A MUST-WIN FOR PACQUIAO'S REDEMPTION 
By Maloney L. Samaco 




For almost a year now, Manny Pacquiao has not fought atop the ring. He will be up against a young and hard punching slugger in Brandon Rios. The fighting congressman knows that his November 24 clash with Rios is very critical for his future as a boxer.

"I am feeling a little pressure for this fight since I have lost my previous two. An impressive victory against Rios will raise my name again in boxing. My belief in God and training as hard as I can will help to relieve that pressure," Pacquiao said in the interview with Ben Thompson of Fight Hype.

Most of the boxing fans believed Pacquiao's career is on a decline. In order to restore the much needed respect for the once pound-for-pound king, he must win with an awesome victory, preferably no less than a knock out.

But he has not won by knockout for four years now. The last boxer he stopped was Miguel Cotto, but that was in 2009 yet.

"I need to prove I still can fight like the old Manny Pacquiao. I need to restore the public's confidence in me and my abilities. It's important that this be an impressive victory. I have already begun to visualize my fight with Rios," he added.

Freddie Roach wanted Pacquiao to retire if he losses to Rios. The loss could signal the end of an era in Philippine boxing history. A defeat would mean the fall of the greatest boxer the continent of Asia ever produced. All the pressures in the whole world will be on Pacquiao to deliver a must-win situation.

Pacquiao is the favorite to win the fight with still more than two months to go. But in his two losses leading to the Rios fight, he was the overwhelming favorite. The defeat to Timothy Bradley was the most controversial while the fall to Juan Manuel Marquez was the most devastating.

Rios is still too young at 27-years old and lost only once to Mike Alvarado. The fight emerged as the Fight of the Year in 2012 . This was during their rematch lat June where Rios lost by unanimous decision. In their first fight Rios scored a 7th round stoppage of Alvarado.

Assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez talked to Asian Correspondent: “We have the advantage in speed. Rios fights straight ahead.” Pacquiao is set to absorb a lot of punches from the younger American. He should pack a lot of muscle come fight night. “What is important is that he is not underweight,” Fernandez added. 

MAYWEATHER STILL NUMBER ONE AFTER "THE ONE"

By Maloney L. Samaco

The odds are correct, Floyd Mayweather won against Saul Alvarez during "The One" WBC, WBA and The Ring superwelterweight championship at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada.

But the decision seemed incorrect as it was clear that Mayweather dominated Canelo since the first round until the end of the 12th round.  In many boxing experts' eyes, it was a unanimous decision.  But not before the eyes of the judges, especially judge C.J. Ross who decided it as a 114-114 draw.  Craig Metcalfe scored it 117-111 while Dave Moretti saw it 116-112.  

How Ross viewed it as a draw remained a puzzle among the world boxing audience.  Ross was the same judge, along with Duane Ford, who scored 115-113 in favor of Timothy Bradley when he won over Manny Pacquiao by a very controversial split decision.

Mayweather's face grimaced in disgust when the majority decision was announced by Jimmy Lennon, Jr.  CompuBox showed that Mayweather landed more punches which were more accurate than those of Canelo.

Money connected 46% of his punches and 53% of his power punches on Alvarez.  Canelo just landed 22% of his total punches.  All in all, Mayweather hit 232 punches while Canelo had only 117 in all 12 rounds.

During the fight, Floyd's actual weight was 150 lbs. while Canelo hydrated to 165 lbs.  The advantage in size translated to a disadvantage in speed for the red-haired Guadalajara native.

With the victory, Mayweather will remain undisputedly as the number one pound-for-pound fighter of the world.  At age 36, he hasn't slowed down a bit.  He taught the young Mexican idol a neat boxing lesson.

Like Muhammad Ali, Money floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee.  And boxing experts compared his flamboyance to The Greatest and that of Sugar Ray Leonard.  

Mayweather's record now stands at 45-0.  Still four wins away from Rocky Marciano's 49-0.  But Rocky had 43 wins by knockout, Floyd has only 26 KO wins.

Mayweather is set to retire in two years with four more fights.  The question is "Who will be his next opponent?"  He would want to retire undefeated and is very choosy on his foes to preserve his immaculate record.

The guaranteed purse was $41.5 million and will increase with his percentage on the pay-per-view sales.  Money with all the money will be laughing all his way to the bank.  His total earnings in boxing is now estimated by Forbes at $350 million.  He will remain as the world's number one highest paid athlete in any sport.