Last time I wrote about some snags in the ongoing negotiations for the fight between Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao and Floyd “Money” Mayweather. It all centered around Mayweather’s demand to use Olympic-style blood testing for the fight. Well, a few developments have happened since then:

• Pacquiao pushed through with the defamation suit against the Mayweather camp–Floyd Jr., Floyd Sr., Roger Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Shaefer (of Golden Boy Promotions). Pacquiao is not suing for the money–he’s basically asking for the minimum amount for a defamation suit, and besides, he has tons of it–he’s suing because he wants to clear his name. He doesn’t want people to think that he is indeed using steroids. His success is the result of years and years of hard work and discipline. Short of a public apology, this is the venue for reclaiming at least some of your tarnished reputation.
• The impasse with the negotiations went to an arbitration with a retired judge. They tried negotiating for a few days, and the negotiators for both sides agreed on a compromise: Pacquiao and Mayweather would take the blood tests 24 days before the fight. Pacquiao was ok with this, but Mayweather wasn’t. This was the end of the negotiations. The next day, Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, declared the fight dead and said he was looking for a new opponent for Pacquiao.
• After looking at different fighters, Pacquiao has decided to fight Joshua Clottey next. This should be an interesting fight, because Clottey is strong, but of course this is not the fight that everyone was clamoring for.

We’ll see what happens in the next few weeks. Maybe a miracle will happen and the fight pushes through. If not, we can only hope it happens later this year.

Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao lands a punch against Ricky "Hitman" Hatton

Last Saturday, May 2, 2009, was a very special day for Filipino Sports fans everywhere. Yes, it was the night when the Boston Celtics won game seven of the their playoffs with the Chicago Bulls–both teams very popular with Filipino NBA fans. But more importantly, it was the night when the Philippines’ “Pambansang Kamao” (”National Fists” in Filipino), Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao, took Las Vegas by storm.

Manny Pacquiao, the number one pound-for-pound boxer in the world, fought Ricky Hatton, the erstwhile IBO junior welterweight (140 lbs) champion, and the most famous boxer in Great Britain. The boxing match, which was held in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, was huge even by Vegas standards. Manny Pacquiao, who didn’t have a title but was the more popular fighter, was guaranteed $12 million while Ricky Hatton, who was the reigning champion, was guaranteed $8 million. This is not counting their share of pay-per-view sales, which is estimated to top $100 million.

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer, had said before the fight that Pacquiao will knock out Hatton in the thrid round. He was wrong. Pacquiao had knocked down Hatton twice in the first round, but in the dying seconds of the second round, Pacquiao landed a left hook on Hatton’s chin (which, according to boxers, is the sweetest of sweet spots to land a punch) which knocked out Hatton even before he hit the canvass. The referee didn’t even have to count; it was clear from the dazed look on Hatton’s face that the fight was over. He had to lie down for several minutes to recuperate, and he was sent to the hospital after the fight to be examined (everything checked out fine).

Such is the punching power and speed of Pacquiao that he has been dubbed the “Mexicutioner” because of his triumphs over Mexican boxers: Héctor Velázquez, Óscar Larios, Jorge Solis, Érik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Márquez and the very popular Oscar De La Hoya (a U.S. citizen but of Mexican descent)

He is only the second boxer in history (next to Oscar De La Hoya) to have won titles in six different weight divisions.

It is said that when Manny Pacquiao has a fight, the crime rate in the Philippines drops to zero–because everybody is glued to their tv sets. There is no traffic in the streets and the government troops and communist rebels stop fighting for a few hours.

Images of the fight at The Telegraph’s website: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/picturegalleries/5266901/Hatton-v-Pacquiao-action.html