April 1 - 15, 2019
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY
SPORTS
29
Garcia to prove worth against Manny
If former WBC welterweight and
WBA/WBC superlightweight champion
Danny Garcia hopes to hit the jackpot
with a fight against WBA welterweight
titlist Sen. Manny Pacquiao, he has
to win convincingly over US-born
Mexican Adrian Granados at the
Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson
City on April 20.
Las
Vegas
international
matchmaker Sean Gibbons said the
other day Garcia and “super” WBA
welterweight ruler Keith Thurman
are the leading candidates to be
Pacquiao’s next opponent although
at the moment, plans are still “up in
the air.” How Garcia performs against
Granados could make or break his
chances in the sweepstakes.
“We might wait and see what
happens with Garcia (against
Granados),” said Gibbons. “The
names tossed out there are still
Thurman and Garcia. We need to
make some decisions soon.” Gibbons
said it’s 50-50 that Pacquiao will fight
Thurman to unify the WBA 147-pound
championship on July 13. Pacquiao’s
trainer Buboy Fernandez said earlier
that he expects the next fight to be in
August or September.
But Gibbons said a July date is “very
possible” and confirmed that talks are
ongoing to make it happen. He added
that waiting until August or September
may be too long. Pacquiao, however,
is involved in
campaigning for candidates in the May
13 elections and Fernandez himself is
running for Vice Mayor in Polangui,
Albay. If a July fight is set, Pacquiao
and Fernandez will need at least eight
weeks to prepare after a US promo
tour. The schedule may be too tight
to squeeze in a July appointment.
Undefeated Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
appears to be out of the picture with
his recent declaration that he’ll stay
retired. He was in the country for a visit
to Boracay and Manila last week and
according to Gibbons, never reached
out to Pacquiao. While going down an
escalator at a Manila shopping mall,
Mayweather heard a woman shout,
“I don’t like you, you’re chicken,”
obviously referring to his refusal
to engage Pacquiao in a rematch.
Mayweather turned to the woman and
gave a thumbs-up sign with a smile.
He couldn’t care less what people say
about him.
Garcia, 31, has a lot to prove
against Granados who went the
distance in losing to Adrien Broner
and WBC welterweight titleholder
Shawn Porter. Granados, 29, has a 74-
inch wingspan compared to Garcia’s
68 1/2 and could pose a problem
because of his length. Five of his six
losses were either by split or majority
decision and his last two fights were
KO wins. His weakness is defense.
He went down
twice to Mark
Salser in 2013,
twice to Felix
Diaz in 2014
and
once
to
Frankie
Gomez
in
2011.
The
quality of his
opposition is
questionable.
Garcia is a
come-forward
type of fighter
and
won’t
be afraid to
mix it up with
Pacquiao. He
has lost only twice in his career to
Porter and Thurman, both on points.
His record is 34-2, with 20 KOs. Garcia
became a household name in boxing
when he brutalized Erik Morales twice
in 2012. Three of his other victims
were Lucas Matthysse, Zab Judah
and Amir Khan.
Thurman, 30, wears the “super”
WBA welterweight belt while Pacquiao
owns the “regular” WBA version.
There’s no significant difference.
The WBA likes to recognize as many
world champions as possible because
the more title fights it sanctions, the
more fees it pockets. If Pacquiao
and Thurman face off, the winner
will be the sole WBA champion so
the unification angle makes it a step
higher in prestige than a Pacquiao
defense against Garcia.
Thurman defeated Garcia by
a split decision in 2017 then took
a 22-month layoff to heal from an
elbow surgery and an injured hand.
He returned to survive a few shaky
moments in outpointing Josesito
Lopez via a majority 12-round verdict
in Brooklyn last January. The fighter
known as “One Time” has a 29-
0 record, with 22 KOs so whether
Pacquiao can put a stain on his pristine
record or not is something fans would
pay good money for to find out. (J.
Henson, philboxing.com)
Manny Pacquiao personally training son Jimuel
Manny Pacquiao has started to
personally train his son Jimuel despite
his earlier opposition to the teen’s
dream of following him in the boxing
ring.
Pacquiao’s wife, Jinkee, posted a
video of one of the training sessions
and said she was already crying just
watching her husband and son.
The eight-division champion
taught Jimuel footwork, defense,
evading, and combination punches.
Pacman was hands-on in his approach
and even adjusted his son’s hand
wrap.
The proud mother also shared
that Pacman joked they already have
2019 FIBA World Cup team
pass available online
Tickets to the Gilas Pilipinas
matches in the upcoming FIBA World
Cup in China are up for sale for Filipino
sports fans.
Fans can purchase a team pass,
which gives them access to the
games of any selected team during
the competition set Aug. 31 to Sept.
15 in eight cities in China.
The group phase team pass
guarantees ticket-holders to all five
games of the selected team, including
Gilas Pilipinas’ three games in the first
round and two in the second round.
The team pass is worth US
$228. They are available online until
April 12. For more information and
purchases, visit the official FIBA
website
http://www.fiba.basketball/
basketballworldcup/2019.
In the first round, Gilas plays
Italy on Aug. 31, Serbia on Sept. 2
and Angola on Sept. 4. The next two
games for the Philippine squad will
depend on the results of the group
plays. (PS)
a boxer kid.
Jimuel recently fought Lucas
Carson in an exhibition match that
went viral after he showed flashes of
his father’s moves with combination
punches. (M.Panaligan/BM, GMA
News)
By: Julian Ray Fortaleza
Answers from last week’s issue:
1. TANK Davis fights under Mayweather Promotions
2. Usain Bolt has 8 gold medals
3. The longest reigning current UFC champion is Amanda Nunes.
New Questions:
1. What network airs Vasyl Lomachenko bouts?
2. How many gold medals has Michael Phelps won?
3. How many double champions are active in the UFC?
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