manny. This
is not Judah, Alexander, Postol or Garcia,” said Matthysse, who planed
in together with manager Mario Arano, trainer Joel Diaz, Golden Boy
Promotions PR man Ramiro Gonzalez and three others who are helping out
in training.

Matthysse has a 39-4 win-loss record with 36 of these fights ending by
spectacular knockouts. Incidentally, (Zab) Judah, (Victor) Postol,
(Devon) Alexander and (Danny) Garcia are the only boxers who have
beaten the 35-year-old fighter in the past.

For Arano, Matthysse has gotten over these losses and has become a
more dangerous and complete fighter since last losing to Postol in
2015.

His lean but mean entourage pales in comparison to Pacquiao’s own
team, which will arrive on Monday–a whole plane-load of trainers
flying on a chartered flight from General Santos City, including
utility persons and fans and supporters.

Matthysse’s early arrival signified his desire to leave nothing behind
and ensure victory for Argentina. “This is Manny Pacquiao, and this is
the quest for anyone in boxing (to defeat Pacquiao,)” said Matthysse.

BOXING LEGEND Manny Pacquiao is gunning for one of four world titles
at stake against WBA champion Lucas Matthysse in the “Fight of
Champions” roadshow that promises to electrify the Axiata Arena on
July 15 from start to finish.

Playing the unlikely role as challenger in an inspired bid to win an
unprecedented 11th world title, the only eight-weight division boxing
champion Pacquiao (59-7-2, 36 KOs), is training to dethrone the
dangerous Matthysse of Argentina (39-4, 36 KOs).

The World Boxing Association has recently ordered for Jhack Tepora of
the Philippines (21-0, 16 KOs) to fight Edivaldo “Indio” Ortega of
Mexico (26-1-1, 12 KOs), for the vacant “regular” WBA featherweight
title.

Tepora, the explosive 25-year-old Cebu native, will get his hands full
against the 28-year-old Ortega of Tijuana, Mexico. Tepora is looking
to deny Ortega the pleasure of beating another Filipino in his quest
for the world title. Ortega has beaten Drian Francisco in his last
fight.

This will be Ortega’s first match outside Mexico and his major title
shot. Tepora, who has previously won minor titles, is just too eager
to show his wares in a larger stage as he has scored knockouts in his
last five outings.

“Fight of Champions,” which has a total of 11 fights, will be beamed
live throughout the world. MP Promotions, the promotional company put
up by Pacquiao to give back to boxing, loaded up the card with boxers
raring to showcase talent and potential.

Pacquiao did not scrimp on assembling the best boxers from around the
world and offer it to Malaysian fight fans as China is looking to
break an elusive boxing record. Lu Bin (1-0), the talented Jinan,
China boxer with a sterling amateur career, has been given the title
shot by the WBA to face light flyweight champion Carlos “CCC”
Canizales of Venezuela.

Should Lu Bin upset the heavy-handed Canizales, (20-0-1, 16-KOs), he
will become only the first boxer in history to become world champion
in his second fight.

Moruti Mthalane of South Africa, the 35-year-old veteran (35-2, 24
KOs), is unbeaten in his last 12 fights since losing to Nonito Donaire
Jr. in November 2008. Mthalane will square off with Pakistan’s
legendary amateur Muhammad Waseem, (8-0, 6 KOs) for the International
Boxing Federation flyweight crown.

Waseem has had a run of victories for more than seven years as an
amateur. He is a two-year pro who has won his last three fights by
knockout and successfully defended once the WBC silver flyweight title
in 2016.

Two Australians will be in the undercards. Pacquiao, who has lost to
Australian Jeff Horn in a controversial match, has invited his
Australian sparring mate George Kambosos Jr. (14-0, 8 KOs), to fight
Filipino JR Magboo (17-1, 8 KOs). They battle over 8 rounds at
lightweight.

Another Filipino world title hopeful, Jayar Inson of Davao will face
Terry Tzouramanis of Australia in another eight-round welterweight
match.

Malaysia’s welterweight phenom Theena Thalayan (5-0, 2 KOs), will
battle India’s Siddharth Varma (4-1, 1 KO) in a six-round battle while
Kuala Lumpur native Ailman Abu Bakar (7-0, 3 KOs) battles Indonesian
Abdi (5-2, 2 KOs) for four rounds in the 126-pound division.

Harmonito dela Torre of General Santos City, Philippines, (19-1, 12
KOs) will have his hands full against an unpredictable and unbeaten
Chinese talent, Yongqiang Yang (10-0, 7 KOs) in a 10-round lightweight
clash.

Other Filipinos seeing action include bantamweight Vincent Astrolabio
(10-1, 7 KOs) fighting Yuuki Kobayashi of Japan (13-7, 7 KOs) and Juan
Miguel Elorde (25-1, 13 KOs) facing Ratchanon Sawangsoda of Thailand
(12-2, 12 KOs).

New York, NY (June 21, 2018) Undefeated world-ranked lightweight contender
“Ferocious” George Kambosos Jr. (14-0, 8 KOs), of Sydney, Australia, will return to battle in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Sunday, July 15 (Sat. July 14 in the United States) in a 10-round clash against JR “Star Boy” Magboo (17-1-2, 8 KOs), of Batangas, Philippines, it was announced today by DiBella Entertainment.

“I’m thrilled and very excited to get back in the ring on Manny Pacquiao’s undercard,” said the 25-year-old Kambosos. “Manny and I have had some excellent training sessions for this camp and I can’t wait to fight in Kuala Lumpur. I know that Magboo has lost only once, but I’ll be well prepared after training with Manny to be victorious.”

“I would like to thank Manny Pacquiao for giving George Kambosos this great opportunity to fight on his undercard in Malaysia,” said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. “All of us at DiBella Entertainment believe that Kambosos is a star with the potential to become a champion. This is a great opportunity for him to showcase his talent on the undercard of a future hall-of-famer and a legend.”

Kambosos vs. Magboo will take place at Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on the undercard of the WBA welterweight world title bout between boxing legend and challenger Manny Pacquiao and champion Lucas Matthysse.

Currently ranked #11 by the World Boxing Organization and #14 by the International Boxing Federation, the all-action Kambosos made his triumphant United States debut on May 5, with a stunning first-round knockout of Jose Forero at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, CT.

For the last few weeks, Kambosos has trained and sparred alongside Pacquiao as he prepares to win another welterweight world title. Trained by former heavyweight contender Justin Fortune, Kambosos also worked with Pacquiao in Los Angeles last summer in preparation for the Filipino’s clash with Jeff Horn.

A sports star in his native Australia, Kambosos stopped Krai Setthaphone in the ninth round on October 13, 2017, in front of a huge crowd headlining at the Melbourne Pavilion in Victoria, Australia.

Most recently, Magboo stopped Prell Tupas in the first round on May 13, in Marilao, Philippines.

Social Media/Kambosos
Twitter: @GeorgeKambosos
Facebook: George.Kambosos
Instagram: GeorgeKambososJr

COVERAGE to the “Fight of Champions” mega-showdown between belt holder
Lucas Matthysse and challenger Manny Pacquiao is already pegged at 170
countries and is fast shaping up to become a blockbuster of an event
dubbed as the World Cup of Boxing.

From Asia to South America, to Europe and Africa, to the Middle East,
Asia Pacifica, Oceania and the Far East and the Caribbean, fans all
over the world will be treated to a whole day of sports festivities on
July 15 starting in the morning and throughout the afternoon.

The Pacquiao Vs Matthysse event will be beamed live at 12 noon from
the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur (around 8 PM, July 14 in the US and
Mexico) via satellite.

With World Cup fever undeniably in the minds of many, boxing also has
its version of the World Cup, with the Philippines and Argentina vying
for the World Boxing Association welterweight belt in the main event
featuring the legendary Pacquiao and Matthysse.

Other championship bouts presented by promoter Manny Pacquiao of MP
Promotions include the WBA world title matches between Venezuela and
China, (Carlos Canizales Vs Lu Bin for the WBA light flyweight belt),
as well as South Africa (Moruti Mthalane) against Pakistan (Muhammad
Waseem) for the International Boxing Federation flyweight crown.

In the main supporting bout, it will be Mexico against the Philippines
as the WBA, through president Gilberto Mendoza Jr. and ratings
chairman Jose Oliver, has just sanctioned the fight between Mexican
Edivaldo Ortega (26-1-1) and Jhack Tepora (21-0, 16 KOs) of the
Philippines for the WBA featherweight title.

Host Malaysia will feature its best fighters Muhammad Farkhan, Theena
Thayalan and Alman Abu Baker battling fighters from Thailand and 2
Indian boxers, respectively, in the undercards stacked deep by the
organizers, who are trying to impress a worldwide audience.

Other countries represented in the event include Australia and Japan.

LONDON (8 June, 2018) – One of this summer’s biggest battles will take place live and exclusive on BoxNation when the legendary Manny Pacquiao steps up to face Argentine knockout sensation Lucas Matthysse for his WBA welterweight world title.

Taking place at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur on July 14th, eight-division world champion Pacquiao will be looking to bounce back in style following his shock defeat to Australian ace Jeff Horn.

However, in Matthysse he faces one of boxing’s most formidable punchers, who, with a record of 36 knockouts in 39 wins, always comes with bad intentions.

He displayed that in his latest win when he stopped the previously undefeated Tewa Kiram in the eighth round to win the vacant WBA welterweight world title.

Both men are two of the most exciting, all-action fighters around, with fireworks guaranteed when they meet in the ring next month in their 12-round contest.

“[Matthysse] is a very aggressive fighter. I am not worried about his style. My worry is I need to get 100 per cent conditioned – the stamina, the power and the strength to survive the 12 rounds,” Pacquiao said.

“You will see a young Manny Pacquiao throwing a lot of punches, and more footwork, head movements, side by side [motions] – that’s my goal to achieve for this fight. It’s going to be a great night,” he said.

35-year-old Matthysse can’t wait to get into the ring and has promised BoxNation fight fans that he will make sure Pacquiao is given no respite.

“We’re focused very much on this fight, and people will see the same Lucas Matthysse as always, the one who always looks for the action. It’s a fight that I like because of our similar styles and because we are of the same height,” Matthysse said.

“I expect the same Manny Pacquiao as always. He is a respectable champion, but I’m a champion as well. I’ve been fighting for a long time. I know he has a lot of experience as well.

“It will be a great fight, and I expect to see the same Manny Pacquiao I watched on television. Now I’m going to see him in the ring. This is something very big for me and my career,” he said.

Jim McMunn, BoxNation Managing Director, said: “Manny Pacquiao v Lucas Matthysse without doubt has the makings for a very special and exciting fight. These are two fighters who like to come forward, press the action and can really punch. BoxNation subscribers will be in for a real treat when these two meet live and exclusive on July 14th.”

BoxNation is available on Sky/Freeview/Virgin/TalkTalk/EE/Apple TV/ online at watch.boxnation.com, via apps (iOS, Android, Amazon) and TV Player for just £12 a month. Buy now at boxnation.com.

– ENDS –

About BoxNation

BoxNation, the Channel of Champions and proud partner of Rainham Steel, is the UK’s first dedicated boxing channel. From £12* per month with no minimum term customers can enjoy great value live and exclusive fights, classic fight footage, magazine shows and interviews with current and former fighters.

Previous highlights have included Haye vs Chisora, Mayweather vs Maidana, Saunders vs Eubank Jr and Canelo vs Golovkin.

The channel is available on Sky (Ch.427), Freeview (Ch.255), Virgin (Ch.546), TalkTalk (Ch.415), TV Player, online at watch.boxnation.com and via apps (ios, Android, Amazon, Apple TV). BoxNation is also available in high definition on Sky (Ch. 490), at no extra cost to Sky TV subscribers, providing they are already HD enabled.

Available on selected internet-connected Freeview products only, subject to coverage. Visit freeview.co.uk/availability.

BoxNation is also available to commercial premises (inc. pubs, clubs and casino’s) in the UK and Ireland, for more information on a commercial subscription please call 0844 842 7700.

By Norm Frauenheim-

LAS VEGAS – Despite mounting doubts about his reflexes, speed and durability, there’s still plenty of power in Manny Pacquiao’s name. Celebrity is the last thing to go these days. But don’t mistake Terence Crawford for Pacquiao. Crawford doesn’t have any of Pacquiao’s celebrity. He’s not exactly the nice guy Pacquiao is, either.

Not that Crawford cares.

For now, at least, Crawford is not seeking Pacquiao’s kind of global celebrity or personal likability. It sounds as if another wicked stoppage would be enough. And that’s exactly what Crawford is pursuing Saturday night at the MGM Grand in his welterweight debut against Jeff Horn, once an unknown Aussie who is in Las Vegas this week because of his controversial decision over Pacquiao in Brisbane nearly a year ago.

“I’m not Manny Pacquiao,’’ Crawford said Thursday at a news conference in a matter-of-fact tone. “I’m bigger. I’m stronger.

“I’m in my prime. And that’s gonna show, come Saturday. A lot of people are comparing how he pushed around Pacquiao. But that’s not me.’’

Crawford (32-0, 23 KOs), who is ranked No.2 behind Vasiliy Lomachenko in most pound-for-pound debates, is heavily favored – minus-950 at Vegas books late Thursday — to take the 147-pound belt that Horn (18-0-1, 12 KOs) took from Pacquiao last July. Some foresee the ESPN+ featured bout (6:30 pm PT/9:30 pm ET) as a showcase for the world’s next dominant welterweight. Errol Spence might have something to say about that. But more on him at a later date.

“We’re here to take over at 147,’’ Crawford trainer Brian McIntryre said. “Jeff just happens to be there, happens to be the first victim.’’

But there’s a theory that Horn’s size, rugged strength and bullish tactics will make the Top Rank-promoted Crawford regret that he decided to venture into a heavier division.

“We think Top Rank erred,’’ Horn promoter Dean Lonergan said. “We think Top Rank put Crawford in against the wrong guy.’’

It’s a matter of record that Top Rank put Pacquiao in against the wrong guy last summer. In a long, bruising 12 rounds Down Under last July, Horn punished Pacquiao in ways that nobody has. But it was a different Pacquiao. The Filipino Senator looked tentative. The fighter in all of those Bruce Lee-like poses from a decade ago look like a shrunken version of who and what he had been. He sure didn’t look like himself and it’s safe to safe he didn’t look anything like the Crawford Horn figures to see Saturday.

It’s as if we’re only beginning to see Crawford’s many dimensions, including an evident like for the brutal task of breaking down an opponent. There’s a mean streak in eyes that elicit their damage with hands that Crawford delivers with equal speed and accuracy. Right or left doesn’t matter. Crawford uses both, leads with either in an almost seamless switch, with lethal precision. Then, he smiles. It’s a deadly combo.

Yeah, Horn is bigger. Crawford is shorter by about an inch, a listed 5-foot-8 to Horn’s 5-9, which was more than three inches taller than Pacquiao (5-5 ½). The more significant tale on the tape, however, is in reach. The shorter Crawford has that advantage by two inches, 70 to Horn’s 68, in an edge that figures to multiply very quickly with a two-handed attack.

FORMER General Santos City native Nonito Donaire Sr. was tapped to
lend his expertise and beef up Manny Pacquiao’s think-tank in
preparation for the Filipino’s title bid against Lucas Matthysse on
July 15 at the Axiata Arena in Malaysia.

A week after opening training camp, Pacquiao added Donaire to help out
in plotting tactical plans against Matthysse, the reigning WBA
welterweight champion from Argentina.

“Donaire will serve as one of the assistant coaches,” said Pacquiao,
who did two trial rounds with the mitts with the father of former
world champion Nonito Donaire (Junior). It was Donaire Sr. who trained
and honed his son, who later won multiple former world championships
in three weight divisions.

“So far, so good. I am happy with my current team,” said Pacquiao, who
took two days off on Saturday and Sunday to rest and relax, coming off
a controversial loss last year in Australia against local brawler Jeff
Horn.

Pacquiao went scuba diving Sunday and was refreshed to do his road
work the morning after.

Pacquiao is trying to have an all-Filipino line-up in his bid to win
his 11th world title against a formidable opponent who has knocked out
36 of his 39 wins or a whopping 92 percent ratio. Matthysse has only
lost four times in his career.

Another former Philippine national team coach based in the US was
scheduled to join Pacquiao’s coaching staff should he pass the
standards set by the Filipino champion.

Long time friend and confidant Buboy Fernandez would still act as head
coach along with assistant trainer Raides “Nonoy” Neri.

Pacquiao is still about to name another team member soon, the person
who will help him in his strength and conditioning, to complete the
cast.

MANILA–World Boxing Association welterweight champion Lucas “La
Maquina” Matthysse is set to arrive in Manila on April 18 to formally
accept the challenge of eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao at the
City of Dreams Grand Ballroom here.

Pacquiao, the challenger, expressed his elation as his MP Promotions
company has completed preparations for the two-city press conference
and media tour ending in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on April 20.

Dubbed “Fight of Champions,” the mega-fight will usher in Pacquiao’s
debut as a fight promoter at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur
featuring three other world title fights in the undercard.

“It is all systems go for the Pacquiao Vs Matthysse fight,” said
Pacquiao, who is hoping to equal if not surpass the expectations
leading to the grandiose Muhammad Ali-Joe Bugner fight which was also
held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in July 1975.

“We have assembled the biggest fight card Malaysia has been waiting
for in the last 43 years since Ali-Bugner,” added Pacquiao.

Matthysse, the dangerous 36-year-old champion from Argentina who
tallied 36 knockouts out of his 39 wins, and against only four losses,
has started training with Joel Diaz. Diaz also trained Timothy
Bradley, whom Pacquiao has faced thrice in the past.

“This is the fight I have always wanted. The opportunity to fight a
future Hall of Famer such as Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao inspires me to
work harder than ever to earn a victory for my fans. I know that it
will not be easy. But I will defend my title with honor and represent
my country Argentina with pride,” said Matthysse.

Pacquiao is also set to welcome Golden Boy Promotions Chairman and CEO
Oscar Dela Hoya, the promoter of Matthysse. “This early, we would like
to thank the people who have made this event happen and I thank all
boxing fans for their support,” said Pacquiao.

Pacquiao will be joined by his new promotions team along with trainers
Restituto “Buboy” Fernandez and Raides “Nonoy” Neri.

Manny Pacquiao announced that he will fight on June 24th in Malaysia against possible Lucas Matthysse, but according to Dan Rafael of espn.com, promoter Bob Arum says no deal is in place.

“It’s already final I’m going to fight in Malaysia on June 24,” Pacquiao told the Manila Times. “It is against Matthysse. I’ll be ready for the preparation and it’s going to be 11 weeks.”

“For years we’ve had these proposals from people in the Mideast, whether it’s Abu Dhabi, or the Emirates, or Saudi Arabia, and we’re still waiting for the first deposit for the fight to happen. It didn’t, so now we’ve shifted our attention from the Mideast to the Far East and we’re looking for Malaysian money,” Arum said, laughing, because he has been down this road many times.

Eric Gomez, the president of Golden Boy Promotions, which represents Matthysse, told ESPN that Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz had contacted him about a possible Pacquiao-Matthysse fight but that they have not made a deal yet.

“Michael Koncz reached out to me and all we did was talk and that’s all I can say,” Gomez said. “We’re interested in the fight. It’s very preliminary.”

“If the money comes up then I’ve agreed to sign on,” Arum said. “We would handle the logistics, we would handle the undercard and we would handle the television. All they have to do is say they got the $5 million of the $15 million. That makes it legit. [But] I’m not booking my flight [to Malaysia] yet.”

Arum had offered Pacquiao a fight with faded former junior welterweight titlist Mike Alvarado on April 14 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas in the co-feature position on the card headlined by former undisputed junior welterweight world champion Terence Crawford’s move up to welterweight to challenge Jeff Horn for the title Horn controversially won by decision from Pacquiao in July.

Pacquiao, however, is said to have been stung by the offer of an undercard spot on a card headlined by a fighter most thought he defeated. Beyond that, Pacquiao has deep tax issues despite earning hundreds of millions of dollars that Arum said would keep him from fighting in the United States.

“He’s afraid whatever deal he makes with the IRS they’ll seize all the money so he can’t fight here,” Arum said. “We thought we could work it out with the IRS.”

“I like [Matthysse’s] aggressive fighting style,” Pacquiao said in announcing the fight. “That’s what I want, to entertain the boxing fans. Besides, Matthysse is not a dirty fighter and I highly respect him for that.”

After being widely rumored to be heading to Madison Square Garden, The proposed Pay-Pew-View card featuring Jeff Horn defending his WBO Welterweight title bout between Jeff Horn and Terence Crawford will be staged at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Although the fight, long in the works, has not been officially announced, Bob Arum said it is now agreed to on both sides. The site, though, will be Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas as the main event of a pay-per-view card Top Rank is putting on in conjunction with ESPN as part of their long-term deal.

“Mandalay Bay is a great venue and we’re happy to put this card on there,” Arum said. “You’ve got a lot of boxing in New York coming up, so it made sense to move the fight to Las Vegas when Mandalay Bay became available.”

Arum said that he is in the process of finalizing the co-feature between Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao, the former eight-division world champion, and former junior welterweight titlist Mike Alvarado (38-4, 26 KOs), 37, of Denver.

Arum said there would also be another world title bout on the card. It will pit junior featherweight world titleholder Jessie Magdaleno (25-0, 18 KOs), 26, of Las Vegas, in his mandatory defense against hard-hitting Isaac Dogboe (18-0, 12 KOs), 23, of Ghana.

Arum said he initially was going to make that fight the main event of his April 28 ESPN card but decided to move it to the April 14 show to beef up the pay-per-view.

“That’s going to be a really good fight,” Arum said. “It’s a 50-50 fight, I think. Both guys can really hit.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the April 14th card featuring WBO Welterweight champion Jeff Horn defending against Terence Crawford plus an appearance by Manny Pacquiao is close to fruition.

The proposed Pay-Per-View show would take place at Madison Square Garden.

Crawford, during an interview at ringside on Saturday night on ESPN’s telecast of the Gilberto Ramirez-Habib Ahmed super middleweight world title fight in Corpus Christi, Texas, said, “We’re real close. I’d say 90 percent done deal. Right now, my main focus is on Jeff Horn.”

Bob Arum said he was close but then added, “But I don’t do percentages. Close is not there. There is signed contracts. But we’re working hard to get the thing done and, hopefully, we’ll get it done pretty soon.”

Besides working to finish a deal with Crawford, Arum is also working to iron out a deal with Pacquiao. One potential opponent for Pacquiao is the long-faded former junior welterweight titlist Mike Alvarado (38-4, 26 KOs), 37, of Denver.

By Bart Barry-

Saturday undefeated Ukrainian cruiserweight Oleksandr Usyk (14-0, 11 KOs) decisioned undefeated Latvian Mairis Briedis (23-1, 18 KOs) in the penultimate round of the World Boxing Super Series, in Latvia’s capital city of Riga. Their match graced no American airwaves. Saturday HBO’s “Boxing After Dark” program featured Argentine retread Lucas Matthysse avoiding his fifth career loss by jabbing to temporary unconsciousness a Thai fighter named, one second here, Tewa Kiram, in Los Angeles. These fights are juxtaposed for more than their common date.

What you had in Latvia were two undefeated titlists in a unification match that was the semifinal of a tournament to crown a unified cruiserweight champion of the world. And both hail from the former Eastern Bloc. Surely this was in HBO’s wheelhouse such that if HBO didn’t salivate at the bell Showtime should swoop in and spite-buy it, no?

No. Evidently, absolutely no. Dogged reporters might doggedly do reporting on this and uncover a sprawling, innocent mess of conflicting dates and logistics, a waterfall of prohibiting algorithms, that makes seamless sense of why none of this series is televised in the U.S., but here’s an unsolicited guess instead: Richard Schaefer.

The former CEO of Golden Boy Promotions is back in boxing and associated with the World Boxing Super Series, which seeks to do with the cruiserweight and super middleweight divisions what the Super Six World Boxing Classic started doing with the super middleweight division nine years ago. That tournament, excellent if snakebitten, sent aficionados to Showtime, who captured their allegiance from HBO and hasn’t yielded it much since. Back then boxing insiders confused Schaefer for a genius often as they confused him for an honest broker. But his eventual arch enemy, Bob Arum, had a true line of sight on him: Swiss banker.

Schaefer was an unscrupulous opportunist who brought contemporary accounting and marketing practices to boxing’s 18th-century way of doing both, which made him look brilliant, and a selfinterested operator who promoted an ethical approach to promoting while furtively selling his company out from under its namesake.

Schaefer, fired and barred from boxing three years ago, looks more like an Al Haymon toady, in retrospect, than a master of the universe. Whatever fellow World Boxing Super Series organizers had in mind when they hooked up with him, getting their tournament blacklisted from American television was doubtful it. That’s all conjecture, of course, but one needn’t be a fishnets-certified fanboy to see some irony in HBO’s broadcasting “Washed: The epic rebranding of Lucas Matthysse’s second comeback” in lieu of something at least five times better and more consequential.

With unfortunately few exceptions these days HBO’s Golden Boy Promotions cards are about ensuring biannual Canelo cash infusions and conceding that without access to Top Rank or PBC fighters it’s brutally hard to fill a boxing calendar. As the world moves acceleratingly away from both network television and America, the happy news for aficionados is our confinement to whatever American cable companies gift us now hurtles towards its proper end. Last weekend you didn’t need to blackpatch an eye to see Usyk-Briedis in gorgeous highdef well before Boxing After Dark lumbered along.

And what you saw in Usyk-Briedis was a very good prizefight that was oddly entertaining for a no-knockdowns affair. The gloves looked rightsized, in other words, to two 200-hundred-pound men, and both fighters, as the results got read, looked like they’d been punched oftenly. The right man won on scorecards that leaned expectedly Latvian in Riga; a forensic examination of results would find most points Briedis accumulated came via extralegal events and hometown support.

If Usyk is not a particularly large puncher he is a large man with excellent relative mobility, an Olympic gold medal that means an opponent’s style can hardly surprise him, and the sort of oblivious goofiness that supplies Tony Robbins’ charm. Usyk is a very good prizefighter but nothing like a prodigy.

Briedis, too, gave a professional accounting of himself – he was just the wrong the man against the wrong man. He wasn’t going to fight busier than Usyk and wasn’t likely to outbox him either; to get Usyk to settle down Briedis needed to worry him by concussing Usyk with every landed punch, and at the championship level Briedis does not hit hard enough to do that.

He does know some tricks, though. Howsoever inevitably and unintentionally came the early clash of heads between Usyk’s southpaw attack and Briedis’ forward-lean orthodox counterpunching, Usyk certainly got the worse of it. A Briedis baby-hiptoss in round 6, too, went someways toward destabilizing Usyk. Not enough is made generally of how much it affects a fighter to get dropped on the canvas via push or slip. The referee clears it of scoring consequence with a wave, and the felled man has no grogginess with which to contend, but his legs, trained for six weeks and a career precisely to stutterstep and twist in combat and spring upwards from a stool after respite, suddenly have to fold beneath their body and push upwards from a kneel. It’s surprisingly fatiguing. And Briedis followed Usyk’s rise from the canvas with more offensive enthusiasm and effectiveness than he’d shown to that moment.

Most every round before and after that was a copy of its predecessor, though only Usyk employed cruisecontrol and only for a little bit in the 12th round, at that.

This Saturday the second World Boxing Super Series semifinal happens with undefeated Russian Murat Gassiev (25-0, 18 KOs) and undefeated Cuban Yunier Dorticos (22-0, 21 KOs) trading fists in Russia. That one shan’t appear on American airwaves either.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, a proposed bout between Manny Pacquiao and Vasyl Loamchenko is not in the near-future cards.

“No, we are not fighting Pacquiao. Manny Pacquiao is calling out Lomachenko, who is three weight classes down the scale from him. Manny Pacquiao is 147 pounds and he’s calling out Lomachenko, who is 130 pounds. That’s insane,” said Lomachenko’s manager Egis Klimas told ESPN.

“There are negotiations now about the No. 1 pound-for-pound, which is Lomachenko,” Pacquiao said in an interview with ABS-CBN. “There are still talks on the weight, reducing the weight.”

“Look, we have our own agenda, our own road and our own plans. That’s where we’re going,” Klimas said. “There’s a lot of champions and good guys at 130 or 135 pounds. That’s where we’re going. Why isn’t Pacquiao calling out [Terence] Crawford? Crawford is moving into Pacquiao’s weight class. Why doesn’t he call out [Mikey] Garcia, who is at 140?”

“The difference is Lomachenko didn’t call out Rigondeaux,” he said. “Rigondeaux was willing and begging for the fight, so Lomachenko fought Rigondeaux. They had two gold medals each, they were both undefeated, and did that take Lomachenko somewhere? For Team Lomachenko, that fight didn’t mean anything. He beat a small guy. Even if he beat Pacquiao, they’d say he beat an old guy who was basically retired. We want to fight active champions dominating their weight classes.”

“We discussed at one point Manny and Lomachenko fighting, but Lomachenko’s father [trainer Anatoly Lomachenko] said he didn’t want him to jump up two divisions even though the fight would be at a catch weight of 140 pounds,” Top Rank’s Bob Arum said. “His father said he wanted him to first go up to 135 pounds and then maybe they’d consider a fight with Pacquiao at 140 pounds later.

“The spring would be too premature, but certainly that’s a fight that might be attractive down the road.”

BEIJING – China’s Dancing Sports, an organization at the forefront of sports development in China, and Filipino senator and boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, recently inked a comprehensive agreement to develop and promote professional boxing in China.

Dancing Sports president Vincent Zhou and Pacquiao signed the agreement in an elaborate ceremony last December 2 at the Diaoyutai Hotel in Beijing which was attended by Chinese dignitaries and representatives from the Chinese media.
Part of the agreement was the establishment of the Manny Pacquiao International Boxing Academy (PIBA) in China envisioned to become an instrument to attract, train and develop Chinese world class boxers and to regularly promote professional boxing matches all over China.
“This agreement of course will definitely shower a new boxing era in our sports and will contribute to help realize our great potential in boxing,” Zhou said.
Pacquiao, who was in Bejing from Dec. 1 to 3 to also attend the Chinese Communist Party’s ‘World Political Parties Dialogue’ said, “Yesterday, I met with President Xi and Prime Minister Li Keqiang, and I am glad that the high level relationship between China and the Philippines is going further. President Xi’s Belt and Road initiative is very important, it will help countries along exchanges and cooperation at all levels across borders. It is not difficult to see that the signing of this comprehensive agreement is exactly the implementation of the two top leadership initiatives of China and an important action to promote cooperation between China and the Philippines.”
Zhou and Pacquiao jointly held its first promotion in China on September 29, 2017, a ‘by invitation only’ boxing event at the Heyuan Royal Garden Hotel in Beijing that featured Zhou’s prospect Lu Bin on the main event and undefeated former Olympian Mark Anthony Barriga of the Philippines on the main undercard.
Dancing Sports has calendared six to eight events for 2018 with initial promotion projected to be held during the Chinese New Year celebrations in February.
Among the Chinese dignitaries who were in attendance during the launching and signing ceremony included Feng Hope, secretary general of the Information Office of the State Council; Zou Yan, deputy director of the Department of the Ministry of Justice; Zhang Hong, secretary of the party committee of the Chinese Film Association; He Zhewen, director of the Anti-Doping Center of the State Sports General Administration; Zhang Wei, vice-president of the Beijing Sports University and director of the Sports Industry Office of the National Development and Reform Commission; Wang Guojun, head coach of China National Boxing Team; and Wang Tongzhou, general manager of China Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Group.

LONDON (24 November) – British welterweight ace Gary Corcoran’s world title bid against Manny Pacquiao conqueror Jeff Horn will be shown exclusively live on BoxNation next month.

The 27-year-old will face the unbeaten Australian at the Brisbane Convention Centre on December 13th as he looks to cause an upset in Horn’s hometown by capturing his WBO welterweight world title.

29-year-old Horn shocked the boxing world with his impressive display against the legendary Pacman this summer when his come-forward and all-action approach caught the judges’ eyes as he went onto win the world title belt via a unanimous decision.

51,000 fans crammed into Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium to cheer on the 12-to-1 underdog that day and were not left disappointed when the former high school PE teacher and 2012 Olympian dethroned the Filipino.

However, this time around he will have the odds in his favour as he returns home for his first defence against Top-10 contender Corcoran.

Nicknamed ‘Hellraiser’ the Londoner has won 17 of his 18 professional fights with just one loss – that coming against Welsh star Liam Williams.

He has bounced back well from that 11th round knockout defeat in July of last year by winning his last two fights, including a split decision victory over Larry Ekundayo in which he captured the vacant WBO Inter-Continental welterweight title.

The winner of Horn-Corcoran will be obligated to make his next defence against newly installed mandatory challenger and former light-welterweight unified champion Terence Crawford.

The American is one of the sport’s best pound-for-pound fighters and the chance to share the ring with him will be extra motivation for both men as they look to deliver fight fans an early Christmas present exclusively live on ‘The Channel of Champions’.

Jim McMunn, BoxNation Managing Director, said: “Jeff Horn caused a massive upset against Manny Pacquiao when he became the WBO welterweight world champion. He was the underdog in that fight but still rose to the challenge and shocked the boxing world. Gary Corcoran will be looking to do exactly the same thing when he shares the ring with Horn next month, exclusively live on BoxNation. It is a very intriguing fight and a great opportunity for Corcoran to hit the big time and become another British world champion. BoxNation subscribers can tune in on December 13th and witness a very exciting world title matchup.”

BoxNation is available on Sky/Freeview/Virgin/TalkTalk/EE/Apple TV/ online at watch.boxnation.com and via apps (iOS, Android, Amazon) for just £12 a month. Buy now at boxnation.com.

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About BoxNation
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