April 2015 A15
MetroVanIndependent.com
sports
Is Pacquiao win guaranteed over Mayweather?
By Alex Mino
Now that the stage has set for the fight
of the century, people are gauging the certainty of Manny Pacquiao victory at the
expense of undefeated Floyd Mayweather
After the two prizefighters agreed to
finally make it happen on May 2, opinions
were thrown from several former world
champion and boxing experts, assessing
the chance of Pinoy ring icon against the
outspoken American slugger.
Some of them are putting their money’s
worth on the Filipino boxing sensation simply because of his dedication to his craft.
The likes of Mike Tyson, Oscar dela Hoya,
Miguel Cotto and even the trainer of Manuel
Marquez, firmly believe that Pacquiao is
capable of handing Mayweather his firstever defeat.
Five years ago, Pacquiao firepower
inside the ring is no doubt the most dominating among his contemporaries. The
congressman from Sarangani possessed
all the qualities of being in the rank of some
of the world’s greatest boxers after snatching successive world titles in eight different
divisions. But after joining Christian group
a few years ago, boxing fans around the
globe were put into belief that Pacquiao
punches that come in bunches had long
Photo by Judd Skinner
Jackie Mondejar
gone, not to mention his killer instinct is
also unnoticeable.
According to his first trainer-coach
Jackie Mondejar, who briefly stays for
couple of years in Canada, but now back
for good in Philippines, the possibility of a
monumental win for his former ward means
taking all the precautionary measures is
every aspect of the fight.
“Manny should not be aggressive and
too confident in every round and I hope
he won’t fall in a situation when he lost to
Marquez,” he says.
Mondejar added the over-confident
attitude costs Pacman to relinquish his
title at the hands of Marquez in 2012, succumbing to a surprise knockout from the
Mexican fighter in the 5th round.
The former coach of Pacquiao stressed
that if his former protégée can survive the
first few rounds of the bout, there’s a bigger
chance to pull off a huge upset win over the
American fighter.
“If the fight will go beyond six rounds,
Manny will have a big advantage because
Floyd tends to make horrible moves and
fighting strategy,” Mondejar reiterates.
Before Pacquiao left Philippines to
go back to Wild Card gym in L.A. weeks
ago, his former trainer had a chance to
strengthen his tactics by engaging to throw
between 40 to 45 jabs.
This way it will add power to his
punches that would be fatal to finish off
Mayweather.
Despite many Filipinos claiming that
Pacman’s killer instinct has somewhat
vanished in the air, Mondejar has different
point of view. “I don’t think it changed at
all, his power punches wasn’t there the last
time around simply because of over training and the tiring three rounds of punching
bag plus the heavyweights he put on his
arm,” he responds.
Lastly, Mondejar has a bold message
to millions of people that they’re going to
see the real Manny Pacquiao come May 2
at MGM Grand.
Dana Andaya, Grade 12
Darson Andaya, Grade 11
Andaya siblings eye honors in International Taekwondo tilt
The family that kicks together rolls together
By Alex Mino
A sor t of adage for brother and
sister tandem of Dana and Darson
Andaya gunning for excellence in the
upcoming 2015 International Taekwondo
championship slated this May in Jesolo,
Italy.
A tough task ahead rides on the
shoulders of the only Filipinos in the roster
as they strut their wares against world top
caliber jins. Both are undergoing rigorous
training under the watchful eye of dad
Darius, who himself had numerous success
tucked under his belt in this combatant
sport.
Dana and Darson gained an outright
berth in Jesolo after a sizzling array of
performance in the 2014 Western Canadian
Taekwondo Championships held in
Warman, Saskatchewan.
Dana and Darson gained an
outright berth in Jesolo after a
sizzling array of performance
in the 2014 Western Canadian
Taekwondo Championships held
in Warman, Saskatchewan.
The elder Andaya led the onslaught
campaign in the said tournament by
grabbing the gold medal for power
breaking event couple with silver in super
senior patterns.
Not to be outshined, his kids dominated
their respective events as Dana took the
gold in junior black belt patterns and
followed it up with bronze medal haul in
heavy weight sparring ,while Darson reign
in junior black belt power breaking patterns
and heavy weight sparring en route to gold
medal finish in both category.
Darson not only excels in martial
arts but in academic as well, landing in
Principal’s List in Windermere Secondary
School, he’s currently in Grade 11.
On the other hand, his sister Dana
proved she deserves to represent the
Canadian national team based on her
showings in the 2014 Western Canadian
Taekwondo stint.
Darius, a 2nd dan belt and instructor
at DSA International Taekwondo Club is
making all the necessary preparation to
put his kids in tip-top condition for the
prestigious competition. But to be able to
go on a journey for this contest, parents
Darius and Weng are asking for some
financial support to fund the campaign of
their kids.
People who want to voluntarily donate
for the cause can check the facebook
account of