Bleacher Report - Articles by carl castillo

Which Is More Dangerous: MMA Or Boxing?

carl castillo — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 13:29:16 -0500

MMA is one of the fastest growing sport in the world.MMA fighters are allowed to use different fighting styles like punching, kicking, and grappling forms like choking Which would make their opponent give up or unconscious.

While in the other hand, Boxing is a sport which has been around for a long time now.Boxers wear gloves to protect their hands while fighting.It could last into a maximum of 12 rounds with three mins each..

But the question is, Which sport is safer? For me, I would consider MMA as a safer sport. Considering the number of deaths in the ring, based on the statistics, there is nearly one death recorded per year which is related with MMA...But with boxing's there are about 11 deaths per year.

Besides,Its not because MMA wear thinner gloves,Its more dangerous...gloves are being used by the fighters not to protect the opponent but to protect their hands.And MMA fights doesn't just use punches most of the time..They usually use grappling which could just lead to injuries.while in the other hand,boxers only use their punches.

Those punches are so strong that it could cause a very big trouble to a person who would get hit..It would cause hemmorages that is the No. 1 cause of death in boxing.

Boxing can be considered as dangerous because it could also ruin your way of thinking.And in some cases, it could cause the retardation of boxers.Boxer would lose their minds due to the punches hitting the brain.

Most cases in the MMA, just end up in the hospital injured...I could also tell that boxing is more dangerous because based on what other sports enthusiast said...there are more death rates in American foot ball than in MMA...

Superstitions in the NBA

carl castillo — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 10:41:12 -0500

There has been superstitions inside the NBA. In the NBA, there are some Superstitious Players and Teams. Some of those are:

Jason terry from the Dallas Mavericks has been known to be superstitious. He wears the uniform (shorts) of the opponent the night before the game. Because for him, It makes him feel as if the game was starting sooner.

Another is from Mike Bibby from the Atlanta Hawks. Most of the time he chews and bites his fingernails during his games so that for him,he could come up into a good solution. Every time he would be given a timeout, he would be given a fingernail clipper so that he could continue working on his nails. Eventually, the clippers has been Bibby's superstition.

Another is from the team San Antonio Spurs. They have been know to be one of the greatest teams in the NBA. The Spurs rank third among active franchises for the highest winning percentage in NBA history. With the 2007 sweep, the Spurs have the highest winning percentage in NBA Finals history.

They have only missed the playoffs four times as an NBA franchise. You may be wondering, what's the superstition behind this? Based on my observation, the Spurs don't win their titles consecutively but every other year. This superstition began when they won their championship in 2005 from the Detroit Pistons. Who knows? Maybe this year the spurs would win. It would prove that my observation is right. Since they didn't win this years' championship.

Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao Prediction

carl castillo — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:48:15 -0500

Based on my observation with mayweather's fights, He's not the kind of fighter which goes in and brawls with his opponent.He play's safe during his bouts so that he could maintain his record of being an undefeated fighter.After winning his fight with Ricky hatton,the "pretty boy" retired and stopped fighting in the ring.

After pacman won his bout with the "golden boy," Mayweather's eyes are on Pacman.Mayweather is planning to go back in the ring and fight with the Pacman.

If so happens that the two boxers would meet in the ring, It would be Pacquiao who would win.But looking at the disadvantages of the pacman, Mayweather has the advantage cause he's the bigger man. As usual,I think Mayweather's strategy in this fight would just be the same with his previous fights.He would just wait, counter then moves out.

Floyd won't try to throw lots of combination to pacquiao which would somehow for me, be an advantage for pacquiao. With the pacman's speed and accuracy, Floyd would have a hard time hitting the pacman with his jabs and straights. I think pacman would be able to penetrate through the defense of Mayweather.

Pacquiao's Boxing skills would leave the pretty boy vulnerable to pacquiao's power punches and combinations.As you can see, Pacquiao is different from the golden boy and the hitman. They both dont have the speed to evade the counter punches of mayweather.

While pacquiao has the ability to dodge those punches and at the same time would confuse mayweather.But now, we still cannot assure who will win in this fight. This would be an interesting fight which people would be looking forward to.

Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather: Who's the Pound-for-Pound Best?

carl castillo — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:34:48 -0500

Manny Pacquiao is considered to be the best "pound of pound" boxer today. But the question is: If Mayweather did not retire, who would be more deserving of that title? Pacquiao or Mayweather?

For me, I would consider Pacquiao as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer. When you're given that title, you must know how to put up a great show. And Pacquiao is the kind of boxer who knows how to entertain people.

He tries to go inside and will try to hurt his opponent. In short, he's a boxer who has a lot of heart. He fights in the ring with his opponent until the end no matter what happens. He is considered as a genius in the ring. And at the same time, he's a person who "hunts the hunter."

With regards to Mayweather, I don't really think he's deserving of that title. He's the kind of fighter who play's safe during his bouts...looking at his fight with the "golden boy" and "the hitman," it seems that I was not satisfied with the results of the fight.

Based on what I've seen in his fight, he doesn't care about putting up a great show during his big fights, but instead, all he cares about is winning. Which for me does not qualify as a reason to be considered as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer.

For me, eventhough Mayweather was the former best pound for pound fighter, he still has "a long row to hoe" before he could prove that he is more deserving with that title than Pacquiao. Pacquiao still has an "ace in his sleeve," which would explain why he is considered as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer.

Who's Next For Pacquiao

carl castillo — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 13:17:36 -0500

My vote will have to go with "The Hitman." Beating "The Hitman" would enable Pacquiao to ponder more points. And if it happens that he beats "The Hitman," he would also prove that he is a better fighter than the former "pound for pound" boxer, Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Having said of that, this fight, for me, would be an entertaining fight. Both fighters have similarities in the way they fight in the ring. Both fighters would try to go in and exchange punches with each other.

This would somehow be one of the biggest challenge for both fighters. Hatton would have a hard time to truckle Pacquiao into his game plan. And he would have a problem with Pacquiao's speed and power, which seem to faze other boxers.

But considering Hatton's advantage in fighting with these weight divisions, Pacquiao would have a problem with Hatton's powerful punches and his experience. And it could somehow turn into a "Bugbear" for Pacquiao.

But it's for sure that this bout would enrapture people not only in the Philippines and in England, but also people around the world. This bout would be an interesting one, for both fighter's seem to have no major disadvantages. But if it happens that this fight would be real, it would be what we people call the "Perfect Combination."