LAS VEGAS (May 3, 2011) – They started hovering around the make-shift ring in the lobby and the front entrance at MGM Grand an hour before the first of the custom-designed buses were scheduled to arrive.
First, a little after 11 a.m., came the Shane Mosley bus. Then, at a tad after 1, the bus carrying Manny Pacquiao and his team rolled onto the property.
By the time Pacquiao stepped inside the MGM, several hundred vocal, animated fans, most carrying cameras and chanting his name, and media, including dozens of TV crews, had jammed into the area.
This Saturday, May 7, at the sold-out MGM Grand Garden Arena, eight-division world champion Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs), of General Santos City, Philippines, will defend his WBO welterweight title against three-division world champion Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs), of Pomona, Calif., in the main event of a four-fight telecast produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
The eagerly awaited event also will be available online at www.toprank.tv, www.sports.SHO.com, www.cbs.com and www.sports.yahoo.com.
Those who buy the event online will get features unique to the digital platform through NeuLion’s technology. The enhanced and unique viewing offers a four-shot, multi-angle dynamic player that will allow viewers to interact and feel an enriched experience. The online pay-per-view is exclusive to U.S. viewers. Select cable and satellite TV systems will also be offering the pay-per-view live stream.
Closed circuit tickets, priced at $50, are on sale and available at all Las Vegas MGM Resorts properties.
In other bouts on the telecast, WBO junior featherweight champion Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (20-0-1, 17 KOs), of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, will make his Las Vegas debut and third title defense when he faces five-time world champion Jorge Arce (56-6-2, 43 KOs), of Los Mochis, México, former world middleweight champion Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs), of Youngstown, Ohio, meets undefeated WBC Continental Americas super middleweight titleholder Alfonso “El Tigre” Lopez (21-0, 16 KOs), of Cut and Shoot, Texas, in a 10-round super middleweight battle; and Mike Alvarado (29-0, 21 KOs), of Denver takes on “Sugar” Ray Narh (25-1, 21 KOs) of Accra, Ghana, in a 10-round super lightweight match.
The mega-event is promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions, Sugar Shane Mosley Promotions, Tecate and MGM Grand.
What Pacquiao and Mosley and their trainers said during an informal Q&A session with the media.
MANNY PACQUIAO
“I never thought I could achieve what I have. My dreams before were to help and sacrifice for my mother and family, helping us survive.
“I’m sure some (in the Philippines) are jealous of my success, and I can’t blame them. But I just try and stay humble.
“I don’t try to compare what I’ve achieved in boxing. I’m just happy to contribute to the history of boxing. My best memory is probably knowing that my fights make fans happy,
“I remember watching Shane Mosley when he fought De La Hoya. I’ve always respected his ability and I know I can’t underestimate him. I’m most impressed by his hand- and foot-speed. Lots of people criticize him but he has trained very hard for this fight and he wants to prove he is still good and is still strong.
“It’s an honor to hear that Mike Tyson says I’m one of his idols because he’s one of my idols, too.’’
FREDDIE ROACH
“The Diaz fight was the first time (that everything came together), then the Oscar fight was perfect.
“He’s not slowing down yet. You ask me, I’ll be the first to tell him.
(Is that when Manny should stop)?
“I think so – that would be the healthy answer.”
Pacquiao: “Freddie, just tell me and I’ll stop. Freddie is not only my trainer, he’s also like my father, my brother. He’s like family. Freddie and my father are almost the same age.”
SHANE MOSLEY
“People forget about my punching power and speed. (Actually) They forget a lot. (But) I think one of my main advantages is experience.
“I had a great camp. Pacquiao throws a lot of good punches, gets his power from his strong legs, and can throw punches for 12 rounds. But I’m ready.
“I think the perception is that Pacquiao is a small guy because he once fought at 106, but I fought at that weight, too. I used to spar with Paul Gonzales when I was a teenager.
“(Antonio) Margarito hit him with more shots than I got hit with by Margarito.’’
NAAZIM RICHARDSON
(on whether it’s impressive that Pacquiao won his first title at 106 pounds)
“No, it’s not impressive. I was 106 pounds at one point. He was a kid. If Shane turned pro at 16 he would have been the champ at 112 pounds.”
“You make adjustments when you get older. Naturally, you get smarter and make the necessary adjustments. Shane doesn’t get the credit that he has a high IQ. I was taken back when I started working with him. He has a high IQ and he can apply it. He can carry out those game plans.”
WBC News – May 3, 2011
From World Boxing Council (WBC) President Dr. José Sulaimán: On behalf of the WBC Board of Governors, I would like to express our deepest sorrow and sympathy to International Boxing Hall of Fame Director Ed Brophy, who mother passed away last week, and the family of British hero Henry Cooper, who passed away on Sunday.
The WBC declares a day of world mourning in the WBC that we ask the BBBofC to transfer to the whole Great Britain as well as Henry’s relatives.
Henry Cooper never won a heavyweight world championship, but he became the most revered boxing personality in the history of the country where contemporary boxing was born. Cooper transcended boxing and became one of the most admired gentleman of Great Britain, where he was awarded an OBE, and he had even non-boxing fans who fell in love with his English charm and flare.
Cooper won world fame when he knocked down Muhammad Ali during their first fight in England, the fight in which Angelo Dundee cut one of his gloves with scissors to give him time to recover. During his career, Henry fought Ali twice, Floyd Patterson, Zora Folley, Karl Mildenberger, Alex Miteff, Brian London, and Jose Manuel Urtain, among some other of the best of his times.
Henry Cooper became the leader of the BBBofC, which is affiliated to the WBC, and attended the WBC Convention held in London in 1987, accompanying Sir David Hopkins, the chairman at the time. The World Boxing Council will remember Henry Cooper as one of our heroes and an example of what a boxer should always struggle for after his retirement from our beloved sport.
****
The following is one of the weekly “Hook to the Body” columns by WBC President Dr. José Sulaimán that are published in El Universal every Sunday. From May 1, translated from Spanish:
HOOK TO THE BODY
By José Sulaimán
Pope John Paul II
I have always been constantly interested in the news of world interest, as it is the beatification of His Sanctity Pope John Paul II, done last Sunday at the Vatican in Rome, with the attendance of close to 100 First Dignitaries from all around the earth, the eyes of millions and millions of the world following it by TV, as well as the countless personal attendants to such divine ceremony.
I know for a fact that a large number of boxers of different nationalities are fervent Christians, especially in Mexico, where most dressing rooms at the arenas of the country have an altar with the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of the Virgin of Guadalupe, as well as numerous boxers all around the world who make the sign of the cross at the sound of the bell to start their matches – with the superstar Manny Pacquiao making the sign before the start of every round of his fights – as a demonstration of their faith of God and a manner of asking for divine protection.
Pope John Paul II has a special place in my heart as no other in my life, and I spent day and night watching on TV his first visit to Mexico, as his first trip out of the Vatican at the beginning of his mission as a Pope. Nobody ever in the world could even imagine the multi-millions of Mexicans who flooded the streets and every corner of the places that he visited during his stay. It was a whole nation giving the Pope the most loving, overwhelming reception ever and signaled what his future would be as a Pope.
My destiny gave me the opportunity of having one of the most important moments in my life when I had the honor of being received by Him, with the company of the lady of the WBC, Enza Jacoponi, and my unforgettable friend Ruben Martínez. Prior to the occasion, the First Personal Secretary of the Pope invited me to visit the private, special places of the Vatican, witnessing the humility, discretion, and unpretentious way of this Cathedral of the Christian Catholic world, with unimpressive furniture which value is exclusively on its antiquity. The luxury of the interior rooms of the Vatican is exclusively the artistic value of the numerous paintings, sculptures, etc., done by the greatest artists in history, including Michaelangelo.
The monumental room at the entrance does not have one single piece of furniture, but its inside of the floor, the walls and the roof, inch by inch, are of artistic value impossible to calculate. One feels like being in heaven. I was led to a room with a roof built completely of gold that was brought from Mexico by the Spaniards after their conquest of Mexico, and presented to the Vatican by the Queen of Spain. I knew the three small chapels where Pope John Paul II used to pray, meditate, and be with the Almighty God, with one of them having been repaired; also an impacting room where all of the “simares” of all the Popes in history are carefully kept; the Sistine Chapel, which during my visit was closed for partial maintenance, and towards the end the visit, I was taken to the private office of the Pope which on the old desk there were three phones, one white, the other black and the last one red, with a high back type of chairs placed in a rectangular form for the reunions with the cardinals and the highest hierarchical members of the church.
I walked away profoundly thrilled from that blessed environment, especially because a “nobody like me” had the opportunity visiting the center of such special, private areas at the heart of the Christian Catholic Church, which was the love and respect of my mother, of whom I thought hoping that she would be, with my father and my brother Hector, watching me from heaven with their love and pride. Moments of emotion followed. While waiting, doubt and fear came into my mind of how His Sanctity would see me as a representative of a sport of violence, as many have expressed it. Sincerely fearful of what my presence would mean, I even thought of walking away rather than confronting my revered Pope John Paul II, but it quickly came to my mind that my world is the same for which the church struggles – the world of poverty from which boxers come from, a world where many, including myself, had found the reason and the way to be of service to others, especially of the most needy, who later would become rutilant stars of boxing, carrying always the name of the Almighty God in their hearts. It came to my mind the dressing room chapels, the signing of the cross by boxers and also, as an excuse, the thought of an article that I had read that the Pope had boxing as one of his sports during his youth and school years.
I got up and walked respectfully, but full confidence, to meet John Paul II. When I was face to face with Him, I gave him my respect and fidelity and presented a specially-made In Taxco, silver with black color tint, that he received with love as coming from a country that he deeply loved: Mexico.
I asked for his blessing to all boxers in the world, amateur and professional, which he did, as well as the blessing of a Dali crucifix that I had carried on my chest for a long 40 years since my father gave it to me, and with which all my friends in boxing had seen and known me for so many years, which he did.
Some one took this crucifix away from me recently, which gave a deep wound to my heart for having lost the only material and spiritual remembrance of my father, which was also by the Pope John Paul II. I couldn’t find resignation for a time and my mind went, always worshipfully, to the Pope now in heaven, asking him to give it back to me. Very recently, I received a call from a foreign country, from an unknown person, who mysteriously had it and who, unbelievably, returned to me this crucifix that I thought that I had lost forever. I have it again hanging on my chest, and I can only think: “Thank you so much, my Holy Pope, and thank you also, beloved father.” John Paul II certainly deserves the beatification extended by human beings into the blessed Kingdom of God.
Boxing will continue following its path, such as we all will in life, but what is important is realizing that we all have the DNA coming from thousands of generations, and that we all should always have a positive mental attitude of being of service to the most needy in a world of peace, just as Jesus Christ left the message until the end of the world. Boxing needs unity, needs sincere compassion to all those who started with nothing, as all champions of the world did; needs the stopping of hate among those who have been more favored in the sport, and find a way for mutual respect and cooperation for the good of boxers and of the sport of our love.
I thank you for your kindness in reading my words.
The United States’ Franchon Crews Records the Open Victory for Team USA at the Second Pan American Games Qualifier
(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Female middleweight Franchon Crews (Baltimore, Md.) notched the first win for her United States’ squad on Monday at the second Pan American Games qualifier in Quito, Ecuador. Crews took the ring in the final bout of the evening session and closed the show in impressive fashion, recording a dominating 22-0 victory over Kimberly Gittens of Barbados.
Crews’ victory ended a three-bout losing streak for Team USA, with light flyweight Michael Benedosso (Fort Carson, Colo.), light welterweight Pedro Sosa (Bronx, N.Y.), and middleweight Damarius Russell (Camp Lejeune, N.C.) all dropping their opening bouts.
First round action began on Sunday with two U.S. boxers taking the ring in opening round competition. Sosa and Russell were the only U.S. athletes to compete in the first day of boxing in Ecuador, but both American boxers fell just short in Sunday’s action.
Sosa took on Colombia’s Faider Hernandez in his light welterweight opener and dropped a 14-9 decision, eliminating him from the tournament. Russell kept his bout with the Dominican Republic’s Rafael Fernandez close, but couldn’t pull out the win, losing a 16-14 decision.
Benedosso faced off with Cuba’s Yosvany Veitia in Monday’s afternoon session and lost a 20-4 decision to his Cuban foe.
Male light heavyweight Jeffrey Spencer (Fort Carson, Colo.) will compete in his first bout of the event on Tuesday as he faces Canada’s Jonathan Savard. Female flyweight Christina Cruz (New York, N.Y.) and Crews will take the ring on Tuesday evening, battling Jemyma Betrian and Blanca Burgos of Venezuela respectively.
Female lightweight Queen Underwood (Seattle, Wash.) will be the final U.S. boxer to compete, taking on an opponent to be determined in semifinal action on Wednesday. Lightweight Tommy Roque (Camp Lejeune, N.C.) withdrew from the event last week due to an injury sustained in training.
The top three male competitors in each of the 10 men’s weight divisions will earn a berth in the 2011 Pan American Games while the female boxers will need to move on to the championship bout to clinch a spot in the October event.
Monday’s U.S. Results
108 lbs/male: Yosvany Veitia, CUB, dec. Michael Benedosso, Fort Carson, Colo./USA, 20-4
165 lbs/female: Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md./USA dec. Kimberly Gittens, BAR, 22-0
Sunday’s U.S. Results
141 lbs/male: Faider Hernandez, COL, dec. Pedro Sosa, Bronx, N.Y./USA, 14-9
165 lbs/male: Rafael Fernandez (DOM), dec. Damarius Russell, Camp Lejeune, N.C./USA, 16-14
USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).