Bleacher Report - Articles by King J

December Is Going to Be a Great Month for Boxing

King J — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:37:01 -0500

December is going to be a great month for the sport of boxing with numerous meaningful fights going mostly in the first two weeks of December.

It all starts this Wednesday, Dec. 2. Yes, Wednesday. Generally speaking the big fights usually take place on Saturday nights, but this is a special occasion, where the former pound-for-pound light heavyweight American champion Roy Jones Jr., 54(40)-5, goes up in weight to attempt to win a belt in the cruiserweight division by traveling to Sydney, Australia to fight champion Danny Green, 27(24)-3, in Green's backyard.

This will be the first time Roy will fight abroad since his highly suspect decision loss in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Also more importantly, if Roy does defeat Green, he will be slated to fight Bernard Hopkins in what is one of the most overdue rematches in boxing history. Jones easily defeated a greener Hopkins in their first match with one healthy hand.

Hopkins, 49(32)-5-1, is also fighting Enrique Ornelas, 29(19)-5, on Wednesday, Dec. 2 as well from his hometown of Philadelphia. Both the Roy Jones Jr. vs. Danny Green fight and the Bernard Hopkins vs. Enrique Ornelas fight can been seen on the channel Versus.

On HBO this Saturday, Dec. 5, the most avoided man in the sport, Paul "The Punisher" Williams, 37(27)-1, fights Sergio Martinez, 44(24)-1-2, in what should be an exciting middleweight fight.

On the undercard is the return of the most promising American heavyweight contender Chris Arreola, 27(24)-1, coming off of his brave big-hearted loss to WBC champion Vitali Klitschko in September. Chris will be facing Brian Minto, 34(21)-2.

On Saturday, Dec. 12 on Showtime, heavy-handed pound-for-pound champion Vic Darchinyan, 32(26)-2-1, faces Tomas Rojas, 32(22)-11-1, for the WBC super flyweight title and the WBA super flyweight title.

Also on the same card, undefeated American WBO light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, 24(11)-0, will put his title on the line against undefeated American Lamont Peterson, 27(13)-0.

Also on Saturday, Dec. 12 on HBO, it is the rematch of the highly controversial fight between Juan Diaz, 35(17)-2, and Paul Malignaggi, 26(5)-3. In their first match, which took place in Juan's hometown of Houston, many experts and media felt Malignaggi experienced a hometown robbery decision.

On the undercard, fast-rising star Victor Ortiz, 24(19)-2, looks to make his comeback against Antonio Diaz, 46(29)-5-1, in their light welterweight match as well.

On the same day on Sky is the WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, 38(37)-2, defending against undefeated American Kevin Johnson, 22(9)-0.

Victor Ortiz Is Vicious In the Ring But A Swell Guy Outside

King J — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 14:52:21 -0500

Victor “Vicious” Ortiz, with a record of 24(19)-2-1, is indeed vicious in the ring but outside he is anything but.

Ever since Golden Boy Promotions picked Ortiz up and added the Kansas native to their stable, it was evident they were grooming the next poster boy for their multi-million dollar corporation. Their president, Oscar De La Hoya, went into an early retirement from boxing (actual fighting) thanks to the hands of Manny Pacquiao.

I am not one for quickly or naively buying into the hype, so when I saw Victor was being packaged and publicized as the next Oscar De La Hoya, I instantly had my doubts.

He began to win me over as a fan of his fighting when he knocked out Carlos Maussa in the first round. Maussa is a tough, heavy-handed fighter who was only previously stopped by Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto, late in their fights.

The fight that really won me over was that with Mike Arnaoutis, a fighter who has never been stopped, who was easily destroyed and knocked out in the 2nd round of their fight.

So then of course came all the publicity of how Ortiz was supposedly the nicest man in boxing and his smile and personality could light up any press media room. It was like we, the boxing community, were being forced to believe that this man was the Tom Hanks of boxing. It made me wonder if this was the real Ortiz or just the one in front of rolling cameras, much like a campaigning politician.

Recently at the fights I was covering I had the privilege of meeting Ortiz in person and, to be completely honest, he is everything the media says about him. And then some.

The 22-year-old is good looking, sharp, highly likeable and has a smile that will indeed light up the entire MGM Grand. He is just one of those guys you have to like and root for. Outside of the ring he is totally humble and down to earth. Each fight that I bump into him at, he is solo without an entourage and willing to meet and take pictures with his fans.

He allowed one of my colleagues and myself to interview him and was more than willing to answer anything we threw at him. He was interested in where I was from and even asked me questions as well.

This is what boxing needs: a positive, likeable guy to root for, who is vicious in the ring but a totally swell guy outside of it. One must keep in mind that Ortiz came from a hard childhood where his parents abandoned him at an early age and he was forced to take the role of parent to his siblings when he himself was just a child. Yet you would never get that he had it so rough by the way he carries himself.

We asked Ortiz about a rematch with Marcos Maidana and he expressed his hope for a rematch to avenge his loss. But Maidana does not want to grant the rematch.

Ortiz is slated to fight in his comeback match against Antonio Diaz, 46(29)-5-1, on undercard of the Juan Diaz vs Paul Malignaggi II fight in Chicago at the UCI Pavilion on December 12th.

Tiger Woods' Recent Wife Drama Is An Example Why I Am Not Married

King J — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:38:18 -0500

With the recent reports of Tiger Woods' recent Thanksgiving weekend accident that seemed to evolve into an alleged attack from his wife reminds this writer why he chooses not to be married.

Tiger Woods, the No. 1 golfer in the world and quite arguably the greatest golfer who ever lived, is also recently declared the wealthiest athlete of all time, with reports from Forbes that he recently became the first athlete ever to become a billionaire this year.

After Michael Jordan retired no other super star athlete really had the true mass international star cross over appeal that Tiger Woods seemed to have while at the same time consistently dominating his sport.

When you are the No. 1 star athlete of your sport and have more endorsements than you can cash your paychecks to, you also have just as many beautiful women throwing themselves at you constantly.

It makes this writer wonder why in the world would anyone with that kind of money, power, fame, etc. ever even think about settling down with just one woman?

Look let's look at the facts, my friends. Statistics prove that more than half of Americans end up in divorce and the numbers seem to just get worse and worse.

So knowing that, why in the hell would anyone even step into that realm of torture and horror knowing the odds are against them unless they were 110 percent certain that they were indeed made for each other?

One may think that domestic violence such as the alleged incident that took place between Tiger Woods and his wife's violent attack only happens in low-income parts of society, but this is evidence that even the most elite experience the ramifications of marriage as well.

Keep in mind again that Tiger Woods is the wealthiest athlete in the history of mankind and he has been known to socialize with the world's wealthiest men, such as Bill Gates, who was in attendance at his wedding to his lovely wife.

It maybe perhaps that Tiger's advisers influenced him to settle down and marry since it would help his public image and his endorsements, etc, or of course Tiger may have at the time truly felt he was in love and she was the one for him at the time.

But whatever the reason, maybe I only see more evidence and reasons not to get married, and I see less incentive to getting married.

Trust me when I say: this writer does indeed love the beautiful ladies out there; in fact, he may love them too much, and that might be another reason why he is much anti-marriage as well.

My mother always told me that I should find a girl who loves me more than I love her, so I know no matter what, she will be there for me in the end.

This advice makes so much sense, and if everyone followed this simple wise motto, then maybe we would not have so much divorce in this country.

People get married for all the wrong reasons: money, sex, pressure by society, pressure by family, status, and the list goes on and on.

All my life I have seen family members, friends, co-workers struggle and deal with the pain and suffering of marriage and divorce and ask myself WHY?

When you are good looking, successful, smooth, charming, and a great catch like myself the sky is the limit. But you know what kills all of that? One word: marriage.

I am wise enough to know all of this; how come the odd 50-plus percent of Americans are not?

Who are we not to allow our homosexual brothers and sisters to make the same exact miserable mistakes that we make by getting married?

Let me end this by telling all of you that if you ever are as blessed to obtain even a fraction of Tiger Woods' money, fame, and power, make sure you find that special someone to spend your life with who does not give a damn about any of those things.

Personally, I remain highly mysterious to all the beautiful ladies I encounter. Probably about 99.9% of them do not know where exactly my condos or houses are located, and life is better that way.

The chances of me being chased out of any of my condos or houses at 2 a.m. by a pretty girl swinging a golf club at my head is about zero percent because they never get to learn where exactly I live at for they never even earn that privilege.

I do not inform them about where I work exactly or which businesses exactly I am involved with, for again you do not need a pretty girl showing up at your work swinging a golf club at your head.

Do not even tell these ladies you are successful. Leave the Mercedes at home and pick her up in the Prius instead. Do not even let her know you own a Mercedes. Leave the Rolex at home and wear the Swatch watch instead.

Win her over with the real you, and if she does not care for the real you, then it is her loss.

Life is too short to spend it with the wrong lady who swings a golf club at your head.

Lucian Bute Knocks Out Librado Andrade in the Fourth Round

King J — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:26:57 -0500

IBF Super middle weight champion Lucian Bute knocked out challenger No. 1-ranked Librado Andrade in front of Bute's hometown crowd Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City, Canada.

After several months of anticipation since their first fight last October where Bute won a controversial decision and was gifted an extremely long count by the referee to regain his composure and get up from being knocked down, Bute clearly redeemed himself tonight with the knock out victory.

The first three rounds had Bute out boxing and out landing on the challenger who kept coming forward despite getting hit cleanly blow after blow.

In the fourth round Bute landed a big left hand on the chin of Andrade that he never saw coming which sent him to the canvas. Ironically this took place just as commentator Max Kellerman was stating that Andrade's chin is unable to be rocked.

Andrade winked to the judges as he was on the ground as if to tell them that he is ok and not hurt. He got back up to his feet and then Bute landed a precise body punch that sent him back down to the canvas and paralyzed him in pain. The referee counted to 10 and Bute won by knockout at 2:57 of the fourth round.

In the post fight interview Bute spoke a couple of sentences in English and the rest in his adopted home French language about how he compared this fight to Lennox Lewis and his two fights with Hasim Rahman and how he was so passionate in redeeming his loss as well.

On the under card top lightweight contenders Ali Funeka and Joan Guzman fought to a controversial majority draw where many experts including the HBO commentators felt that Funeka had clearly won and dominated undefeated Guzman whose face was beaten bloody.

Meet Your Boxing Community Leader: KING J

King J — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:32:57 -0500

Meet your Bleacher Report Boxing Community Leader: KING J.

KING J is one of the top columnists in the sport of boxing and is a featured columnist. Boxing is his favorite sport by far, and he is passionate about watching, training for, and covering the sport with great pride.

He has covered some of the most recent mega fights such as: Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton, Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Juan Manuel Marquez, Vitali Klitschko vs. Chris Arreola, and Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto, just to name a few.

He has seen some of the more recent great fighters live in person, such as: Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones Jr., Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya, Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

By far, he was most amazed watching a prime Roy Jones Jr. fight live in person.

KING J recently had the honor of interviewing legendary three-time trainer of the year and hall of famer Freddie Roach two weeks before the recent mega fight of Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto.

As Bleacher Report's Boxing Community Leader, he intends on drastically improving the boxing community and taking it to the next level by encouraging everyone from the featured columnists down to the new contributors to write as well as possible on a more consistent basis. One of the beautiful things about the sport of boxing is that we have no offseason; there are always fights going on throughout the year. He also strongly encourages anyone else who loves the sport to begin writing and start contributing to the community.

KING J will also take more of a moderator role as well, making sure to help clean the community of anyone who is damaging our reputation or productivity. So called "trolls", who only attack a writer for posting well-written and heartfelt articles, will be regulated and ultimately removed from the community if the problem persists.

To make things clear: Respectfully disagreeing and debating about fighters and fights is perfectly fine and, in fact, better because it makes the community more interesting. If someone is attacking the writer on a personal level and not contributing to the community at all, though, they will be dismissed.

Lastly, there will be zero tolerance for inappropriate comments. They will be flagged and reported.

On a more positive note, KING J will report any exceptional articles as well as selecting the most noteworthy writer of the community each month and making sure that they receive the recognition that they deserve.

KING J is extremely open and welcoming to everyone's ideas, comments, and suggestions to help make the boxing community the best it can possibly be.

"Boxing was, is, and always will be the greatest sport of all time. Let's prove it to the world with our writing"—KING J

Thank you, and happy Thanksgiving to all.

HBO Sports Finally Returns To Canada After Three Decades

King J — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:31:34 -0500

This Saturday HBO Sports returns to Canada for the first time in over three decades. Yes, it has been that long since 1977.

This Thanksgiving weekend HBO's Boxing After Dark brings us the highly anticipated rematch of Lucian Bute vs Librado Andrade II. Their first exciting fight ended in a controversial unanimous decision awarded to the IBF super middleweight champion Bute.

Lucian Bute (24-0-0, 19 KOs) is eager to prove to the world that it was no fluke and he is indeed a true champion in front of his home town crowd of Montreal. Librado Andrade (28-2-0, 21 KOs) is out to show the people of Canada why he should have been awarded the win in their initial October 2008 fight.

The opening fight is also a good one with undefeated Joan Guzman (29-0, 17 KOs) and Ali Funeka (30-2-2, 25 KOs) fighting for the vacant IBF light weight title. Joan Guzman fights almost exactly like top pound for pound undefeated American star Floyd Mayweather Jr mostly because of his trainer being Floyd Mayweather Senior.

Ali Funeka is a tall lanky fighter who won over many fans in his tough fight with veteran Nate Campbell.

It all takes place from the Colisée Pepsi in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada and it can only be watched on HBO Saturday November 28th at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT & 9:00 p.m. CT.

Other HBO playdates: Nov. 29 (8:45 a.m.) and 30 (11:40 p.m.) HBO2 playdate: Nov. 29 (6:15 p.m.) Times are ET/PT.

Andre Ward Defeats Mikkel Kessler To Win WBA Title

King J — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:46:47 -0500

Undefeated American boxer Andre Ward defeated WBA super middle weight champion Mikkel Kessler in front of his hometown crowd.

From the opening bell, it was apparent that Ward was the faster and more aggressive of the two fighters. Out-landing the champion and often times landing at will with out any answer from the Danish champion.

It appeared the speed of Wards' hands and foot work was just too much and confused Kessler from ever really finding his rhythm and getting into the fight. There were a serious of accidental headbutts that occurred from Ward's fighting stance of lunging forward head first. These headbutts caused Kessler to bleed both above and below his eye lid causing him to complain to his corner that he could not see.

Finally at 1:42 of the 11th round, the referee stopped the fight to have the doctor take a closer look. This resulted in a technical decision and going straight to the judges score cards to determine a winner. One judge scored it 97-93, and the other two scored it 98-92, all in favor for Andre Ward.

Andre Ward wins the WBA super middle weight title and obtains two points for his technical decision in the tournament.

In the post-fight interview, Ward wanted to give the glory of his win to God, and he felt Kessler had a tough time adjusting as he studied the fight with Joe Calzaghe.

Kessler complained in his post-fight interview of the referee being a "home judge referee". He expressed he never experienced a fight where he felt there was excessive holding and punching as well as intentional headbutts allowed by the ref. When asked if his cuts leave him at a disadvantage for his next fight in the tournament he responded that he felt the cuts were a disadvantage for him.

Boxing: Mikkel Kessler, Andre Ward Make Weight and Are Ready For Battle

King J — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:48:12 -0500

According to a press release, both Mikkel Kessler and Andre Ward make weight for their super middle weight WBA title fight taking place in Oakland, Calif. on Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Tournament.

Mikkel Kessler 42(32)-1, the WBA super middleweight champion weighed in at 167 lbs. Andre Ward 20(13)-0 weighed in at 166.5 lbs.

Kessler, also known as the Viking Warrior was the early predicted favorite by most media to win the tournament.

The WBA champion hails from Denmark and only has one loss on his record to former top pound-for-pound retired undefeated Joe Calazaghe.

Ward, also known as S.O.G.(Son Of God), is an undefeated American Olympic gold medalist who is from the Oakland area, where the fight is taking place Saturday night.

Many of the media and experts favor Ward as the sleeper underdog of the tournament.

In the first round of the tournament, both American fighters lost their first-round fights. Taylor loss by a brutal knock out by Arthur Abraham, and Andre Direll lost in a close decision to WBC champion Carl Froch.

Ward has some redemption to do for the American fighters and pride with his first ever title shot this Saturday night.

The other four tournament fighters made their predictions on this Saturday's fight.

“Mikkel Kessler will win because of his strength and ring experience,” said Carl Froch. “I’m pulling for the U.S. guys. I can’t say why from a boxing standpoint but we are all U.S. Olympians.

"It’s a matter of those (European) guys being cocky. Carl Froch has been very cocky, and he knows his boxing skills are nowhere close to mine.

"Kessler is a pretty relaxed guy. He’s not too cocky by any means. I like him a lot, but I am still going for our guys.” - Jermain Taylor

“Because I have not ever seen an Andre Ward fight live or on tape, I cannot say much. But Kessler is the favorite in this fight nevertheless.

I have seen Kessler fight many times, and he is very clever and very strong. I have to give the advantage to Kessler because of his strength, experience and cleverness.” - Arthur Abraham

“I'm going with Ward.” - Andre Dirrell.

Floyd Mayweather Celebrated Manny Pacquiao's Victory at Club XS

King J — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:38:18 -0500

Last Saturday night, Floyd Mayweather Jr celebrated Manny Pacquiao's victory over Miguel Cotto at Club XS at the Encore Casino in Las Vegas.

Right after the super mega fight of Manny Pacquiao vs Miguel Cotto last Saturday pretty much only one man's name was being mentioned on everyone's mouth on who would be Pacquiao's next victim. That name was Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Floyd is the last undefeated American No. 1 pound for pound fighter who retired two years ago to open the No. 1 pound for pound title to be acquired by Manny Pacquiao.

Ever since Floyd's retirement, Manny has been winning over more fans with his exciting all-action style of fighting, knocking out his opponents rather than winning a comfortable decision.

So now that Floyd is back from retirement and still riding high over his one-sided dominating performance over Juan Manuel Marquez, a fighter that Pacquiao struggled with at the lower weight classes, what was Floyd doing right after the Pacquiao destruction of Cotto?

Well Floyd was seen celebrating in club XS. It was a $50 cover charge. It could have been because it was fight night and the club promoters knew they could charge whatever they desired.

Last Saturday night after the fight, Club XS had many celebrities in the house. A few members of my entourage were shaking hands with NFL New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, who had his own special VIP table in the club and who was also in attendance at the weigh-in the day before, hyping up both the Filipino and Puerto Rican crowds.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., 41(30)-0-1 son of the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., was also at club XS. Chavez Jr. just fought on the under card to a unanimous decision over Troy Rowland in what was his first fight at the middleweight division.

Julio's next fight may continue to be at middle weight, as he is still debating which weight class he will be campaigning to fight at.

But then of course the biggest celebrity that everyone had their eyes on was Floyd Mayweather Jr who had the biggest VIP table in the club with the biggest entourage as well.

From what one can see Floyd had four very large tall muscle bound body guards surrounding his table, blocking off any unwanted clubbers.

So who was sitting with the fighter known as Pretty Boy? Singer and reality star Ray-J was seen at his table, as well as hip hop mogul P. Diddy, Puerto Rican rapper Fat Joe, who was obviously quite down from the devastating result of Puerto Rican fighter Miguel Cotto being stopped in the 12th round, and about another six members of his entourage who were seen holding large expensive bottles, drinking, dancing, laughing and having a good time.

According to HBO interviews Floyd is known to spend $10,000 a night at clubs even though he himself does not drink alcohol.

However, seeing how his entourage was drinking an endless amount of expensive bottles like it was water I can see how the bill might actually come out to $10,000.

The club was very dark, and Floyd and his entourage were sitting high up in their seats looking down at their table in what seemed to be some sort of game they were playing?

Floyd was moving very fast back and forth, up and down which reminds me of how truly superior his speed is in the ring.

Mayweather appeared to be very happy and celebrating. But what was the exact reason? Was it because Pacquiao just won the biggest hardest fight of his career?

Or was it because Mayweather was happy that he would most likely be next to fight Manny in what many experts are already calling the highest grossing fight in boxing history?

Or was it because Floyd was a bit jealous at all of the love and recognition Manny was receiving from all of the media that night from the big win in such a big fight with Cotto?

Whatever the reason was Floyd seemed to be happy and if this fight with Manny Pacquiao indeed gets officially signed, sealed, and delivered, he will be even happier, no matter what the result, win, lose, or draw for he will make more money than ever before.

This article was originally posted HERE

Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto Gets 1.25 Million PPV Buys

King J — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:23:11 -0500

This just in from a press release from the producers of HBO to me:

Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto did 1.25 million PPV buys in their super mega welter weight title fight last Saturday.

This makes Pacquiao vs. Cotto the highest grossing PPV event of 2009 generating $70 million in pay per view revenue alone.

The fight that took place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas was sold out and promoted by Top Rank Promotions.

Pacquiao vs. Cotto will be replayed this Saturday, Nov. 21 at 10:00 PM ET/ PT on HBO. The 12-round TKO triumph by Pacquiao marked his seventh world title in as many different weight classes.

Other HBO play dates of Pacquiao vs Cotto: Nov. 22 (10:00 AM) and 23 (11:40 PM).

HBO2 playdates: Nov. 22 (2:30 PM) and 24 (11:55 PM).

KING J Bet On 12th Round TKO Manny Pacquiao

King J — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:29:51 -0500

This past Saturday night provided boxing fans with the biggest fight of the year. The highly anticipated super mega fight featured the sport's best pound-for-pound fighter Manny Pacquiao vs. the WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto.

The match was dubbed: “FIRE POWER.”

Even the most casual or ignorant fans were highly satisfied with the main event fight which had two exciting all-action fighters trade off and stand toe-to-toe in what turned out to be a candidate for fight of the year.

Top boxing columnist KING J predicted the correct winner for this fight like he usually does due to his objective, genius methods for predicting fights. But it was not only great that he picked the winner of the fight (Manny Pacquiao) but he also picked the exact round of the TKO as well (Round 12).

See the article photo of the actual winning bet ticket. A 12th Round TKO for Manny Pacquiao was at 12 to 1 odds. KING J, being the guru that he is, bet on the 12th Round for a Pacquiao TKO. You do the math, and you will understand that his new Louis Vuitton wallet has been quite puffy ever since.

KING J was approached at the lobby of the MGM Grand by two suspiciously ghetto fabulous fans who begged him to do an interview on their For the Love of Boxing Talk Show . Usually KING J does not agree to do free interviews but he felt bad for these two strange individuals and ended up agreeing to do their talk show in exchange for compensation in the form of the Bellagio Buffet, full tank of gas, and a Milli Vanilli CD.

The video version of the interview with KING J on the For the Love of Boxing Talk Show hosted by Chance Villain and REAL Serious is already a hit on YouTube.

YouTube: KING J Bet On 12th Round TKO Pacquiao

Manny Pacquiao Entertains at the Post-Fight Conference

King J — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:51:13 -0500

Following the highly anticipated super mega fight of Manny Pacquiao versus Miguel Cotto was a long list of post fight events that took place right after the fight Saturday night.

The press media conference was one that was maximum capacity due to the higher attendance of international media from all around the world obviously largely from Puerto Rico and the Philippines was one of the most exciting and fulfilling post fight press conferences.

Unfortunately, Miguel Cotto was obligated to go straight to the hospital in accordance to the boxing commission and was not able to attend. This is similar to the post fight conference of Pacquiao versus Hatton where Hatton as well had to go to the hospital and was also absent.

Top Rank CEO Promoter Bob Arum made very high claims that he feels Manny Pacquiao is the best fighter he has ever seen even better in comparison to Ali, Leonard, and Haggler.

Manny as he often always is was humble and thanking all of his supporters, team, and god for his achievements. He told the media that he now refers to his trainer Roach as "master."

What made this press conference different from the previous ones was that Manny appeared to seem more human with his visible battle scars and even a bandage around his right ear. However despite his painful looking wounds he was by far more humorous than usual almost doing a bit of a stand up comedy routine by promoting his concert that was taking place right after at the Mandalay Bay. He made it clear over and over again that everyone was invited but they must pay the $40 for tickets.

Of course Floyd Mayweather Jr. was the topic for the most asked question by all of the media and just as Manny evades and slips punches he avoided ever really commenting his personal thoughts on a potential future fight with the last reigning undefeated American pound for pound fighter.

He would just repeat that it is his promoter Bob Arum's job to negotiate and arrange his next fight not him.

While wearing his singer like fedora hat Manny gave in and even sang a sample of what was expected at his concert taking place right after the press conference. He sang a few lines from the hit song: Sometimes When We Touch as the press conference cheered and clapped for him.

This article was originally posted HERE

Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto Lives Up To the Hype

King J — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:09:37 -0500

It seemed the whole world had their eyes glued to what took place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Saturday night in what was the biggest fight of the year: Manny Pacquiao vs Miguel Cotto titled: FIREPOWER. The sold-out MGM Grand arena (which holds just over 17,000 fans) was filled with some of the most famous celebrities in the world from movie stars such as Will Ferrell, to top athletes such as Derek Jeter.

The majority of the crowd was predominantly made up of the two fighters’ ethnic backgrounds of Filipino and Puerto Rican descent. It seemed over all there were slightly more Filipinos in attendance perhaps due to Las Vegas being located closer to the west coast where statistically the majority of Filipino Americans reside in the neighboring California state to the majority of Puerto Ricans being in biggest numbers on the east coast.

Regardless of ethnic background or pride all fight fans had something to cheer about as the bell finally rang at the beginning of this fight.

The first round seemed to go to the champion Cotto as he out landed and out boxed the challenger Pacquiao.

In round two Pacquiao began to obtain his rhythm as he started to unleash flurries to answer Cotto's clean jabs and left hooks.

In round three the tide really started to shift to the challenger Pacquiao as a blinding right hand sent Cotto down to the canvas as the MGM Grand reacted in screams and cheers.

In round four Pacquiao intentionally laid his back against the ropes and allowed Cotto to open up on him much like Ali had done to George Foreman in a rope-a-dope fashion. This confused most of the fans in the MGM Grand as many were questioning why Manny was doing this. Cotto landed some clean shots on Pacquiao to the body. Pacquiao escaped from the ropes to land another blinding left hand that Cotto never saw coming sending him down for the second time in the fight erupting the fans in the MGM Grand to cheer louder than the first knock down.

The majority of the rest of the fight Cotto fought on as a true champion refusing to quit or let his corner end the fight despite Pacquiao dominating round after round administering a one sided beat down shut out due to his superior speed and stronger punches to the weakening champion.

From rounds 10 on, Pacquiao at moments put both of his hands down to his side as if he was telling both Cotto and the referee why must we do this? Why must I punish this man further? This gesture confused the sold-out crowd as they began to boo whenever Pacquiao repeated this gesture to the end of the fight.

A legitimate argument could be made to stop the fight anywhere between rounds nine through 12 where Cotto seemed to fight in desperate surviving mode with the only possible intentions of finishing the fight.

In the 12th and final round referee Kenny Bayless watched very carefully for any moment to stop the fight if he saw Cotto taking any further punishment. Pacquiao unleashed what looked to be a multiple combination on Cotto as he pinned him against the ropes and that was when Bayless jumped into to waive off the fight. The MGM Grand jumped to their feet as if every spectator felt they had well received their money’s worth for this fight.

Many Puerto Rican fans even stood up to graciously concede their approval of Manny’s performance that night and still held their heads high and wore their Puerto Rican flag colors proud as if to say their fighter gave one hell of a fight and lost only to the best fighter in the world at the very end.

In the post fight interview Larry Merchant told Pacquiao he did not show any mercy towards Cotto by punishing him and going for the stoppage in the 12th round and Pacquiao said yes as he laughed and many of the thousands of fans who still stayed in the arena for the interview began to laugh as well.

Miraculously there were no fights among the 17,000 plus passionate crowd as if everyone was just happy to see such an amazing fight with two true champions who have always won over the crowds with their fan friendly exciting fighting styles. Pacquiao had booked a live singing concert performance with himself and his band at the Mandalay Bay that took place right after the fight implying just how confident he was on a victory that night.

Pacquiao improves his record to 50(38)-3-2 and making history as the only seven division champion ever.

Cotto falls to 34(27)-2.

Personally as a big fan of both of these two fighters, I like most true fight fans, could not ask for anything more. These again have been two of the very few fighters out there that have been keeping the sport of boxing alive during this so called slump, or even death, of boxing that many critics and media have been reporting in the last several years. It's because of fighters like these two who actually fight, who trade shots, who give the fans a reason to stand up and lift their own hands up in the air. And they continue to win new fans over and over again with their exciting, thrilling, fighting styles.

Both Manny and Miguel do not bore us to tears like so many other fighters out there do. These guys fight for the fans and that is why they have been keeping the sport of boxing alive and well.

Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto Weigh In Circus

King J — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:03:51 -0500

The weigh-in for Manny Pacquiao versus Miguel Cotto, the biggest fight of the year, was a circus. The MGM Grand reached maximum capacity well before the actual weigh-in took place as fans mostly of Puerto Rican and Filipino descent flooded the MGM Grand hoping to get in.

MGM Grand security made a human fence of security guards blocking off the entrance from hundreds of yards away to keep hundreds of fans outiside.

In house it was a maximum capacity crowd cheering at the top of their lungs with over 7,000 people in attendance.

The most important thing was Miguel Cotto did indeed make the contractual catch weight of 145 pounds weighing in at 145 exactly. Pacquiao came in at 144 pounds.

This is the heaviest Manny has ever weighed in for a fight. In the Oscar De La Hoya fight he weighed in at 142 pounds.

Other fighters in attendance were: Nonito Donaire, Roberto Duran, Julio Ceasar Chavez Jr., Antonio Margarito, and Juan Manuel Lopez.

Entourage actor Jeremy Piven took the stage and made the crowd laugh as he asked funny questions to both fighters and to the crowd.

As of now, Pacquiao is still the significant betting favorite at minus-300. Miguel Cotto is listed at plus-250.

Both fighters appeared to look ripped and strong and ready to go to war.

Once again, it's on!

Send In Your Questions Surrounding Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto Bout

King J — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:35:03 -0500

Alright folks the time has finally come. It is the super bowl of our sport of boxing, the super mega fight of Manny Pacquiao versus Miguel Cotto is finally going down this Saturday, Nov. 14 live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

So what does it all mean? Time to fire up the Lexus and put another easy 600 miles on it. Time to make your way to that trusty 15 North freeway and start to reflect about how stressful the work week has been and throw all those worries out the window because four hours later we escape to Las Vegas and more importantly the super mega fight is finally on this weekend!

I've written several articles in the last several months stating that it is because of fighters like these two: Manny and Miguel that have been keeping the sport of boxing alive and I am still standing by that statement.

All of the fight fans from the hard core to the casual and ignorant fan all want to see a good, exciting, action packed fight not a boring 12 round snooze fest.

Both of these fighters never had a boring fight through out their respected careers, they both always bring the thrill, action, excitement for their fans, their people, their legacies.

So it is pretty much impossible for this fight to be nothing short of amazing.

So for all the fans who will not be able to join me on this fantastic journey this weekend in person I would like to extend to you the chance to let me know what questions would you like to ask Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, or anyone else that should be at the fight this weekend?

On Saturday, Nov. 14 at 9:00 p.m. (ET)/6:00 p.m. (PT), HBO Pay-Per-View presents “Pacquiao vs. Cotto,” live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Freddie Roach Talks About Training MMA Greats Such as Anderson Silva

King J — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:48:22 -0500

On Friday October 30 I had the honor of interviewing the legendary hall of famer boxing trainer Freddie Roach who was deep in training camp for the sport of boxing's No. 1 pound for pound fighter Manny Pacquiao for his up coming super mega fight with WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto this Saturday.

For those of you who may not know Freddie Roach also trains a number of MMA's biggest names as well. Greats such as Arlovski, BJ Penn, and even one of UFC's top pound for pound champions Anderson Silva.

I asked Freddie Roach his thoughts and experiences training Silva and asked if he felt Roy Jones Jr and Silva would actually fight and what he thought the out come must be.

The video version of the interview has already gained much popularity on YouTube. To view my now legendary interview with the legendary Freddie Roach click here:

New Exclusive Interview with Team Pacquiao

The following is a transcription of the MMA portion of questions asked:

King J: A quick question about MMA. You do train a couple of MMA fighters. With the ever growing popularity of MMA do you see yourself taking on more MMA fighters to train?

FR: Anyone that I can help be a better fighter I will. I can not teach them anything but boxing that’s all I know. That’s all I can teach them. The stand up part of MMA I like a lot I think its action packed, but when they get on the ground and wrestle…I’m not such a fan of. I know there’s a science to it. Two guys wrestling on the floor…naw.

KJ: Andre Arlovski you trained him. Obviously you train him just on the boxing side.

FR: (A big grin on Freddie’s Face) Andre Arlovski, Anderson Silva, Penn, I just teach and train them how to fight stand up that’s all I really know and that’s the most exciting part of MMA, stand up.

KJ: Right, absolutely I agree with you. Do you think Silva and Roy Jones will actually fight and if they do?

FR: I hope so. Anderson Silva he comes into my gym and he sparred with my guys a couple of times. He’s really not a gym fighter. He gives you about 40 percent but when he really wants to turn it on he can fight. I think he has a shot. Roy Jones might be a little too much for him but I like to see it.

KJ: Is there any final words you like to say to your fans? Like I said I don’t know if you know but you do have a lot of fans out there.

FR: Thanks for all of the support. Thanks for treating me so well in the Philippines. You are the greatest. I love the Philippines and I plan to retire there.

KJ: Thank you so much, I really appreciate it. God Bless.

FR: No problem.

To read the full complete interview:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/283365-roach-predicts-manny-pacquiao-to-win-by-knock-out-in-round-1-9-10/show_full

HBO's Manny Pacquiao/Miguel Cotto 24/7 Series Finale Friday

King J — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:22:28 -0500

HBO's Pacquiao/Cotto 24/7 Will air the fourth and final episode this Friday FRIDAY, NOV. 13 (9:30-10:00 p.m. ET/PT) As well as a replay of all the previous three episodes.

The series finale of HBO's award winning reality series 24/7 Pacquiao/Cotto will debut their fourth and final episode this Friday, Nov. 13 (9:30-10:00 p.m. ET/PT) on the eve of the actual super mega fight of Manny Pacquiao vs Miguel Cotto which is taking place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Saturday November 14th, 2009.

In this final episode both Manny Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs), the sport of boxing number one pound for pound fighter and the Miguel Cotto (34-1, 27 KOs), the WBO Welterweight champion of the world attend their mandatory fight week events.

For those of you who missed any of the previous episodes, prior to the debut of the final episode of 24/7 Pacquiao/Cotto, the first three episodes will be seen back-to-back, starting at 8:00 p.m. In addition, all four episodes will be seen back-to-back on HBO on Saturday, Nov. 14, starting at 9:30 a.m. The series is also available on HBO On Demand.

Seeing that I am going to be in Las Vegas myself this Friday and the fact that I am a good looking, smooth man with game, I will again most likely not be able to do a recap for this final episode but make no mistake the producers of 24/7 always leave that last great episode to really sell you on the fight and they do a great job summing up everything in the finale.

Other HBO playdates: Nov. 14 (11:00 a.m.), 15 (10:00 a.m., 8:15 p.m.), 16 (7:30 p.m.), 17 (2:30 p.m., 11:45 p.m.) and 19 (10:30 a.m., 10:30 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: Nov. 13 (2:10 a.m.), 14 (5:30 p.m.) and 15 (11:50 p.m.)

On Saturday, Nov. 14 at 9:00 p.m. (ET)/6:00 p.m. (PT), HBO Pay-Per-View presents “Pacquiao vs. Cotto,” live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Glen Johnson Turned 40 Years Old While in the Ring Against Chad Dawson

King J — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:49:03 -0500

Glen Johnson turned 40 years old while in the ring with the younger prime undefeated Chad Dawson Saturday night. Johnson, who is 40 years old but has been still fighting in his last several fights as if he was in his prime late 20s finally started to show his age against the light heavyweight IBO champion Dawson.

All three judges scored the fight for Dawson. Two judges had it 115 to 113 and one judge had it 117 to 111.

This fight was far different from their first fight which many considered Johnson had clearly won for being the more aggressive fighter and pressuring and out landing Dawson. Johnson tried to pressure Dawson as he did in their first fight but found himself to be too slow and too weak for the faster smarter champion.

At the end of the fourth round Glen's corner told him he had just lost the first four rounds and a look of discouragement came over his face and body that seemed to remain until the end of he fight.

The 27-year-old undefeated American light heavyweight champion Dawson felt he was done with Tarver and Johnson and wanted to fight Bernard Hopkins next for he feels he is the number one light heavyweight.

Dawson improves his perfect record to 29 (17)-0. Johnson falls to 49 (33)-13-2.

On the under card exciting young fast rising knock out artist Alfredo "Perro" Angulo 17 (14)-1 knocked out previously undefeated Harry Joe Yorgey 22 (10)-1-1 in a very one sided brutal beat down fashion in the third round.

This article was originally posted here .

Fedor Emelianenko Stops Brett Rogers in the Second Round with a Right Hand

King J — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:20:15 -0500

Fedor Emelianenko the greatest mixed martial arts heavyweight of all time and quite arguably the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time stopped the undefeated fast rising star heavyweight Brett Rogers tonight in their CBS broadcast Strikeforce/M-1 Global fight in his own backyard just outside of Chicago.

Brett the "Grim" Rogers now with a record of 11(9)-1 had his moments in the fight. Rogers landed a jab right at the beginning of the fight that instantly cut Fedor's nose causing him to bleed profusely down. There was also a moment in the first round where Rogers ended up on top of Fedor on the ground and started to pound away at his face.

Although Fedor was bested by these brief exchanges he utilized his far superior ring generalship and ground game to dominate any strengths that Rogers displayed.

In the second round Fedor landed a big right hand cleanly on the chin of Rogers knocking him down hard just as the announcer called him the kid from Cabrini Green.

(For those of you who do not know Cabrini Green was the most notoriously dangerous gang infested housing project in the world. The mere fact that one is from there already provides them with a reputation that they are: tough, street smart, have a ton of heart, and will not back down from anything)

Fedor then jumped on Rogers with a series of wild punches when the referee intervened to stop the fight at 1:48 seconds as a TKO.

Fedor improves his record to 33(8)-1-1.

In the post-fight interview Fedor said he would be open to a rematch if Rogers would like one and dedicated his victory to all of his Russian people and fans. Rogers still very upset and shocked over the sudden tko loss and only loss expressed his strong interest in a rematch as well.

Personally I found this fight to be great and exciting. We saw Fedor the so called greatest MMA fighter of all time struggle at times against a hungry undefeated powerhouse from the hardest neighborhood in the world, but he showed how much of a master he was by being the superior fighter on so many different levels and ultimately ending it all with the almighty TKO stoppage.

I felt this was an actual KO for Rogers fell so hard the referee could have just waived it off before Fedor jumped on him and opened up to make it official.

Fedor like many other great fighters has many haters out there but I think even the haters were impressed tonight. Congrats to CBS for broadcasting this fight card which did not have the biggest names but it was still a great card for all the true MMA fans out there.

To see my beautiful hometown of Chicago and even Roger's neighborhood of Cabrini Green watch my YouTube video titled: the GREATEST CHICAGO Video

Go to 1:04 seconds of the video thats Cabrini Green.

HBO's "Pacquiao/Cotto 24/7" Episode Three Recap

King J — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:35:51 -0500

In HBO's award winning reality series "Pacquiao/Cotto 24/7, " actor Jeremy Piven, best known as Ari Gold on HBO's hit show "Entourage," visits Manny at the Wild Card Gym. Piven asks Manny if he's still having fun boxing? Manny replies "yes" and smiles. Piven then states that Manny looks like he can fight three fights in a row right now.

We then are cut to a movie trailer of Manny's latest feature film project titled "Wapakman. " Manny is playing a superhero flying through the air and wearing a red spandex costume. Many have criticized Manny for doing this movie and not fully focusing on his boxing career, but Freddie Roach believes it is good for Manny to take time off to put his mind on other projects. Freddie then makes fun of Manny's red spandex costume.

Back in the Fight Factory gym in Tampa, Miguel Cotto is having his open media training day and celebrating his 29th birthday. Miguel makes says that fights are won in the gym during camp. Cotto's mom makes a traditional Puerto Rican feast in celebration of the WBO welterweight champion.

We then learn that in 2003, Team Cotto member Brian Perez met the boxer as a fan. They developed their friendship and business relationship since then, until Perez got the official title of head of Miguel Cotto Promotions. The two friends consider themselves brothers.

Manny is then seen punching a series of pumpkins placed in a row like double-end bags as a funny skit for "Jimmy Kimmel Live. "

Freddie Roach is seen at his home watching tapes of Miguel's past fights. He says that he looks for habits, not mistakes. Habits, he says, are what a fighter usually does and mistakes may just be a one-time thing. Roach then states that Miguel's trainer is green and the team makes fundamental mistakes.

Roach then expresses in a joking manner how he wishes he never introduced Michael Koncz to Manny, since a recent poll showed 197 out of 200 people felt Manny should fire Michael.

Fred Tokes, sparring partner of Cotto, prays for Team Cotto, their safety and a victory as they travel to Las Vegas.

We learn Manny met Buboy as a janitor in his hometown. When Manny returned back home, he was disappointed to see his older friend smoking, wearing dirty clothes and not caring much about himself. From that point on, Manny hired Buboy as his assistant trainer and has been loyal ever since. Freddie then states that he could not get through a fight with out Buboy.

Cotto is then seen at the airport, sitting on a trunk marked with the big letters “WBO.” It is transporting his WBO champion belt to Las Vegas. Cotto arrives two weeks early to get adjusted to the Vegas climate and air.

The narrator reminds us that last time Cotto was in Vegas, he left in an ambulance after his controversial loss to Margarito.

For those of you who missed episode three of "Pacquiao/Cotto 24/7," it will replay. Other HBO show times include: Nov. 7 (11:45 p.m. ET/8:45 p.m. PT), Nov. 8 (11:15 a.m., 8:15 p.m.), Nov. 9 (7:30 p.m.), Nov. 10 (2:00 p.m., 11:30 p.m.), Nov. 12 (11:30 a.m., 10:30 p.m.), Nov. 13 (9:00 p.m.) and Nov. 14 (10:30 a.m.).

HBO2 showings: Nov. 8 (11:10 p.m.), Nov. 11 (12:50 a.m.), Nov. 13 (1:40 a.m.) and Nov. 14 (5:00 p.m.). HBO On Demand availability begins Nov. 9.

This article was originally posted on: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/281780

24/7 Pacquiao-Cotto Returns Nov. 7 with Episode Three

King J — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:15:57 -0500

HBO's award-winning reality series 24/7 returns this Saturday, November 7, with 24/7 Pacquiao/Cotto Episode Three On HBO. Then World Championship Boxing returns with the rematch title fight of Chad Dawson vs. Glen Johnson.

The sport of boxing's number one pound-for-pound fighter, Filipino sensation Manny Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs) continues to focus on his training in Los Angeles, despite the tension between members of his own training camp (more so the animosity between his strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza and his adviser Michael Koncz). WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto (34-1, 27 KOs) and his training team move into Las Vegas one week early to fully prepare for the November 14th super mega fight show down.

Following the debut of 24/7 Pacquiao/Cotto Episode Three is the live, world championship, light heavy title fight between undefeated IBO champion Chad Dawson 28(17)-0 and former light heavyweight champion and Boxing Writers Association of America “Fighter of the Year,” Glen Johnson (49-12-2, 33 KOs). Their first fight ended in a controversial decision awarded to Dawson, where many ringside experts felt Johnson had won based on landing the cleaner shots and staying more active and pressuring Dawson for the majority of the fight.

The opening fight will have the exciting, fast-rising knock out artist Alfredo Angulo (16-1, 13 KOs) of Coachella, Cal. taking on Harry Joe Yorgey (22-0-1, 10 KOs) of Bridgeport, Pa. in a 12-round junior middleweight bout. Angulo has been dominating the 154-pound division with ease. Yorgey is a technical yet all-action fighter who may have what it takes to give the knock out artist a hard fight.

24/7 Pacquiao/Cotto Episode Three Debuts SATURDAY, NOV. 7 (9:00-9:30 p.m. ET/6:00-6:30 p.m. PT) Other HBO showtimes include: Nov. 7 (11:45 p.m. ET/8:45 p.m. PT), 8 (11:15 a.m., 8:15 p.m.), 9 (7:30 p.m.), 10 (2:00 p.m., 11:30 p.m.), 12 (11:30 a.m., 10:30 p.m.), 13 (9:00 p.m.) and 14 (10:30 a.m.) HBO2 playdates: Nov. 8 (11:10 p.m.), 11 (12:50 a.m.), 13 (1:40 a.m.) and 14 (5:00 p.m.) HBO On Demand availability begins Nov. 9.

This article was originally posted on: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/281700.

Andre Ward Ready For His First Title Fight and Redemption For America

King J — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:11:03 -0500

In a press release from Goossen Tutor Promotions, it appears Andre Ward is ready for his first fight in the Showtime Super Six Boxing Classic Super Middleweight Tournament. The 25-year-old, undefeated American boxing contender is motivated to win his first world title fight and to redeem the American pride in the tournament.

On Saturday, November 21st, Ward, the underdog favorite of the tournament (20-0, 13 KO), will fight the heavily-favored WBA Super Middleweight champion, Mikkel Kessler (42-1, 32 KO), in Ward's backyard of Oakland, California.

Showtime's Super Middleweight Boxing tournament has been gaining much buzz internationally for the past several months and the first round of the tournament, which took place on October 17th and had both American fighters Andre Direll and Jermain Taylor losing in their first-round fights to stronger, more dominant, and undefeated European opponents, Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham.

Ward made the following statements from his training camp: “I definitely feel like I’m back in Greece all over again. And even though the Americans fought well, unfortunately we were unable to get a victory in the first two fights. I’m definitely inspired to bring America their first victory in the Super Six tournament.”

Ward is referring to his 2004 Athens Olympics experience, fighting for the American team and bringing home the light heavyweight gold medal back to the U.S.A.

As far as Ward's training camp, he said: “Everything is going according to schedule. We are stepping up the tempo each week. I’m going to do my best to bring that belt back to American soil. It is long overdue for the super middleweight division.”

“This has been a very productive camp,” Ward’s longtime mentor Hunter affirmed. “I see us moving forward with the plan every day. Andre is looking extremely strong and we are building great momentum toward November 21st. We wanted to have this training camp here in Oakland because we really love our gym, King’s Gym, and we have full access to all of our resources here in our home gym."

This article was originally posted on: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/281699.

Roach Predicts Manny Pacquiao to Win by Knockout in Round 1, 9, and 10

King J — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:21:35 -0500

Top boxing columnist King J had the honor of interviewing Team Pacquiao at the Wild Card Boxing gym in Los Angeles on Oct. 30, just two weeks before the biggest fight of the year: Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto.

The highly anticipated super mega fight is taking place on Nov. 14, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. King J asked for predictions on the upcoming fight from trainer Buboy Fernandez, Manny’s brother Bobby Pacquiao, Manny’s advisor Michael Koncz, and of course the legendary three time trainer of the year, head trainer Freddie Roach. King J asked Roach everything, from the recent HBO 24/7 drama, an official prediction of the Pacquiao vs. Cotto fight, Manny’s workout routine, to training UFC legends Andrei Arlovski, Anderson Silva, and BJ Penn.

A video of the interview has gained much popularity on YouTube titled: New Exclusive Interview with Team Pacquiao.

The following is a transcription of the interview with Roach.

King J: First of all how are you doing?

Freddie Roach: Everything’s good. Long day a little tired. I did 15 rounds of mitts with Manny Pacquiao and 10 right after that with Amir Khan so they keep me busy.

KJ: Nice. What would you say out of 100 percent is Manny both mentally and physically at this point?

FR: 95

KJ: Nighty-five percent both mentally and physically despite what the media is saying with all the distractions?

FR: We have distractions all the time, some me and Manny drive off of. Does distractions give us problems? No. We train every day, work every day, we work through typhoons, we do what we have to do.

KJ: Yes sir. I recall you said initially it would be a competitive fight and probably go almost the distance and then more recently you said Manny is going to blow away Cotto early on.

FR: The way Manny is punching right now in training camp and his power at this weight. I’ve never seen him hit harder. I feel he is going to knock Cotto out.

KJ: Can you give us a round sir?

FR: I am going to bet…one, nine, and 10.

KJ: Wow. Yeah you have been very, very great at picking the rounds. I remember you picked the David Diaz fight to the round. You also said you would be surprised if the fight with Ricky Hatton goes past the second round, and we all know how that story ended [laughs].

FR: Three...I did say three(Freddie smiles and holds up three fingers).

KJ: If you do not mind me asking, is your relationship with Manny as strong as can be, or was that a lot of HBO hype or are you able to comment on that?

FR: Oh no we had a little problem the day I wanted to leave with that typhoon and Manny came to his senses and called me at midnight that night and we hit the road. Luckily we did get out cause the typhoon did hit three days later and they did close down the roads again. We all had the attitude it’s not going to hit us. But it was real, and I felt I had a large responsibility with HBO being there, my sparring partners, and all the guys so I felt the safest thing was to get out and away from the storm. That was the decision that I made and by midnight Manny came to the same conclusion. I told him its midnight its late and to wait till the crack of down and he said no lets leave now so he left at midnight.

KJ: So that was pretty real then. Pretty accurate?

FR: Oh it’s all real. There’s nothing fake in that show. Nothing scripted.

KJ: You know Manny obviously has a lot of fans and you yourself have a lot of fans. I am a big fan of you. You are a big inspiration. I actually want to motivate a lot of people. A lot of people are big fans of Manny yet they themselves do not take the best care of themselves. Can you give like a general break down of a routine of Manny’s work out or road work so that might inspire others to work out and maybe replicate?

FR: Manny is a machine. Like this morning he ran 48 minutes up-hill the entire run. He averages about five and a half-minute miles going up steep hills and he’s a great runner. Then we came in the gym. He loosens up gets ready then we do 15 rounds of mitts, three rounds of double end bag, three rounds of the speed bag, three rounds of jump rope, six rounds of shadowboxing, then we did a photo shoot. Then sit ups of course.

KJ: How many sit ups does he do on average?

FR: Over a thousand. Thousand in the morning and another thousand at night.

KJ: A thousand in the morning and another thousand at night? Every day?

FR: Every day.

KJ: Push ups?

FR: Not that many push ups cause he has a bad shoulder. We need to be careful of that because push ups are bad for that. But he’s a machine. He averages 40 rounds a day most fighters don’t do 20. We will spar 12 rounds tomorrow and that will be our peak day and then we will taper off to 10 and then six rounds.

KJ: A quick question about MMA. You do train a couple of MMA fighters. With the ever growing popularity of MMA do you see yourself taking on more MMA fighters to train?

KJ: Andre Arlovski you trained him. Obviously you train him just on the boxing side .

KJ: Right, absolutely I agree with you. Do you think Silva and Roy Jones will actually fight and if they do?

FR: I hope so. Anderson Silva he comes into my gym and he sparred with my guys a couple of times. He’s really not a gym fighter. He gives you about 40% but when he really wants to turn it on he can fight. I think he has a shot. Roy Jones might be a little too much for him but I like to see it.

KJ: Is there any final words you like to say to your fans? Like I said I don’t know if you know but you do have a lot of fans out there.

FR: Thanks for all of the support. Thanks for treating me so well in the Philippines. You are the greatest. I love the Philippines and I plan to retire there.

KJ: Thank you so much, I really appreciate it. God Bless.

FR: No problem.

R.A. Kicks the REAL Talk To Floyd Mayweather Jr

King J — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:26:57 -0500

Over the weekend a now infamous interview took place between New York rapper R.A. the Rugged Man and undefeated American top pound for pound boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr on the Sirius Shade 45 Radio Show.

Floyd seemed to be in a car on the way to his office in Las Vegas when R.A. questioned Floyd on when will he step up and fight a real challenge meaning a dangerous opponent who is a true welter weight.

It seemed that Floyd was a bit caught off guard with R.A.'s questioning of how he can consider him the greatest boxer ever when he has not fought anyone that great.

Floyd instantly fired back and questioned R.A.'s knowledge of the history of boxing and the business of boxing, stating one major reason why he can not easily make a fight with either Miguel Cotto or Manny Pacquiao is because they are both promoted by Bob Arum who he claims will not do business with him.

R.A. held his own and displayed he was a true fan of the sweet science and even stating that he was a fan of Mayweather back when he fought a prime Diego Corrales but what he needs to do now is fight the equal sized top opponents such as Shane Mosley and Paul Williams to secure his legacy.

Mayweather many times responded with the fact that he is undefeated says a lot and that other fighters like Manny Pacquiao have losses on their record.

R.A. fired back saying other fighters have losses for they actually took on the best fighters out there and Mayweather did not.

The two went head to head full speed back and forth igniting the boxing websites and fan forums instantly to discuss and weigh in on their thoughts. Many of the fans felt R.A. won the debate and respected how no one really had ever attacked Floyd Mayweather Jr so directly with the "REAL" talk before.

Personally, as a fight fan and a fan of the sweet science known as boxing I am also a fan of Floyd Mayweather Jr. I appreciate how talented, gifted and skilled he is in the ring and no one can deny that. However at the same time I understand where R.A. is coming from and many fight fans and journalists have all expressed the very same things to me as well.

Some of my favorite fighters of all time are: Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali just to name a few. All of these legends have losses on their records and are still considered greats and more importantly they did step into the ring with the greatest out there and win lose or draw they gave the fans something to be proud of.

I always said if Mayweather does indeed come back out of his retirement I feel he should either unify or clean out the welter weight division so he does not have any reason for his critics to criticize him. Win lose or draw if he did attempt to unify 147 then there would be little for people to doubt about him.

November Is Going To Be a Great Month For Boxing

King J — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:20:30 -0500

November is going to be a great month for the sport of boxing. First off, November has several great meaningful fights scheduled including the biggest super mega fight of the year of the sports number one pound for pound fighter Manny Pacquiao vs the number one welter weight champion Miguel Cotto.

On Wednesday November 4th, 2009 Manny Pacquiao will be on the Jimmy Kimmel Show.

That Saturday November 7th, the most promising young heavyweight contender David Haye will go for the WBA heavy weight title against champion Nikolay Valuev in Germany the outcome of this fight may have a profound impact on the future of the heavyweight division.

On that same night, the highly anticipated rematch of undefeated light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson vs Glen Johnson will take place on HBO with exciting young power house Alfredo Angulo vs Harry Joe Yorgey as well as episode 3 of HBO's Manny Pacquiao/Miguel Cotto 24/7.

Then the weekend after that, Saturday November 14th, it is the super mega fight that can not get here any sooner Manny Pacquiao vs Miguel Cotto on HBO PPV from Las Vegas at the MGM Grand.

The following Saturday, November 21st, Showtime brings us the second round of the Super Six Classic Tournament of Super Middle Weights with the heavy favorited WBA champion Mikkel Kessler vs the undefeated under dog American favorite Andre Ward.

The weekend after that, HBO is showing the exciting rematch of Lucian Bute vs Librado Andrade for the IBF super middle weight title from Quebec, Canada.

We are on the right track to finish the 2009 year strong as well as it began for the sport of boxing.

Manny Pacquiao/Miguel Cotto HBO 24/7 Episode Two Gets an A

King J — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:54:28 -0400

Episode two of HBO's award winning reality series 24/7 Manny Pacquiao/Miguel Cotto starts off where it ends off with a cliffhanger ending in episode one. Freddie Roach takes the 8 hour drive journey from Bagio to Manila solo through the hard rain weather and Manny follows him shortly after the following day.

In Manila we see veteran former champion Jose Luis Castillo getting the best of Manny in their sparring session. Castillo puts the pressure on Manny against the ropes and it is clear Manny is not giving his full focus and 100 percent. Freddie Roach takes Manny to the side and lectures him on how he must give his full focus and 100% for Miguel will be his biggest toughest fight of his life.

Conditioning coach Alex Ariza pushes Manny and challenges him more and more and we see Manny for the first time ever cussing Alex out in a joking manner. He tells Alex to shut the f*ck up. He then says f*ck you Alex and throws some object at him.

Alex and Michael Koncz still have tension as Alex insults Michael while sitting next to Manny on the 14 hour plane ride from Manila to Los Angeles. Michael explains that he gets paid as Manny's advisor and that is his role. Alex complains that Michael has no role in training camp what so ever and even jokes that he might have had simple tasks as which car should we drive today or what cell phone plane should they use.

Back in Tampa, Florida we see Miguel Cotto has just put up a new punching bag with Manny's image on it. There is also a huge banner of Manny with a gun target on his face. Cotto does not allow footage of his sparring but he makes a slight exception for 24/7 with use of still images. We see Cotto battering his spar mates over and over with each still image.

Finally back at Wild Card gym in Los Angeles Team Pacquiao is more at ease without the countless distractions of typhoons, people coming to Manny for help, tv/film appearances,etc. We see the regular roster of team members at Wild Card minus former heavyweight champion Michael Moorer. Freddie explains Michael did not have the best people skills and even kicked out some governers out of the room that angered the team.

Back at Team Cotto's Florida mansion we see an extravagant luxury pool with even high dive boards. The team takes turns jumping off the boards and playfully pulling each others swimming trunks off. All of Team Cotto must shave their heads in solidarity to Miguel and each member one by one goes bald.

Don Miguel and Cotto's former trainer/uncle have been distant ever since the firing and falling out of the uncle as Cotto's trainer. We hear from Don Miguel that he was heartbroken to have to chose between his own son and his own brother. Uncle Evangelista however is still seen sitting down on a couch with the younger new trainer watching taps of Manny Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Marquez for notes and strategies.

I give this episode a grade of an A for it is good at showing us all of the behind the scenes look at whats going on in each fighters camps. It would be an A+ if it can start showing us more actual training scenes and elaborate spar sessions.

On a side note I visited Team Pacquiao yesterday at the Wild Card Gym and I obtained an exclusive interview with several members of Manny's camp. Check back soon for there will be an article and video of the interviews.

Happy Halloween.

Is Manny Pacquiao Boxing's Only Current Crossover Star?

King J — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:44:25 -0400

When the No. 1 rapper in the world raps about Manny Pacquiao on his latest album, that really makes a statement on how big Manny has become worldwide as a certified boxing star.

Yes, rapper Jay-Z, who is also a hip-hop mogul and businessman, who holds the record for most No. 1 albums by a solo artist of all time, even knocking out the "King," Elvis Presley, can rap about whatever the hell he wants to rap about.

Jay-Z raps about everything from boasting about his new proud president (Barack Obama) to even bragging about watching Manny Pacquiao fight in Las Vegas and saying his seats are so close to Manny that he may get some undesirable things splattered on him from sitting ringside.

The point is, when you have Jay-Z's money, power, and connections, you can see any sport and any athlete you desire and have the best seats in the house, so for him to give Manny a shout-out in his song titled "Thank You" says a lot about how Manny is currently on top of the boxing world and even the sports world.

You have to realize that with all the talk about boxing dying and being even dead for the last several years by many critics, having an international superstar phenom like Pacquiao being hotter than ever really contradicts those criticisms.

Or is he really the only lone boxer keeping the sport alive?

It is no wonder that his style of fighting wins over the masses. They love the thrill, excitement, and action that any given Pacquiao fight will surely provide.

When was the last time a boxer had his very own shoe custom designed just for him? We are not talking about just any shoe company either—we are talking about Nike, the No. 1 shoe company in the world that makes Jordans.

Yes, Manny has his very own special custom-designed Nike shoes made just for him and stars in commercials with fellow athlete superstars like Kobe Bryant.

But nothing says more that you have finally arrived as a crossover superstar than when you land at the LAX airport and you have little girls holding signs saying that they love you, as seen in the above photo.

When you have little girls waiting for your plane to land at the airport holding signs for you, that's on a whole different level. That's a Backstreet Boys, Justin Timberlake level of stardom.

Notice the one little girl's sign and how she declares to the world who is No. 1 on her best list—and it is none other than Manny Pacquiao. According to her Manny is ranked even higher than Santa Claus in her eyes. Freaking Santa Claus is No. 2 under Manny Pacquiao to this little girl.

Think about that for a second, ladies and gentlemen. This little girl loves the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world more than the magical jolly saint that brings all the little girls free toys each Dec. 25. Wow!

At No. 3 she ranks Sponge Bob below Manny as well. Sponge Bob does not really do anything for me, so I question how Sponge Bob can be on the same list as Manny or Santa Claus in the first place, but even below Sponge Bob at No. 4 on her list was American president Obama.

Yes folks, Manny ranks even higher than the American president to this little girl.

Again, the point I am trying to make is that Manny really is on a whole different level. No other boxer or even athlete ranks higher than Santa Claus.

The moral of the story is this, ladies and gentlemen: We have someone truly special right now, and that is Manny Pacquiao. He is so hot and in his prime right now that if we do not truly appreciate him for what he is worth, then we may find ourselves appreciating him a little bit too late, when there are no more crossover superstars of boxing keeping the sport alive.

Let's hope the sport never comes down to that and there will always be exciting amazing fighters to watch and thrill us like the Pac-Man.

"On the tube I'm just watching Pacquiao box 'em up"—Jay-Z

Celebrating the 35th Anniversary of the Ali-Foreman Rumble in the Jungle

King J — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:44:05 -0400

The Rumble in the Jungle turns 35 years old today. For those of you who are not aware that is, it was the historic legendary heavyweight championship fight between a prime, undefeated monster heavyweight champion known as "Big George" George Foreman and an aging Muhammad Ali. This fight took place in Zaire, Africa on Oct. 30, 1974.

Ali, for most of the fight, utilized a new very risky method known as the "rope-a-dope." This involved Ali leaning backwards into the ropes, allowing Foreman to aggressively punch himself out.

Foreman took the bait and eventually punched himself out landing most of his thunderous blows onto the blocked arms and gloves of Ali. Finally, in the eighth round, Foreman began to significantly tire and Ali saw his chance to open up and hit him with a left hook and big right hand to the face of Foreman knocking him down to the canvas.

Foreman just laid their looking up as if he did not know what had hit him and his body would not respond to even attempting to pick himself off the ground and was eventually counted out.

Many forget how different this version of George Foreman was back in 1974. He was not your cute cuddly Christian teddy bear with a smile who now makes a fortune selling you George Foreman grills. This 1974 version of George Foreman was a beast.

He was mean and powerful with no mercy, destroying any opponent that stood in his way. Foreman utterly annihilated the only two men at the time to defeat Ali: Ken Norton and Joe Frazier, punishing them for two rounds until they were both knocked out.

These were some of the reasons why Foreman was such a betting favorite and Ali was such an underdog going into the fight. That's what made the result of the fight so much more impressive and legendary.

This fight would go down in history as one of the greatest ever and one of the most talked about. Many musicians have written songs in honor of this great fight such as Jethro Tull's song "Bungle in the Jungle" all the way to the Fugees' song "Rumble in the Jungle."

An Academy-award winning documentary titled When We Were Kings highlights the before and after events of this fight as well as the actual fight itself.

In the biographical movie ALI, starring Will Smith as Ali, the climatic ending of the film was this fight between Ali and Foreman.

On a more personal note, I have always viewed this fight not only as a great historic legendary fight but more so a metaphor for one over coming the odds and being so self-confident that one can do anything if one really trains hard and believes in one's self even when everyone around you says that you can not.

I have a replica of the white and black trunks and white robe that Ali wore that night made by Adidas. Right by the belt section of the trucks it reads: "1974 Zaire Ali vs Foreman Rumble in the Jungle."

These trunks and robe hang in my closet as a reminder to remember to always be the greatest at what you do and if Ali could win this impossible fight then that should be the standard for how we live our lives.

HBO Manny Pacquiao/Miguel Cotto 24/7 Episode Two Debuts on Saturday

King J — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:46:00 -0400

On Halloween Saturday October 31st HBO will debut Manny Pacquiao/Miguel Cotto 24/7 episode two (11:00-11:30 p.m. ET/PT).

Manny Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs) finally leaves the chaos of the typhoon ravaged Philippines to come to Los Angeles to train at his home away from home the Wild Card gym.

Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto (34-1, 27 KOs) continues to train in Tampa, Florida and is treated to a birthday celebration by his wife and children.

In the first episode many are talking about the cliff hanger like ending where we see an angry Freddie Roach (Manny's trainer) storm out as he leaves Manny behind to come back to Los Angeles.

This scene has created plenty of buzz as it seemed to indicate that the close father-son relationship between Roach and Manny may appear to be growing distant?

Other HBO playdates: October 31st (2:55 a.m.), and November 1st (9:30 a.m., 8:15 p.m.), 2 (7:30 p.m.), 3 (1:30 p.m., 11:30 p.m.), 5 (9:00 a.m., 10:30 p.m.), 6 (12:30 a.m.), 7 (10:00 a.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT), 13 (8:30 p.m.) and 14 (10:00 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: November 1st (11:15 p.m.), 11 (12:20 a.m.), 13 (1:10 a.m.) and 14 (4:30 p.m.)
HBO On Demand availability begins: November 2nd.

Episode three of 24/7 Manny Pacquiao/Miguel Cotto debuts on Saturday, November 7th (9:00-9:30 p.m.), while the finale debuts Friday, November 13th (9:30-10:00 p.m.), just one night before the fight. All four episodes will have multiple replay dates on HBO, and the series will also be available on HBO On Demand.

Lyoto Machida Wins a Gift Decision Over Shogun

King J — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 06:49:43 -0400

As soon as the main event of UFC 104: Lyoto Machida vs Mauricio Milani Rua came to an end many of the fans in the Staples Center as well as fans at home thought they just saw the first loss of Machida's undefeated MMA career.

However when the judges scores were announced all unanimously 48 to 47 in favor of the champion Machida everyone began to start booing. Many MMA forums and my cell phone started blowing up with text messages of how that was such a robbery and the worst decision ever.

But was it? Was it really a robbery? Was it really the worst decision ever? It is pretty clear that this was without a doubt the toughest fight of Machida's perfect career. When ever Machida is mentioned they always say he is the only undefeated champion in the UFC and the only fighter to have never lost a single round in the UFC. It can pretty much be safe to say he can no longer say he never lost a round anymore.

Rua better known as Shogun fought the perfect safe fight. He had a great muay thai style attack landing his leg kicks at will and bothering Machida's legs as we saw more and more Machida began to stumble and not be so quick and mobile to run around towards the end of the fight. I'm sure muay thai fighters across the world are bragging now against karate fighters (Machida's style).

We also saw pretty much for the first time Machida getting hit cleanly something that we are not used to. We saw evidence of this by the bright red bruising mark on the side of his body from the powerful kicks of Shogun.

Shogun fought a great fight and again many thought he won that fight for it was a close fight with him being the more visibly active of the two fighters. But did Machida get destroyed? Did he get dominated?

I think if we look at the fight in that prospective then the answer would have to be no. We are just not used to Machida ever getting hit especially as cleanly and effectively as Shogun was able to land on him, but thats a big difference from getting destroyed or knocked down.

Look as much as I hate to agree with the saying in a close fight the decision goes to the champion, it does. There is another saying that says the challenger must win and take that champion's belt. That basically means to me you have to destroy the champion and at best knock him out.

Did I want Machida to win tonight? Yes I did. Did I feel he won? Well I can not say he clearly won or fought the way we are used to seeing him fight the way he did his entire career. Did Shogun win tonight? Yes he did...he won over a lot of new fans with this fight.