Monday, July 31, 2017

Abdulhamid Clashes With Unbeaten Thai Foe


Adam Diu Abdulhamid Photo Credit: Sanman Promotions
Press Release: July 31, 2017 (Originally released July 30,2017) By Sanman Promotions – Fighting in enemy territory has always been a tough task but Adam Diu Abdulhamid of the Sanman Boxing Gym is unfazed of his upcoming fight abroad as he battles a Thailander opponent on August 23 in Bangkok Thailand. Abdulhamid will trade leathers with the unbeaten Downua Ruawakiking for the IBF Asia Super Lightweight title.

"I am not bothered being on the road. Once the bell rings, it's just me and him," said Abdulhamid, who has 11 wins (4KOs) and three losses.
Abdulhamid is on a two-fight winning streak and has won nine of his last 10 fights.

"This is going to be a good fight and we are confident of Diu's chances to score a big win," said Jim Claude "JC" Manangquil, chief executive officer of the Sanman Promotions. Ruawaiking will be putting his unbeaten slate on the line as he is yet to lose in nine fights with seven of those wins coming by way of knockouts. Manangquil said the upcoming card will be promoted by Jimmy Chaichotchuang of Kiatkreerin Promotions.

Material and Photo Courtesy of Sanman Promotions Used with Permission.

For more information about Sanman Promotions please visit: their Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/SanmanPromotions

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.




Friday, July 28, 2017

Garcia-Broner Weights


The official weigh-in for Premier Boxing Champions latest card, which will be televised in the United States by Showtime and will be headlined by a twelve round Jr. Welterweight bout between former multi-division world champions Mikey Garcia and Adrien Broner took place earlier today in Brooklyn, NY. The official weights for the entire card are as follows. 

Main Event: Jr. Welterweight – 12Rds.

Mikey Garcia 139 1/2lbs. vs. Adrien Broner 138 3/4lbs.

Middleweight – 12Rds.

Jermall Charlo 159 1/4lbs. vs. Jorge Heiland 158 1/4lbs.

Jr. Bantamweight – 12Rds,

Rau’shee Warren 113 1/4lbs. vs. McJoe Arroyo 114 3/4lbs.

Women’s Lightweight – 8Rds.

Katie Taylor 134 1/2lbs. vs. Jasmine Clarkson 133 1/2lbs.

Welterweight – 8Rds.

Noel Murphy 142 1/4lbs. vs. Julio Cesar Sanchez 143lbs.

Heavyweight – 10Rds.

Gerald Washington 248lbs. vs. Jarrell Miller 298 3/4lbs.

Lightweight – 8Rds.

Billy Dib 133lbs. vs. Yardley Cruz 132 3/4lbs.

Welterweight – 4Rds.

Kenny Robles 140 1/2lbs. vs. Dan Murray 143 1/2lbs.

Jr. Lightweight – 4Rds.

Desmond Jarman 129lbs. vs. Darnell Pettis 130 3/4lbs.

Heavyweight – 6Rds.

Elder Hernandez 222lbs. vs. George Arias 213 1/4lbs.

PBC: Garcia vs. Broner takes place tomorrow night (Saturday, July 29th) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. The card can be seen in the United States on Showtime beginning at 9PM ET/6PM PT and will also be streamed on the Showtime and Showtime Anytime apps. Check your cable/satellite listings for time and channel in your area. A portion of the undercard headlined by the Gerald Washington-Jarrell Miller bout will be streamed on Showtime Sports’ Facebook page and Youtube channel beginning at 7:15PM ET/4:15PM PT. For more information on the undercard stream, Showtime, Showtime Sports, and the Showtime and Showtime Anytime apps and a list of compatible devices please visit: www.sho.com. Showtime Sports’ Facebook pages: www.facebook.com/ShoBoxing  / www.facebook.com/Shosports Showtime Sports’ Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/user/shosports.  

In the United Kingdom and Ireland the card can be seen on Sky Sports Main Event (Formerly Sky Sports 1) beginning at 1AM (Sunday, July 30th) at 1AM (Local UK Time) For more information on Sky Sports and to check channel listings in your area please visit: www.skysports.com.

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison






Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Tabugon To Fight Unbeaten Australian Fighter On Aug. 19



Photo Credit: Sanman Promotions
Press Release: July 25, 2017 By Sanman Promotions - A daunting  mission awaits Raymond Tabugon of the Sanman Boxing Gym as he is set to face unbeaten Australian fighter Andrew Moloney in "Punches at the Park 5" on August 19 at the Melbourne Park Function Centre in Victoria Australia. Sporting a 20W-7L-1D, 10KOs record, Tabugon expressed confidence of hurdling the daunting task.

"I'm training really hard for this fight and I know I have a great chance of beating Andrew Moloney," he said. At stake in the fight are WBA Oceania super flyweight and OPBF Silver Super Flyweight belts. "This is a must-win for Tabugon. He is very confident and we are hoping to bring home the belts home," said Tabugon's manager Jim Claude "JC" Manangquil, chief executive officer of Sanman Promotions.

Moloney is yet to lose in 13 fights with eight of the victories coming by way of knockouts. Another Filipino fighter will see action in the undercard with Lolito Sonsona of Jason Soong Stable taking on Andrew's twin brother Jason for the WBA Oceania and OPBF Silver Super Bantamweight titles.

Material and Photo Courtesy of: Sanman Promotions Used with Permission.


The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved. 

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Moralde Triumphs; Mananquil Puts On A Show In “Brawl At The Mall”




Engelbert (Left) Moralde (Right) Credit: Sanman Promotions
Press Release:  General Santos City, Philippines July 23, 2017 By Sanman Promotions- Engelbert Moralde halted a two-fight losing streak with a majority decision win over Jestoni Makiputin in
the main event of the "Brawl at the Mall" Sunday night at
Robinsons Place Atrium in General Santos City.  Moralde improved to 9W-5L-0D, 6KOs,
while Makiputin fell to 5W-2L-2D.   

Putting on a show were Ben Mananquil
and Kim Lindog as the two fighters went all-out right from the
opening bell.    In the end, Mananquil escaped with a
unanimous decision win to improve to 14W-1L-2D, 3KOs). Lindog dropped
to 5W-5L-1D, 4KOs.    “It was the best fight of the
night,” said Sanman Promotions chief executive officer Jim Claude
“JC” Manangquil.   


Keeping his unblemished record intact
was Jade Bornea, who scored a second-round knockout win over Nicong
Calamba.    Bornea now has eight victories—five
of them coming by way of knockouts. Nicong Calamba (7W-25L-4D, 4KOs)     In other fights Jerven Mama (chalked
up first-round KO win over Roger Salaton; Dave Apolinario posted a
unanimous decision win over Rio Golipatan, and Mark Antonio posted a
first-round KO win over Elizer Ambon.    The fight card was a blockbuster on
social media as thousands watched the card via the newly formed
SANMAN LIVE. The live streaming recorded 31,000
reach and had 10,000 views


Material and Photo Courtesy of: Sanman Promotions Used with Permission.

For more information about Sanman Promotions and to view the card please visit: www.facebook.com/SanmanPromotions


The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.




Saturday, July 22, 2017

“Brawl At The Mall: Collision Course” Weights


 L/R Engelbert Moralde-Jestoni Makiputin Credit: Sanman Promotions
Press Release: July 22, 2017 By Sanman Promotions - The stage is set for tomorrow's (Sunday, July 23) “Brawl at the Mall: Collision Course” at the Robinsons Place Atrium in General Santos City. The boxing extravaganza put up by Sanman Promotions headed by chief executive officer Jim Claude “JC” Manangquil and chief finance officer Dexter Tan will be streamed live on Facebook via the SANMAN LIVE.

       The live streaming will start with the amateur bouts at 3 p.m. The streaming can be viewed by visiting Sanman Promotions' Facebook page. In the weigh-in held earlier today, main event protagonists Engelbert Moralde and Jestoni Makiputin tipped the scales at 119 and 117 pounds, respectively. The two will fight for six rounds in the bantamweight division.

      
    Also facing off in a bantamweight six-rounder division are Ben Mananquil (119 pounds) and Kim Lindog (117 pounds) as well as Jade Bornea (118 pounds) and Nicong Calamba (118 pounds). Jerven Mama weighed 112 pounds for his fight against Roger Salaton (113 pounds) in the flyweight division showdown scheduled for four rounds.        Mark Antonio, on the other hand, weighed 113 pounds, while his opponent Jeffrey Diale tipped the scales at 112 pounds.

Sanman Live: “Brawl At The Mall: Collision Course” takes place tomorrow (Sunday, July 23rd) at the Robinsons Place Atrium in General Santos City, Philippines. The card can be seen on Sanman Promotions’ Facebook page beginning at 3PM (Local Philippine Time) Approximately 3AM (Sunday, July 23rd U.S. EST.) For more information about Sanman Promotions and to view the card please visit Sanman Promotions official Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/SanmanPromotions

Material and Photo courtesy of: Sanman Promotions Used with permission.

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.




Thursday, July 20, 2017

Update

We would like to let our readers know that a special edition of the regular feature Observations On Recent Events In Boxing discussing some of the events that have taken place during the month of July is currently in the works and will be released on Monday, August 7th. Stay tuned. "And That's The Boxing Truth."

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Mananquil Looks To Keep Streak Going In “Brawl At The Mall”




Ben Mananquil Photo Credit:Sanman Promotions
Press Release: July 19, 2017 By Sanman Promotions - The rising Ben Mananquil of the Sanman Boxing Gym will be one of the fighters to watch out for in the upcoming "Brawl at the Mall: Collision Course" slated July 23 at Robinsons Place Atrium in General Santos City.  Mananquil (13W-1L-2D, 3KOs) will be gunning for a fourth straight victory against Kim Lindog (5W-4L-1D, 4KOs) as he gears up for a bigger fight that Sanman Promotions chief executive officer (CEO) Jim Claude “JC” Manangquil is cooking up for him late this year.

       “I am planning to have him fight for the OPBF silver title on Sept. 9 versus Jhalel Payao,” said Manangquil. Payao is a stalwart of the Cebu City-based Omega Boxing Gym. Mananquil pulled off three straight wins after absorbing a split decision loss to Jing Xiang in Haikou, China last December 27, 2014.
      
    The match will be streamed live via Sanman Live. The Sanman Live card, which can viewed through Sanman Promotions' Facebook page, will also feature the fight of Jade Bornea against Nicong Calamba and the main event duel of Engelbert Moralde and Jestoni Makiputin.

Material and Photo Courtesy of: Sanman Promotions. Used with permission.

For more information about Sanman Promotions please visit their Facebook page at:www.facebook.com/SanmanPromotions/

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.



   

Monday, July 17, 2017

Duno now in U.S., Ready To Buckle Down To Work



L/R Assistant trainer Stanley Godinez, Recky Dulay, Romero Duno, Rodel Mayol.
Press Release: July 17, 2017 (Originally released July 16, 2017) By Sanman Promotions - After taking some time off, it's back to serious business for the hard-punching Romeo “Ruthless” Duno, who arrived in Los Angeles, California, USA yesterday. “Duno will start training at Wildcard Gym next week with Rodel Mayol,” said Sanman Promotions chief finance officer Dexter Tan.

    Romero (14W-1L-0D-13KOs) was signed up by Golden Boy Promotions of boxing great Oscar De La Hoya after his sensational second-round knockout win over Christian Gonzalez last March 10 at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles.  

    After his impressive win over Gonzalez, Duno saw action in a homecoming fight last June 10 that saw him knocking out Jason Tinampay in the second round in the main event of Brawl at the Mall: The Homecoming at the Robinsons Mall Atrium in General Santos City.     “I am happy to be back in the US. I will continue to work hard and will not waste the opportunity that was given to me,” said Duno.

Material and Photo Courtesy of: Sanman Promotions. Used with permission.

For more information about Sanman Promotions please visit their Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/SanmanPromotions/

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.






Friday, July 14, 2017

Eubank Jr.-Abraham Preview


On July 15th one of the more interesting fights in the recent history of the 168lb. Super-Middleweight division will take place when IBO Super-Middleweight world champion Chris Eubank Jr. will defend his crown against former two-division world champion and current IBO number one Super-Middleweight contender Arthur Abraham at the SSE Arena, Wembley in London, England. This match-up, which will be televised on pay-per-view here in the United States, is in some ways a crossroads fight for both fighters.

For the champion Chris Eubank Jr. this fight represents what could be the start of his campaign to become the Super-Middleweight division’s central figure. Eubank, the son of the legendary former two-division world champion Chris Eubank Sr., won the International Boxing Organization (IBO) Super-Middleweight world championship in February of this year with a tenth round stoppage of Renold Quinlan, has won twenty-four of twenty-five professional fights and will have what could be a difficult task in what will be his first title defense in the form of former world champion Arthur Abraham.

The primary question that I have going into this fight is how the thirty-seven year old Abraham will attempt to combat Eubank. Abraham is a former two-division world champion who successfully defended the IBF Middleweight world championship ten times between 2005-2009 before moving up in weight to the Super-Middleweight division. Abraham has gone on to hold the WBO Super-Middleweight championship twice, but some might argue after fifty-one professional fights that he might be a fighter on the decline.

Abraham however, has won two straight fights since losing the WBO Super-Middleweight world championship to Gilberto Ramirez in April of last year. The challenge for Abraham will be to neutralize Eubank’s movement and nullify his offense. Eubank is a fighter with a good mix of hand speed and punching power, but can throw punches from varying angles, which makes him a difficult fighter to combat.

Abraham is a fighter who uses a high and tight defensive guard to block and deflect his opponents offense as he attempts to apply pressure by coming forward and looking to gradually break an opponent down. The former champion has scored knockouts in thirty of his forty-six career wins registering a career knockout percentage of 59%. Although he has the ability to get an opponent out of there should the opportunity arise, Abraham has shown that he is also capable of outworking an opponent as a fight progresses.

Fighters who have good lateral movement and hand speed such as Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell have been able to outbox Abraham by outworking him and keeping him on the defensive. Abraham will face a similar challenge in this fight against Eubank.

The twenty-seven year old Eubank has all the theoretical advantages going into this fight. Youth, hand speed, an unorthodox style, punching power and is capable of ending a fight with either hand as evidenced by his scoring knockouts in nineteen of his twenty-four career wins registering a career knockout percentage of 76%. Although Eubank’s movement and angles have proven to be a difficult task for his opponents, he does periodically drop his hands choosing to attempt to avoid punches with strictly head and lateral movement.

Abraham is a first-class counter puncher and it will be interesting to see if Eubank shows any reluctance to drop his hands as to not leave the challenger a potential opening. When Eubank lets his hands go he is capable of varying his attack and keeping an opponent on the defensive. Given Abraham’s style of coming forward and working behind a tight defensive guard, one could expect that the champion will look to swarm the challenger with offense in spurts with the intent of keeping Abraham from being able to get off with his offense and using his movement to prevent him from closing the distance where he could get on the inside.

What is at stake in this fight beyond a world championship and a position atop the Super-Middleweight division is a slot in the upcoming World Boxing Super Series eight-man single-elimination Super-Middleweight tournament that is scheduled to begin in September. With the 168lb. Suoer-Middleweight division featuring several top fighters and world champions all vying to become the number one fighter/central figure of the division, we will see if Chris Eubank  Jr. or Arthur Abraham will be able to make a strong argument as being the number one fighter in the division and earn a spot in the upcoming Super Series tournament which will likely determine  the Super-Middleweight division’s next central figure.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

Eubank Jr. vs. Abraham takes place tomorrow night (Saturday, July 15th) at the SSE Arena, Wembley in London, England. In the United States the fight as well as undercard can be seen on Integrated Sports Pay-Per-View for $29.95 on cable/satellite and the Fite TV app beginning at 2:30PM ET/11:30AM PT. Contact your cable/satellite provider to order. The Fite TV app is available on Apple app store and Android. For ordering information and more information about the Fite TV app as well as instructions on how to cast content from your phone or tablet to your television please visit: www.fite.tv. For more information on Integrated Sports Media please visit: http://www.integratedsportsnet.com.

 In Canada, the card can be seen on Super Channel beginning at 2:30PM ET/11:30AM PT. For more information on Super Channel please visit: www.superchannel.ca. In the United Kingdom, the card can be seen on ITV Box Office for €19.95 HD/€16.95 Standard Definition. For more information about ITV Box Office as well as a listing of cable/satellite providers where ITV Box Office is available please visit: https://www.itvboxoffice.co.uk. Check your listings internationally.

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison







Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Brief Update


We would like to let our readers know that new material will be released on Friday, July 14th. Stay tuned. "And That's The Boxing Truth."

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Pacquiao-Horn: A Great Fight With A Shadow Of Controversy



Anyone who has followed this observer's work both online and in print over the past two decades are probably familiar with my saying “Like Peanut Butter And Jelly, Boxing And Controversy Just Go Together.” A simple saying that has unfortunately gotten more use by yours truly through the years than I hoped would be the case when I first uttered those words many years ago. Of course, there is an appropriate time, place, and way to use such a saying, but some might wonder when is the appropriate time?

Obviously, if one either covers or follows combat sports closely you will find no shortage of people expressing their opinions whether it be joy, disappointment, anger, and/or outrage after a combat sports event. Among the things one is likely to hear at least once if not more following an event is the view of those who think an outcome was “Controversial” or offer what could be described by some as conspiracy theories as possible motivations of a controversial outcome. Although this could easily apply to all combat sports, in Boxing, what  distinguishes a theory of controversy from a legitimate controversy?

Speaking from personal experience there are two common scenarios. Either a referee stopping a fight too early in the eyes of fans or the most common scenario in my eyes, a fight that is seen one way by those who view a fight either in a crowd or on television, but is seen a completely different way by those who are tasked with scoring a fight should it go the distance, the three official judges. Without going into a long and thorough journey through Boxing history on some of the encounters labeled controversial as that would be a full column in of itself, Boxing's latest “Controversy” is one that has certainly  stirred debate.

On July 1st, future Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao made the first defense of the WBO Welterweight world championship, a championship he had regained in November of last year by defeating Jessie Vargas, against undefeated WBO number one Welterweight contender Jeff Horn at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia. An encounter called “The Battle Of Brisbane.”

Despite being unbeaten in seventeen professional fights prior to challenging Pacquiao, Horn came into the fight as a significant underdog. Horn however, had scored three straight knockouts coming into the fight including impressive victories over former Welterweight world champions Randall Bailey and Ali Funeka. Although Horn had an impressive, but limited resume going into the fight with Pacquiao, one may have been justified in wondering if Horn was ready for a significant step up in the caliber of his opposition by facing a fighter who had spent much of the last decade at or near the top of most Boxing experts respective pound for pound rankings.

Stylistically, Horn did have an exciting offensive-minded style that had an emphasis on combination punching as well as how effective he could be with his right hand as a focal point of his offense. As this fight approached I wondered how Horn would deal with Pacquiao's hand speed and angles, components of Pacquiao's offense that have bedeviled many an opponent over the years. This was of particular interest to this observer due to Horn suffering knockdowns in his fights with both Randall Bailey and Ali Funeka.

What always interests me whenever there is a scenario where a heavy favorite faces a fighter who is not given much of a chance is to see if the underdog can get the respect of that fighter. To his credit, Horn attempted to do just that from the opening bell by coming out aggressively and bringing the fight to Pacquiao.

What impressed me early on from Horn was how he was able to disrupt Pacquiao's rhythm and establish his right hand. I felt that Horn won the first round clearly due to how effective he was landing the right hand as well as some effective work he was able to do to Pacquiao's body. Pacquiao however, was able to land some solid counter punches early and I felt that Pacquiao's ability to counter his opponent would become an increasing issue for the challenger as the fight progressed.

Although Horn was the consistent aggressor throughout much of this fight, I felt Pacquiao was more effective with his offense by landing the cleaner punches of the two. Through the first four rounds, I had Pacquiao winning three rounds to one on my unofficial scorecard. This was due largely to Pacquiao's ability to use his hand speed to catch Horn with offense as the challenger came forward. It should not be overlooked that there was a lot of fighting on the inside throughout this fight and on that basis some of the rounds could have been called “Swing Rounds” that could have gone either way depending on one's perspective and interpretation as to who got the upper hand.


From this observer's perspective, Pacquiao's landing the cleaner shots as well as out landing Horn to the appearance of one's eyes is what I based my scoring on as well as his defense as he was able to make Horn miss and catch him in between exchanges with offense. Horn meanwhile was most effective in my eyes in rounds one, six, eight, and ten. It was in these rounds that I felt the challenger was able to control the tempo, land the harder shots, and keep Pacquiao on the defensive.  What should also not be overlooked is this was a grueling encounter where both fighters suffered cuts due to both punches and clashes of heads.

It appeared during the second half of the fight that Pacquiao was getting the better of the action and that rounds were in his favor due to landing the more effective blows as Horn came forward as well as his limiting what the challenger could do when he was able to get on the inside. Horn however, was still able to find a home for his right hand and was able to mix in some work to Pacquiao’s body in spots.

The central moment in this fight in the eyes of many, including this observer came in round nine where the champion Pacquiao battered the “Game” Horn around the ring with punches with both hands. It appeared as though if Pacquiao could have pressed the action a bit more that he may have been able to get a stoppage, but to the challenger’s credit he was able to survive the surge of offense from the champion and get out of the round. Despite making it out of round nine, Referee Mark Nelson went to Horn’s corner after the round ended and informed the battered challenger that he was there to protect him and thought Horn had, had enough. After some pleading from Horn and his corner, Nelson informed the Brisbane native that he needed to show him something in round ten or he was going to stop the fight.

To Horn’s credit round ten ended up being one of his better rounds of the fight in my eyes as he landed the more effective shots and was able to make Pacquiao miss. Although I felt Pacquiao was generally the more effective of the two fighters over the second half of this fight, there was no disputing that after such a hard effort in round nine in an attempt to get Horn out of there, Pacquiao was fighting fatigue in the last three rounds of what was a grueling fight.

At the end of the twelve round world championship bout, I had Pacquiao winning eight rounds to four or 116-112 in points. Although Horn was extremely “Game”, I felt Pacquiao did enough over the second half of the fight to retain his title.  Despite the opinion of yours truly as well as many others, the three official judges scored the fight in favor of Horn by scores of 117-111 (Nine rounds to three) and 115-113 (Seven rounds to five) on two scorecards making Horn the winner and new WBO Welterweight world champion as the crowd of 51, 052 erupted in excitement.

Even though I felt Pacquiao won this fight and outworked Horn as shown in statistics provided by CompuBox as Pacquiao landed 182 of 573 total punches to Horn’s 92 of 625 total punches, Horn was consistently aggressive throughout this fight and was able to back Pacquiao up more than occasionally.  It is important to remember however, that punch statistics are not a part of the criteria in which fights are scored.

A challenge that can be present when it comes to fights like this for judges scoring a fight is to distinguish between what is aggression and what is effective aggression. As is the case with most decisions deemed “Controversial” by Boxing fans and experts, the three judges who scored this bout Waleska Roldan, Ramon Cerdan, and Chris Flores have been heavily criticized for their scoring. 

Although some of those critics questioned each respective judge’s credentials and qualifications, this observer has researched each respective judge’s record in an effort to answer some of the criticism and counting the Pacquiao-Horn fight the three judges Roldan, Cerdan, and Flores have scored a combined total of 1, 535  professional fights, many of which have been for world championships.  Even though this observer stands by his score of eight rounds to four in favor of Pacquiao, Horn did back Pacquiao up throughout the fight bring the fight to him for much of the bout and that can leave an impression on judges even if a fighter does not always land clean with their offense.

Despite the temptation that some might have following a “Controversial” decision to voice their respective point of view, which in my experience can come in the form of great passion and anger, this observer instead took some time before voicing his own view in the aftermath of Pacquiao-Horn beyond sharing my score publicly and uttering those all too familiar words “Like Peanut Butter And Jelly, Boxing and Controversy Just Go Together” in the moments after the decision was announced. In the one week since the bout took place there have been inevitable calls for investigations to take place, for the decision to be reversed, and for the three judges to be reprimanded for what has been seen as either “Unjust” or “Incompetent” scoring by some. 

Although Judges Roldan, Cerdan, and Flores are the only ones who can speak as to what they saw and what they based their scoring on and even though a scorecard of eight rounds to four from this observer might give the appearance of a lopsided fight, there were some rounds particularly in the first half of the fight that could have been scored either way. As this observer has often said over the years when it comes close fights, it will often boil down to what a judge prefers in their own individual criteria in how they score based on clean punching, effective aggressiveness, ring generalship, and defense. A practice where interpretation is also part of the equation.  

Following the fight, this observer polled his followers on Twitter as to who they felt won the fight and 69% of voters voted in favor of Pacquiao while 29% voted in favor of Horn. 2% of those who participated in this poll felt the fight was a draw. An illustration of how interpretation can vary among spectators even though Pacquiao received the majority of the vote.


With much of the Boxing world sharing their point of view as to how they saw this fight and with those involved in it sharing their own thoughts, the question is was this a legitimate controversy? The sanctioning organization who’s world championship was on the line, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) announced earlier this week that they will review the fight with five anonymous judges from different countries to watch the bout and offer their own scores. The organization however, has stated that this review will not result in a reverse of the decision, but rather to offer the Boxing fans certainty as to who won the fight. While the organization has no authority to reverse the decision based on  judges discretion, they do have a rematch clause in the contract and one would have to assume that a rematch will be ordered.

In thinking of how this “Controversy” has played out in the days since the fight, I have thought about Manny Pacquiao’s controversial loss in his first fight against Timothy Bradley in June 2012 as a fight that had a similar fallout and circumstances. Much as was the case with Pacquiao’s latest loss to Jeff Horn, many including this observer felt that Pacquiao won the fight against Bradley in the first of what became three fights. As some readers might recall, I scored every round of that first encounter in favor of Pacquiao, but I did state although I stood by my score that there were a few rounds throughout the fight that after further review of could have been scored in favor of Bradley depending on one’s perspective.

Although there was not an immediate rematch between Pacquiao and Bradley, Pacquiao eventually rebounded to win two out of three fights in the trilogy. Given that there is a rematch clause for Pacquiao-Horn and seeing as Horn was the number one contender/mandatory challenger as recognized by the WBO that the best case scenario is for an immediate rematch to take place possibly before the end of 2017.


What has been overshadowed in this “Controversy” was that this was a great fight between a legend of the sport against a “Game” undefeated challenger. In terms of success, the fight, which was broadcast by ESPN in the United States drew 4.4 million viewers. A sign of the changing environment of the sport as well as television consumption as a good sign of the benefit of moving away from a “Pay-Per-View” mindset in regard to allowing Boxing fans to see the upper echelon of the sport compete without having to pay what has become an ever increasing price over the last decade.

Although some might suggest that what is seen as a “Controversial” outcome might discourage networks from continuing to invest in the sport in an effort to bring Boxing to the biggest audience possible, this observer does not believe that will be the case. While there is a difference of opinion as to who won Pacquiao-Horn, Boxing fans should celebrate the fact that not only were they treated to a great fight, but they were not asked to pay an inflated fee to see it.

Is there a legitimate “Controversy” in regard to this fight? Of course, there will be varying answers to that question based on one’s perspective. Although I feel Pacquiao won the fight, this observer has seen worse decisions and “Controversies” over the years. The beauty about Boxing however, is there is always a remedy for a “Controversy”, “A Rematch.”

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

To read more about the World Boxing Organization’s letter announcing a review of the Pacquiao-Horn fight please visit: http://www.wboboxing.com/letter-games-amusement-board/

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison



Monday, July 3, 2017

Schedule Update


We would like to let our readers know that material discussing the July 1st WBO World Welterweight Championship fight between Manny Pacquiao and Jeff Horn is in the works and will be released on Saturday, July 8th. Stay tuned. "And That's The Boxing Truth."


The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

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Saturday, July 1, 2017

Pacquiao-Horn Weights


The official weigh-in for Saturday’s WBO Welterweight world championship fight between champion Manny Pacquiao and undefeated WBO number one contender Jeff Horn took place on Friday in Brisbane, Australia. The official weights for the entire card are as follows.

Main Event: WBO World Welterweight championship – 12Rds.

Manny Pacquiao (Champion) 145 3/4lbs. vs. Jeff Horn 146 1/4lbs.

Light- Heavyweight – 10Rds.

Damien Hooper 174 1/2lbs. vs. Umar Salamov 174 3/4lbs.

Middleweight – 8Rds.

Shane Mosley Jr. 159 1/4lbs. vs. David Toussaint 159 1/2lbs.

IBF World Jr. Bantamweight championship – 12Rds.

Jerwin Ancajas 114lbs. vs. Teiru Kinoshita 114 3/4lbs.

Featherweight – 6Rds.

Michael Conlan 125 1/4lbs. vs. Jarrett Owen 125 3/4lbs.

Bantamweight – 6Rds.

Brock Jarvis 117 1/2lbs. vs. Rasmanudin 117lbs.

Jr. Welterweight – 6Rds.

Jonel Dapidran 140lbs. vs. Brent Dames 139 1/4lbs.

Pacquiao vs. Horn takes place Tonight (Saturday, July 1st) at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia. The card can be seen in the United States on ESPN beginning at 9PM ET/6PM PT and will also be available on the ESPN and Watch ESPN apps. For more information please visit: www.espn.com.  In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the card can be seen on BoxNation beginning at 1AM (Sunday, July 2nd Local UK Time.) For more information please visit: www.boxnation.com. Check your listings internationally.

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.


Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison