April 29, 2007 top boxing news

WBO KEEPS PRESENCE IN ASIA; YOUTH TITLE IN HIGH DEMAND!
By Salven L. Lagumbay, PhilBoxing.com, 29 Apr 2007
ALA Boy Robert Allanic and SGG's Fernando Otic will have big Korean debuts fighting for WBO'sregional titles on May 20 in Seoul. Allanic will take on Chang-Jae Kwon in a 12-round bout for the interim WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight crown. A win by Allanic will pave the way for a possible showdown with world-rated Ratanachai Sor Vorapin, who holds the regular title. Otic, meanwhile, guns for the WBO Asia Pacific Youth Junior Lightweight crown against Hee Jae Jo in a 10-round tiff. The WBO Read Full Story >>>

'THE WORLD AWAITS' - SATURDAY FEATURE PART I
By Ronnie Nathanielsz, PhilBoxing.com, 29 Apr 2007
Ever since Golden Boy Promotions announced the super fight between six-division champion Oscar De La Hoya and undefeated, four-division champion Floyd Mayweather Jr for De La Hoya’s junior middleweight title everybody has been talking about what is almost certain to be one of the biggest fights of all-time. The unprecedented hype is not without basis and if present trends are any indication the whole world will be watc Read Full Story >>>

WAKEE: DIAZ HAS TO FALL IN LINE FOR THE PACMAN
By Dong Secuya, PhilBoxing.com, 29 Apr 2007
CEBU -- Pacquiao's trusted adviser, Wakee Salud, who had just sent off the Pacman to the airport on the way back to General Santos, has advised the new WBO/WBA lighweight world champ Juan Diaz to take a spot and fall in line for the Pacman. Diaz (32-0 16KOs) is looking forward to a "dream match" with Pacquiao after dispatching former world champ Acelino Freitas hours ago at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantuket, CT. Read Full Story >>>

HBO’s Kellerman Suggests Manny Pacquiao for Juan Diaz
Easy Fight for Diaz and Arum Unlikely to Sacrifice Newest AssetBy Ricardo Lois, Boxing Confidential, 29 Apr 2007
During the post-fight interview with Juan “The Baby Bull” Diaz this Saturday night, HBO analyst Max Kellermen asked the young Houston boxer how interested he would be in fighting junior lightweight fireplug Manny Pacquiao. Diaz’s eyes light up and said a fight with the Filipino would be a dream. In the background Don King, Diaz’s promoter, could be seen counting the money a Diaz vs. Pacquiao fight would bring in, but miles away in Las Vegas, Bob Arum was reported to Read Full Story >>>

How De La Hoya and Arum cooked a Golden goose
As partners they made each other rich, but as rival promoters their bitter feud may be hurting the fight game
By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr 2007Oscar De La Hoya was once so happy with fight promoter Bob Arum that the young boxer presented him with his prized Olympic gold medal during Arum's 65th birthday celebration at a Reno hotel ballroom. The gesture wowed the crowd. "It was a stunner, it made the night, and Bob was very emotional," said Bill Caplan, the longtime publicist for Arum's company, Top Rank, recalling the 1996 party. But Read Full Story >>>

Diaz Wants to Make a Statement Tonight
By Matthew Sanderson, TigerBoxing.com, 29 Apr 2007
Juan Diaz hopes to make himself the future of the lightweight division as he takes on old master Acelino Freitas in a WBA/WBO unifier on HBO tonight. It’s an excellent matchup that will hopefully answer questions surrounding both men. Can Diaz, 23, take the power of a top-level operator? Does Freitas have the desire to fend off a young and accomplished fighter at 31, after his surrender against Diego Corrales a couple of years ago? Diaz has all the momentum on his side. The Texan h Read Full Story >>>

Bobby vows fight of his life
By Joaquin Henson, The Philippine Star, 29 Apr 2007
Former WBC Continental Americas superfeatherweight champion Bobby Pacquiao said yesterday he will be 100 percent ready to upset highly favored Humberto Soto of Mexico in their 10-round bout at Madison Square Garden in New York on June 9. Pacquiao said he won’t let his older brother Manny down and realizes the fight is his chance to redeem himself from failing to make weight and losing by disqualification to Hector Velazquez in Las Vegas last November. Pacquiao left General Santos C Read Full Story >>>

Anthem with an attitude
By Editorial, The Manila Times, 29 Apr 2007
IN the 1960s, the rising singer Berlin Meneses recorded a very stylized and unconventional version of “Silent Night” that caught popular fancy. Meneses’s interpretation was so popular that one could hear it sung any week and any month of the year. You can monkey with a well-loved Christmas carol but you don’t mess with the National Anthem. Many well-known singers have tried interpreting “Lupang Hinirang” their way and all they got was a nonmusical boo. Read Full Story >>>