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Iran: Security Forces Violently Repress Anniversary Protest
(Beirut) - Iranian security forces used excessive force on protesters commemorating the anniversary of the brutal "Bloody Friday" government crackdown on large anti-government demonstrations in 2022, Human Rights Watch said today.Security forces fired "birdshot" shotgun pellets, rubber bullets, and tear gas and beat and otherwise assaulted protester.....»»
The World Cup and our national pride
Barely a few weeks after our women’s football team, the Filipinas, electrified the Philippine sporting world with a first-ever appearance in the FIFA Women’s World Cup, a first-ever goal and even more unbelievable, a first-ever win stunningly scored no less than against the host country, New Zealand, for the next two weeks, a much bigger world audience will have their eyes focused on the Philippines. Never mind that 90 percent of the Filipinas were composed of recruits from all over the world with some traces of Filipino blood flowing in their veins. Never mind that the biggest stars of the Filipinas, golden girl Sarina Bolden and goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel, and in the case of our Men’s Basketball team, NBA Utah Jazz shooting guard sensation Jordan Clarkson of Gilas, are as American as McDonald’s. Our hearts ever so slightly would start to beat a lot faster whenever these heaven-sent athletes would do what they do best on the pitch or the hardcourt. Surely just watching the replay of Sarina heading in the goal against the Kiwis and sprinting across the field with arms spread-eagled like the Philippine Eagle, you can’t help but scream out loud “Yes!,” get goosebumps, be misty-eyed, and jump with joy all at the same time recalling that single moment of a wondrous feat that boosted Filipino pride in an instant. Why is this so? How can a single goal cause so much adulation for the Filipinas and breast-beating pride in a nation forgetting for a moment all our gargantuan problems, and social and political differences? Apparently, this phenomenon is nothing new. A quick look in Google reveals various articles that conclusively demonstrate that sporting success and national pride are clearly intertwined. For instance, in various surveys of the International Social Survey Program conducted by Social Weather Stations in 1995, 2003 and 2013, from number 2 in 1995, sports moved up to number 1 in 2013 as the main source of national pride, edging out our national history from the top spot. From an 80 percent mark in 1995 representing the number of Filipinos proud of our sports achievement, this moved up to 87 percent in 2013. Not surprisingly, these were the years that Manny Pacquiao became an international sensation putting the Philippines in the world limelight for his achievements as a boxing great. What’s happening in the next two weeks? Well, unless you have been completely zonked out of your senses, the FIBA World Cup, the world’s biggest basketball spectacular, will be happening right here in our backyard. Millions of Filipinos, including yours truly, will have their eyes glued to television, streamed games on their smart gadgets, or for some lucky thousands who can shell out some hard-earned pesos, watch the games live at Araneta, MOA, and Philippine Arena. To be realistic though, the odds of Gilas sweeping our Group A games against Angola, Dominican Republic, and Italy to move on to the knockout stage are next to impossible. I think that at best what we could hope for is a close win against Angola and if NBA Minnesota Timberwolves star center Karl Anthony Towns can somehow be neutralized by wide-bodied but undersized Junemar Fajardo and our guards like Scottie Thompson or Kiefer Ravena can match up against their bulkier but fleet-footed guards, then a miracle for our country might be in the offing. Unfortunately, our game against Italy will be more of a question of limiting the certain Italian win to single digits to keep our national pride from getting trampled on too badly. But in all these games, the fans will be feverishly anticipating the explosions of Jordan Clarkson, our one and only Filipino NBA pride, and perhaps maybe Kai Sotto, and why not AJ Edu and Dwight Ramos, finally getting their much-needed exposure in the international limelight to showcase their talents and demonstrate that they are good enough to make the NBA. Nevertheless, win or lose, I believe what is important is that as a host nation, we put our best foot forward, take a momentary pause and suspend the endless carping on social media and the news, to present to the world just what basketball crazy but hospitable people we are. Go Gilas! Until next week… OBF! *** For comments, email bing_matoto@yahoo.com. The post The World Cup and our national pride appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Tapales eyes unified crown
World super-bantamweight king Marlon Tapales believes his current collection of two titles still feels light, alluding to his burning desire to win the remaining two. Moments after touching down in Manila on Monday morning, Tapales, the reigning World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation titlist said he is looking forward to becoming unified champion before the end of the year. The straps Tapales is aiming for are the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization currently being held by Stephen Fulton of the United States. Fulton is risking the two crowns against Naoya Inoue on 25 July at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo. “What I have right now doesn’t feel heavy and getting the other two would feel just about right,” said Tapales, who narrowly beat Uzbekistan’s Murodjon Akhmadaliev last 8 April in San Antonio, Texas. Tapales will be at ringside to watch the much-awaited battle he wants Inoue to win. “I would like to see Inoue win that fight,” Tapales said after stepping out of the Philippine Airlines Triple Seven (Boeing 777) that took off from Los Angeles’ Tom Bradley International. The camps of Tapales and Inoue have verbally agreed to do the megabuck matchup by November or December. Inoue is promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. and Teiken’s Akihiko Honda, acknowledged as Japan’s premier promoter. Tapales is represented by Sean Gibbons of MP Promotions and Viva Promotions and JC Mananquil of SanMan Promotions, who also arrived in the country with the two-belt champion alongside chief trainer Ernel Fontanilla, SanMan staffer Ramon Falgui and Christopher “Amen” Arias. The post Tapales eyes unified crown appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Naoya Inoue ready to rampage through super-bantamweight division
Japan’s Naoya Inoue announced his move up to boxing’s super-bantamweight division Friday and set his sights on becoming undisputed world champion again, just one month after claiming all the bantamweight belts. The unbeaten Inoue, nicknamed “Monster”, became the first undisputed world bantamweight champion in half a century when he beat England’s Paul Butler in December to add […] The post Naoya Inoue ready to rampage through super-bantamweight division appeared first on Cebu Daily News......»»
Arquisola leads Batch 2001 in routing Batch 1994 in SHAABAA
CEBU CITY, Philippines—- ARQ Sports founder Jason Arquisola powered Dynacast-Batch 2001 to beat Vivant Cornergery-Batch 1994 in Division A, 83-57, of last Sunday’s hardcourt action in the 25th season of the Sacred Heart Ateneo Alumni Basketball Athletic Association (SHAABAA) at the SHS-Ateneo de Cebu campus in Canduman, Mandaue City. Arquisola, owner of the ARQ Boxing […] The post Arquisola leads Batch 2001 in routing Batch 1994 in SHAABAA appeared first on Cebu Daily News......»»
Pacquiao life story immortalized in mobile video game
The video game, spearheaded and written by the late prominent Filipino boxing analyst, Mike Ochosa for Partners Ranida Games and OMG Inc., and with the approval of Pacquiao himself, is a beat-‘em-up sports-adventure game......»»
Waminal: I’ll beat favorite Apolinar for OPBF silver feather belt in Kumbati 10 fight
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Jess Rhey “Wanman Waminal” Waminal is confident enough that he will walk away wearing the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) Silver featherweight title on his waist come July 3, 2021. The 26-year-old Impasug-ong, Bukidnon native is scheduled to fight his former stablemate Penitente “Thunder” Apolinar, who is now fighting under […] The post Waminal: I’ll beat favorite Apolinar for OPBF silver feather belt in Kumbati 10 fight appeared first on Cebu Daily News......»»
Fighting Pride: The Manny Pacquiao Saga arrives next year
Boxing fans are in for a knock-out with the upcoming release of FIGHTING PRIDE: The Manny Pacquiao Saga! This 2.5-D beat-‘em-up sports-adventure game features a thrilling, action-packed, and addictive adaptation of Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao’s life story, and will be free to download on mobile platforms in early 2021. .....»»
Roach says MP will have easier time beating McGregor
By JONAS TERRADO There’s no doubt in Freddie Roach’s mind that Manny Pacquiao will handily beat Conor McGregor if plans for a megabuck boxing match between the two fighters push through. Roach is so confident that facing McGregor would be an easier one compared to Pacquiao’s brutal beating of Ricky Hatton in […].....»»
Floyd Mayweather Jr. says Manny Pacquiao continues to fight because he has to
A little over five years after the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. bout, people still wonder if there's ever going to be a sequel. Since that highly-anticipated 2015 bout between arguably two of boxing's biggest stars, Pacquiao and Mayweather's careers have gone in vastly different directions. Following his 12-round loss to Mayweather Jr., Pacquiao beat Timothy Bradley in a trilogy bout, retired for half a year, and then came back to beat Jessie Vargas and capture the WBO Welterweight World Championship. Pacquiao would lose that title to Jeff Horn in a controversial decision in Australia, before bouncing back by beating Lucas Matthysse to become a world champion once again. Just last year, Pacquiao put on two impressive performances in his title defense over Adrien Broner and his WBO (Super) Welterweight World Championship-clinching win over Keith Thurman. Now, at 41 years old, Pacquiao is still in the conversation of top opponents for welterweight stars like Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. After beating Pacquiao, Mayweather Jr. wrapped his career up with a win over Andre Berto to retire undefeated in 2015. Two years later however, Mayweather Jr. came back and claimed his 50th professional boxing win after defeating UFC star Conor McGregor by tenth-round TKO in a big-money superfight. Save for a three-round exhibition bout against Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in Japan on New Year's Eve of 2018, Mayweather has remained retired. So whenever Pacquiao earns a big win or whenever Mayweather does anything remotely related to a boxing ring, rumbles of a rematch always begin to appear. Asked if he was interested in a rematch however, Mayweather sort of shot the idea down. Asked if a rematch against McGregor was on his radar, Mayweather told rapper Fat Joe that he was more interested in fighting guys who has whole countries behind him. "I’m a businessman now. I already proved, years and years ago, that I was the best, period. I’m talking pound-for-pound, I already proved all of that," Mayweather Jr. said. "At my age now, I’m a businessman, so I’m not gonna be out there competing and fighting guys that only got a small city behind them. You got a lot of American fighters that are good, but they got little cities behind them. I’mma fight guys that got a whole country behind them. So, I know I can demand and get what I want to get." "So that's Pacquiao?" Fat Joe responded, looking for clarification. Mayweather Jr. responded by saying that he made more in the McGregor fight. (READ: Pac-Mac at super middleweight? Conor McGregor has interesting response to Manny Pacquiao's birthday greeting) "Listen, I made more with McGregor," Mayweather Jr. said. "My faculties and everything that I got comes first. We just talked about “Your health is your wealth”, and that’s why I got this towel on, I was working out today." "Money" followed up by saying that the difference between himself and Pacquiao is that Pacquiao needs to keep fighting. "Pacquiao fight because he have to. Once again, I fight if I want to, so there’s a difference." Was that a no? Was it a maybe? What did Mayweather Jr.'s statements mean? Mayweather Jr. also hit back at those saying that Pacquiao wasn't in his prime when they met back in 2015. "We keep on saying ‘at our prime’, I’m older than Pacquiao by two years. We keep on saying ‘in your prime’. When I beat Pacquiao, they say he wasn’t in his prime. I’m older than [him]. When I fought Oscar de la Hoya, me and Oscar, we both was in our thirties. They keep on…no matter what happens, it’s never good enough for anyone." Right now, it appears that the 50-0 fighter is happy staying retired, but he did share that he has something cooking alongside Japanese promotion Rizin for this year. .....»»
‘It’s a stupid fight’ - Bob Arum says GGG fight could be dangerous for Manny Pacquiao
Add Top Rank Boxing boss Bob Arum to the list of people who aren’t too keen on seeing Manny Pacquiao go up to 160-pounds. The former long-time Pacquiao promoter shared his thoughts on the rumours of the Filipino eight-division boxing world champion wanting to possibly rule over a ninth weight class and challenge reigning IBF and IBO Middleweight World Champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin. “It’s a stupid fight,” Arum told Daily Mail UK's sports arm Sportsmail. 'I know Golovkin appears to be over the hill, but it’s a fight that could be very dangerous for Pacquiao.” At 38-years of age, Kazakhstan’s Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KO) isn’t much younger than the 41-year old Pacquiao, but what makes ‘GGG’ a very dangerous matchup for the smaller Pinoy is his size and his power. While Pacquiao may possess a speed advantage, Golovkin has a tremendous chin and his knockout power is likely unlike anything that Pacquiao has seen in his career. Arum adds that even at welterweight, Pacquiao is already on the smaller side. “He isn't even a welterweight really let alone a middleweight. His best fighting weight is 140, at 147 I think he’s pretty much outsized by all the good welterweights,” said Arum. Pacquiao’s long-time coach and trainer Freddie Roach also expressed his concerns about the Filipino boxing icon going up to 160-pounds. Pacquiao has once again become a popular dream-fight target following his 2019 performances, especially against the erstwhile-undefeated Keith Thurman. Pacquiao, who was older than Thurman by a full decade during their July encounter, showed that he could still compete with the division’s best as he outboxed and outpointed the American for 12 rounds to capture the WBA (Super) Welterweight Championship. Arum believes however, that the Thurman win can’t be considered a barometer for Pacquiao’s performance. “I know he fought Keith Thurman, who had lost his desire to fight and had been out so long, but he would have a real test against Terence Crawford or Errol Spence, guys like that,” Arum stated. “Maybe he could beat them, I don’t know. He thinks he can, but to go up any higher would be silly,” he added. Arum previously discussed a possible welterweight superfight between Pacquiao and Crawford and hopes to be able to bring that to the Middle East......»»
Floyd Mayweather Jr. responds to Conor McGregor s retirement
Over the weekend, two-division UFC world champion Conor "The Notorious" McGregor once again announced his retirement. The 31-year old McGregor (22-4 in MMA, 0-1 in Boxing), posted a photo of himself with his mother on Twitter with the caption "Hey guys I’ve decided to retire from fighting. Thank you all for the amazing memories! What a ride it’s been!" Hey guys I’ve decided to retire from fighting. Thank you all for the amazing memories! What a ride it’s been! Here is a picture of myself and my mother in Las Vegas post one of my World title wins! Pick the home of your dreams Mags I love you! Whatever you desire it’s yours ?? pic.twitter.com/Dh4ijsZacZ — Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) June 7, 2020 This was McGregor's third retirement announcement in the last four years, with his first one coming back in 2016 and the second one in 2019. Obviously, the Irish combat sports star's first two 'retirements' were short-lived. The following day, McGregor posted a photo of a cake, presumably from his daughter, that read "Happy Retirement Daddy" on his Instagram account. While a lot of the comments were well-wishers, there was one comment that stood out, and it was from none other than undefeated boxing legend Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr. "If I'm not mistaken, didn't you tell Mike Tyson you could be at me if we fought a second time? Now you're quitting? I thought you wanted to beat the best? Well, if you decide to come back, I will be waiting to punish you again," Mayweather Jr's comment read. Mayweather Jr. came out of retirement in 2017 to face McGregor in a professional boxing bout, the biggest combat sports event of that year. While McGregor did put up a good fight, Mayweather Jr. was able to maintain his undefeated record with a tenth-round TKO victory over the first-time boxer McGregor. Since then, McGregor has returned to mixed martial arts, falling to reigning UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in October of 2018, and then bouncing back with a 40-second TKO of Donald Cerrone back in January. Will McGregor remain retired? Will Mayweather and McGregor share the ring once again? Only time will tell. .....»»
Freddie Roach advises against Manny Pacquiao going up to 160-pounds for Golovkin bout
At 41 years of age, eight-division boxing world champion and reigning WBA (Super) Welterweight World Champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao has shown that he can still hang with the best in the world. Pacquiao is coming off a masterful victory over Adrien Broner and then handed the erstwhile-undefeated Keith Thurman his first career loss to capture the WBA’s primary welterweight crown. Now, the Filipino boxing legend continues to draw attention from potential opponents. Former long-time Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank Boxing has spoken about the possibility of a massive welterweight unification bout between Pacquiao and reigning WBO Welterweight World Champion Terence “Bud” Crawford, while WBC Welterweight World Champion Errol Spence Jr. has also been touted as a possible opponent. (READ ALSO: Manny Pacquiao has been on Terence Crawford’s radar since 2015) Long-time Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach has also weighed in on some potential future Pacquiao opponents. Speaking to Chris Mannix on his DAZN podcast, Roach mentioned the likes of Mikey Garcia and Robert Garcia as fights he likes for “Pacman”. "Mikey Garcia has called him out a couple of times, I think that’s a good fight for him, of course,” Roach said. "Robert called him out on one of your shows, that made me smile because I like that fight for Manny, I think it’s a great fight.” The biggest name - literally and figuratively -being thrown around as a possible Pacquiao opponent is that of reigning IBF and IBO Middleweight World Champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin. "The thing is Manny maybe might want to go a little higher and fight GGG or one of those guys who is supposed to be one of the best in the world today,” Roach shared. The hard-hitting Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KO) has ruled the 160-pound division since capturing the WBA (Regular) Middleweight Championship in 2010. Golovkin went on to rack up 17 more wins and capture the WBO, WBC, and IBF titles to become, at one point, the undisputed middleweight champion of the world. Golovkin suffered his lone loss against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in 2018. Since then, ‘GGG’ had reclaimed the IBF crown and captured the IBO crown. "There are always good fights out there. The one thing about Manny is he doesn’t want to beat anybody, he wants to beat the best out there. He wants to fight the top guys," Roach said. "Pacquiao still desires to be the best there is,” Roach added. A match-up with Golovkin would require Pacquiao to jump up to at over at least 154-pounds. The heaviest that Pacquiao has gone in his career is 144.6-pounds when he defeated Antonio Margarito for the WBC Super Welterweight World Championship back in 2010. Pacquiao has since remained at welterweight for the remainder of his career. "I would not advise him to go 160-pounds, that would be a little crazy. But putting him at 147 lbs was a risk at one time," Roach stated. A dream match against the much bigger Golovkin could bring Pacquiao his unparalleled ninth world title in as many weight divisions, but it’s not without its risks. Watch the full interview with roach HERE. .....»»
NBA: Warriors win against Magic despite Green ejection
The Golden State Warriors, fueled by 23 points from Andrew Wiggins and two late baskets by Stephen Curry, beat the Magic 101-93 in Orlando, despite the ejection of Draymond Green just 3 minutes 36 seconds into the contest. Curry was left shaking his head when Green was tossed, receiving two quick technical fouls for heatedly.....»»
In Papa’s footsteps
The late Lope Sarreal Sr. is the only Filipino who wasn’t a fighter inducted in the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York......»»
Creamline still team to beat
Creamline’s dramatic, come-from-behind 26-28, 22-25, 25-22, 25-21, 16-14 win over Cignal Tuesday night at the PhilSports Arena showed that it’s still the superpower in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference.....»»
Everyone’s been bento boxing
It always comes to this......»»
Rest of PVL catching up to perenially dominant Cool Smashers?
Creamline’s dramatic come-from-behind 26-28, 22-25, 25-22, 25-21, 16-14 win over Cignal Tuesday night at the PhilSports Arena showed it remained the team-to-beat in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference......»»
Boxing trainer Domingo is confident Jerusalem will upset Shigeoka
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Veteran boxing trainer, Michael Domingo of ZIP Sanman Boxing Team, is confident that his prized ward Melvin “Gringo” Jerusalem will make a repeat of the latter’s January 2023 world title victory in Japan. The Cebu-based Jerusalem will face the defending World Boxing Council (WBC) world minimumweight champion, Yudai Shigeoka, in Nagoya,.....»»
Amparo steps in to replace Andales for the IBF world title bout in Japan
CEBU CITY, Philippines — In a surprising turn of events, world-ranked Jake “El Bambino” Amparo of the PMI Bohol Boxing Stable stepped in as a last-minute replacement for countryman ArAr Andales in facing the reigning International Boxing Federation (IBF) world minimumweight champion Ginjiro Shigeoka on March 31 in Nagoya, Japan. This was confirmed by PMI.....»»