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The first round of the fight was a very interesting round as Pacquiao attempted to shake off the cobwebs that have developed after such a long layoff. Brandon Rios fought the first round very tactically and more measured than usual. He did not come barreling in and was really doing his best to establish his jab.
“Irish” Joey McCreedy from Lowell, Massachusetts improved his record to 15-6-2, 6KOs with an a six round unanimous decision victory over Steven Tyner who dropped to 3-13-2, 2KOs. McCreedy received all three scorecards, 60-54, 60-54 and 59-55 in this light heavyweight matchup. He controlled the fight by outworking and out landing Tyner. He pressed the action and had Tyner backing up for most of the fight. Tyner had an effective jab but he couldn’t get any other sustainable offense going. McCreedy has won two in a row.
“Royale Rumble” at the Royale Nightclub in Boston, Massachusetts was presented by Big Six Entertainment.
Iraq War Veteran, Chris Traietti scored a third round technical knockout win over Randy “The Rattler” Campbell when Campbell`s corner ended the fight before the start of the fourth round, as Campbell appeared to have a broken nose and was taking a great deal of punishment.
George Groves put in a performance against Carl Froch at the Manchester Phones4U Arena that will go down in boxing history as one of the most heroic, courageous, and audacious ever seen in the ring. All the way through the build up to the fight, Carl Froch had talked like a man who was going to roll over George Groves like a juggernaut, rattled by the younger man’s extraordinary confidence and belief.
Yet when they entered the ring it was Groves who appeared calm and focused, while the champion appeared agitated, nervous even. You sensed then that this was going to be special.
Groves told us he was going to come out and take the centre of the ring and he did exactly that, beating Froch to the jab again and again and countering with a right hand that soon began to find the mark. When sensationally he put the champion down with ten seconds left of the first round, it looked all but over.
The former International Boxing Organization and North America Boxing Federation Champion, Peter “The Pride of Providence” Manfredo, Jr. scored an eight round technical knockout victory over Richard Gingras, as referee, Joey Lupino stopped the bout with 1:33 left in the round after Manfredo landed more than ten powerful unanswered shots on Gingras who was stumbling towards the ropes and on the verge of being stopped.
“This was a great victory for me tonight because I earned my 40th win which not a lot of fighters achieve in their pro career, but more importantly, I was able to dedicate this victory to my close friend, light welterweight boxer, Gary Balleto who`s paralyzed from the waist down from an accident he suffered in July,” said Manfredo, Jr.
The fight card event entitled “Pride and Power” was sponsored by Jimmy Burchfield`s Classic Entertainment and Sports at the Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island.
This was a great all out action packed first four rounds where both orthodox super middleweight pugilists had their momentums and landed strong punches on the other fighter. Manfredo had the slight edge in the first two rounds before Gingras stunned Manfredo in the third round with a right hook that had him in significant trouble. He pinned Manfredo on the ropes and landed several powerful shots, yet Manfredo escaped the round.
(Photo Credit: Top Rank/Chris Farina) Brandon Rios was chosen for a reason tonight. The pay per view welterweight feature fight in Macau, China is a chance for Manny Pacquiao to rebound his career against an opponent that is designed for him to win and win big. At his best, 2009 to 2010, Pacquiao absolutely demolishes Brandon Rios with relative ease minus the occasional hard connect. This fight has shades of his destruction of Ricky Hatton and his dominant and punishing decision over Antonio Margarito. Margarito of course was trained by Robert Garcia who will once again attempt to lead his fighter over Manny Pacquiao and his trainer Freddie Roach.
When a major pay per view event is announced usually the gut feeling is the correct feeling as most of these pay per view events have not been much of a mystery at announcement. Then the hype machine gets put in motion and the fight begins to get closer in perception as people either become convinced it’s a good fight or they want it to be a good fight and over think the outcome too much. After the dust settles and the outcome has been decided the same people lash out in disappointment and feel robbed by the expensive pay per view price they paid for a fight that they “foresaw” when it was first signed despite getting wrapped into the prefight emotions. When Top Rank Promotions announced that Manny Pacquiao’s next fight would be against the former lightweight titlist Brandon Rios the gut feeling was this fight is a mismatch.
Who wins Froch-Groves?
A few weeks ago, I would’ve confidently picked Carl Froch by early to mid rounds KO. Now, I’m not so sure – but I’m still leaning towards the Cobra.
Groves has done a fantastic job of getting under the champion’s skin; refusing to play the respectful ‘happy to get my opportunity against a great champion’ role and consistently confronting the WBA/IBF belt holder with a series of flaws – or ‘truths’, as Groves likes to call them – that he has found in the Cobra’s résumé.
Froch, for his part, has largely tried to play the cool champion who isn’t fazed by a disrespectful young upstart. He hasn’t carried the act well though, and at times has seemed irritated by Groves’ ability to calmly analyze his words and turn them cleverly against him. It’s fair to say that Groves has got the better of Froch in the pre-fight bickering that is so much a part of the psychological battle in a big fight.
Tyson, I know you are frustrated with the whole Haye situation. You are a top heavyweight with top people behind you. You want to fight the best and have always stepped up to the plate. Forget retirement. You have a long and bright future in front of you.
We at Team Wilder understand. We believe you and Deontay are the two best young heavyweights in the World and a fight between the two of you would put true heavyweight boxing back on top. We want to make this happen. This is the single biggest heavyweight fight that can be made now and the fans deserve it. You deserve it. Deontay deserves it.
You both should be paid accordingly and in line with the magnitude of the event. Every single person or corporation that would have attended, bought pay per view, sponsored, advertised or otherwise supported you vs. Haye would jump on board for you vs. Wilder.
Boxing is an inherently psychological undertaking. It is an activity that exposes the contestants to far more than the simple prospect of defeat: the potential combination of public humiliation and genuine physical harm percolate in a fighter’s mind to a degree that few who have not lived the experience can reasonably quantify. Far from being a mere test of physical skills then, boxing is perhaps one of the purest tests of human will power. Some of the biggest contests in boxing history have therefore been won or lost through cunning, bravery and fortitude as much as they have speed, strength and stamina.
This Saturday night which will be Sunday morning Macau time, Manny Pacquiao attempts to climb back on the horse that bucked him and ride that thing in to the sunset of his career.
The man that will be across the ring from Pacquiao is Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios, who’s full steam ahead style has everyone outside the Rios camp thinking this fight will be a one sided beat down not in his favor, and entertaining as hell while it lasts.
Can Manny bounce back from the nightmare that still lingers from his fourth encounter with the Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez?
Can Rios clip Manny with a fight changing punch making him an overnight star in the boxing world?
An interesting point about this whole mess seemed to be that Manny expressed no dissatisfaction with Ariza; although, he did feel he had to honor Freddie’s wish and agree to Ariza’s dismissal. Therefore, Ariza got the heave ho. Soon after, Ariza latched on to the job of training Brandon Rios for his big fight against Pacquiao. When Freddie got the news, he apparently thought (and hoped) Ariza would have a disruptive influence with the Rios Team.