In Huddle
Arum sees KO ending
By Beth CelisPhilippine Daily Inquirer
Top rank promoter Bob Arum believes this fourth fight between Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel “El Dinamita” Marquez will be different than the first three.
How?
Arum thinks each will be giving his all for a knockout and nothing else.
According to Arum, this is because both do not trust the decision of the judges.
“In the first three fights, it was only Marquez who was complaining about the officials. Now, after the Tim Bradley fight, when everybody, including Manny, saw himself winning it easily, and it goes the other way, now Manny is troubled about the officials.”
“You have two fighters who don’t trust the judges and they’re going to take it in their own hands.
“You’re going to see two guys fight aggressively and go for a knockout. It means that Marquez is going to forget about counter punching and go after and attack Manny. Marquez feels he has enough strength now, that he can take out Pacquiao. It’s not going to be anything like the first three fights,” Arum was quoted by Alex Groberman in the Philboxing website.
Arum’s point can’t be stressed enough. Any sense of comfort that Pacquiao may have had about getting an extra push from the judges is gone now. He has to go all out—just like Marquez. That is what could make this bout different from the first three, Groberman said.
“What do you think?” He teases the readers. “Will this one end with a KO? Or are both men physically incapable of downing each other at this point in their careers?”
* * *
En route to Las Vegas from Los Angeles, Pacquiao revealed to scribes covering the fight that he was going to unleash a “secret strategy” which he and trainer Freddie Roach have devised.
However, he would not give the slightest hint of what it was. Maybe they’ve found an antidote to El Dinamita’s right lead which they were unable to solve in the first three fights.
* * *
This one is for the books. Can you imagine a basketball coach being ejected from the playing court only three or so minutes into the game?
How can temperatures rise to boiling point after only three minutes of play?
“And how can I be thrown out of a championship game only for asking a legitimate question,” lamented the aggrieved coach Allan Gregorio of the UPIS, who was slapped a technical by Nabro referee Felix Sanchez for pointing out a travelling infraction by a player from the opposing San Beda team.
“For asking why I was charged with the first technical, I was slapped with a second technical and thrown out,” added Allan.
He felt better when Ato Badolato, commissioner of the St. Stephen’s Invitationals, apologized in behalf of the referee then banned him from officiating future UPIS games.
“There’s no room for arrogant referees in the sporting world,” said Allan.
* * *
Congratulations to former POC president Celso “Cito” Dayrit for being reelected president of the Fencing Confederation of Asia (FCA) during its general assembly held recently in Bali, Indonesia.
Dayrit, who will be on his third term, is the longest serving fencing confederation president in all the continents in the world. He assumed the presidency in 2004 and ran unopposed in all three elections.
During his watch, fencing in Asia gained tremendous popularity, the number of federations significantly increased and the sport’s performance in international competitions improved.
“Asian fencers won four of the 10 gold medals at stake in the London Olympic Games, Asia’s most successful showing in any Olympics. Asia has now emerged the strongest fencing continent after Europe, overtaking the Americas,” Cito said.
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Tags: Boxing , Juan Manuel “El Dinamita” Marquez , Manny Pacquiao
