MANILA — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo conferred Friday on boxing legend Manny Pacquiao a top national medal, the Order of Sikatuna, usually reserved for foreign diplomats and heads of state.

The pound-for-pound king will carry the rank of Datu.

Pacquiao has won seven world titles in seven weight divisions, the latest of which is his 12th round TKO win over Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto last November 14 (November 15 in the Philippines) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

The crowd chanted “Manny! Manny!” when the President finally presented the plaque to the “Pambansang Kamao (National Fist)” during the “Parangal kay Manny sa Luneta” program held at the Quirino Grandstand on Friday.

“The reason why we are here in Luneta is so that many Filipinos can come and celebrate your victory with you,” said Arroyo in Filipino.

Pacquiao thanked the President for the award and all the Filipinos who came to witness the ceremony.

Carrying the two belts he won in his recent bout, Pacquiao said: “Hindi ko po belt ito. Belt po nating lahat na mga Pilipino. Para po ito sa karangalan nating lahat (This is not my belt. This is for all of you and for the pride of Filipinos).”

Under Executive Order (EO) 236 or the Honors Code of the Philippines, the Order of Sikatuna is an “Order of diplomatic merit conferred upon individuals who have rendered exceptional and meritorious services to the Republic of the Philippines, upon diplomats, officials and nationals of foreign states who have rendered conspicuous services in fostering, developing and strengthening relations between their country and the Philippines, or upon personnel of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), both in the Home Office and in the Foreign Service.”

Among the notable recipients of the Sikatuna award were the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, former United States President Dwight Eisenhower, and United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

In 2006, Arroyo bestowed on Pacquiao the Order of Lakandula with the rank of “Champion for Life” after his 12-round conquest of Mexican Oscar Larios at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

Also present in Friday’s ceremony were his wife Jinkee, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Environment Secretary Lito Atienza, and Deputy National Security Adviser Luis Chavit Singson.

The “Parangal kay Manny sa Luneta” program kicked off with a replay of his fight with Cotto courtesy of Solar Entertainment, while the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) also conducted its “Common Tao Day” where it provided free medical, dental and eye check-up.

Before the hero’s welcome in Luneta, Pacquiao had a motorcade and a mini-concert from GMA-7 television network.

Hero’s parade

During Pacquiao’s motorcade Friday, Manila’s notorious traffic came to a halt and thousands lined streets and bridges to cheer Pacquiao, who returned home pondering his next moves — facing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and seeking a congressional seat.

At 5:30 a.m. Friday, Pacquiao stepped from the plane still nursing an injured right ear and said he saw no problem facing Mayweather in the next megafight.

“I am willing to fight Mayweather as long as there’s an agreement,” the 30-year-old said. “But we don’t want to force him to fight me. He should be the one to challenge me because it was clear I had more pay-per-view than him.”

Mayweather is coming off a victory over Juan Manuel Marquez that sold more than 1 million pay-per-views, and Pacquiao’s stoppage of welterweight champion Miguel Cotto on Sunday is expected to surpass 1.2 million.

Megafight

In Las Vegas, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is ready to begin negotiations for a megafight between the two pound-for-pound kings.

Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, said on Thursday that his Filipino star was willing to fight at 147 pounds (67 kilograms).

Arum was waiting to hear from Golden Boy Promotions chief Richard Schaefer, who was acting as an intermediary between Top Rank and Mayweather Promotions, two companies with an acrimonious relationship. Schaefer has assisted Mayweather’s team on his most recent fights.

“I have to have discussions with our side, and when the time is right, I will be talking to Bob,” Schaefer told The Associated Press. “That will probably take place face to face, and I intend that to happen very shortly.”

Mayweather’s adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, left no doubt that Mayweather was ready to get in the ring with the man who many believe replaced him atop the best pound-for-pound list.

“Floyd has made it perfectly clear to Team Mayweather and the rest of the world that he wants to give the fans what they want, and that’s Mayweather versus Pacquiao,” Ellerbe said.

The notion that so many venues are vying for a fight that has yet to be made demonstrates how much attention the sport is receiving.

“It’s not so much that I give a damn whether this fight happens – I don’t – and for me it’s not the greatest experience doing a promotion with Floyd Mayweather,” Arum said. “But not to do this fight would slow down the momentum of boxing.”

Mainstream sponsors like Pepsi and Subway have shown interest in Pacquiao-Mayweather, one more sign the sport is returning to the popularity level in the United States that it enjoyed in the early 1980s.

“It has to happen. The stars are aligned and both fighters want it,” said HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg. “If it doesn’t, it would be devastating to the sport.”

Mayweather issued a statement on Monday in which he said, “If Manny Pacquiao wants to fight me, all he has to do is step up to the plate and say it himself.”

“The world is much more intrigued by the thought of someone fighting me who can beat me,” Mayweather added. “Manny Pacquiao’s people have done a good job of creating an image of him to be this unbelievable fighter and now the so-called guy to beat me.”

Arum promised that “my guy will make (Mayweather) fight, and once he fights, my guy will knock him out,” while Ellerbe made it perfectly clear how he sees the fight shaking out.

“At the end of the day, we already know that Floyd is the best fighter in all of boxing, and if we’re able to make a deal, he’ll just be proving it to the world,” Ellerbe said. “Nothing has changed. Pacquiao will be no different.”

Vacation

For the time being, Pacquiao said he just wants a vacation with his family. “I want to relax and my ear injury to heal,” he told reporters, saying he will soon fly to his southern home province.

From there, he said he would file his nomination for a congressional seat in next year’s elections. It will be Pacquiao’s second jab at politics after his 2007 campaign fell short.

His popularity has become overwhelming. He recently made the cover of Time magazine in Asia and is by far the most recognized person in the Philippines.

A former baker and construction worker born to a poor family, Pacquiao became an embodiment of a rags-to-riches story in the country where one-third of the 90 million people live on less than $1 a day.

Standing in a flattop truck and surrounded by his wife and the country’s environment secretary, his longtime supporter, Pacquiao waved to the crowds and threw them T-shirts emblazoned with a fist shaped in letters “MP” and draped in colors of the Philippine flag.

SOURCE: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/network/pacquiao-conferred-order-sikatuna-0

The father/manager of former IBO light welterweight champion Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton, Ray Hatton, has praised pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao for “a cracking fight” in which he stopped WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto in 55 seconds of the final round at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas last Saturday.

In an overseas telephone conversation with BoxingScene.com, insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports, Hatton said Pacquiao put on “a tremendous performance and he (Pacquiao) looked so big on the scales, even bigger than Cotto.”

Hatton said he felt that Cotto “took more than what he needed to about eight rounds onwards” even as he commended Pacquiao who, he observed, “at times took his foot off the pedal (eased off) which was good job he did.”

At the same time Hatton said Cotto was “very, very brave and took punches with about three rounds left that I thought he didn’t have to although he didn’t want to quit.” He said such decisions “could be punishing a little bit later and could be the difference between how long his career lasts.”

Pacquiao administered a brutal second round knockout on Hatton when they clashed at the MGM Grand last May 6.

Hatton disclosed that following that crushing defeat his son Ricky would make a decision on whether to return to the ring sometime in January after an extended holiday and that should he return the opponent may well be Juan Manuel Marquez, the reigning WBA/WBO lightweight champion who dropped a lopsided points decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr last October.

Hatton said “that’s the fight they want him to have and I know for a fact that if Ricky comes back you have to come up against an opponent who is in the top three or four in the pound-for-pound list. I wouldn’t think he’ll come back to just fight and knock somebody out.” He said Ricky Hatton “is just like Manny (Pacquiao) who wouldn’t do that either. If he (Ricky) does fight again it will be a really credible opponent.” Hatton Promotions chief executive Gareth Williams had earlier told Gavin Glicksman of The Sun that “if Ricky does carry on it would be an ideal fight for him to take on Marquez. He is an elite fighter, just like Ricky, who will want to challenge the best.”

SOURCE: http://www.boxingscene.com/index.php?m=show&id=23562

I thought the catch weight bouts for Manny Pacquiao were done and finished with his fight with World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Miguel Cotto last weekend, but I guess I’m wrong. Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach, in an article with Philstar, said “ Maybe we can do Marquez one more time and give him a rematch…It will definitely be a big fight.” Roach is speaking of Juan Manuel Marquez as a backup plan to use in case a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. doesn’t materialize for one reason or another.

This would be great news if Pacquiao fights Marquez. The two have fought twice and both fights have ended up in controversial outcomes. The first fight ended up in a 12 round draw and the 2nd fight resulted in an even more controversial 12 round split decision win for Pacquiao. Many people felt that Marquez won the fight, and there was no effort on Pacquiao’s part to make up for it by fighting Marquez in a rematch.

The one problem for a rematch is that Roach is talking about the fight taking place at 145 pounds. Frankly, I think that sucks. Marquez already showed against Mayweather that he doesn’t have the frame to carry 144 pounds without being drastically slowed down because of it.

But by Roach wanting the fight to take place at 145, it’s as good as saying that wants Pacquiao to have a huge advantage in the fight. I’m tired of these catch weight fights. I don’t know why Pacquiao has to fight at a catch weight for so many of his fights. He did it with Cotto, and although the fight against Oscar De La Hoya wasn’t at a catch weight, it might as well have been because De La Hoya had to come down to 147 for the fight, a weight he hadn’t fought in years.

Marquez won’t have any say in the matter, because he’s not the more popular fighter and doesn’t have the title. He’ll take the fight anyway he can get it if they offer it to him. But that doesn’t mean it will be fair to Marquez. We already saw that Marquez is too small to fight in the mid 140s, so why fight him at that weight? If Pacquiao wants to fight Marquez, why not fight him at super featherweight (130)? I’ll tell you why, because Marquez would be quick and dangerous at that weight and it would be curtains for Pacquiao.

Roach also is looking at Pacquiao fighting the winner of the January fight between WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley and WBC welterweight title holder Andre Berto. “Maybe the winner of that Mosley-Berto fight can be a great fighter for Manny.” Well, you can figure the winner of that fight will be Mosley, who Pacquiao should have fought last Saturday night instead of Cotto. I’m not holding my breath on Pacquiao fighting Mosley anytime soon, not unless Mosley gets a little older. Pacquiao will lose to Mosley.

SOURCE: http://www.boxingnews24.com/2009/11/roach-wants-pacquiao-to-face-marquez-at-a-145-pound-catch-weight/

It is seldom wise to rush to definitive judgment after any sporting contest, but no sane observer could deny that Manny Pacquiao, after his thrilling conquest of Miguel Cotto for the WBO welterweight title, is among the finest and most ferociously gifted boxers to have laced a pair of gloves.

At times on Saturday night, particularly in the middle rounds, Pacquiao’s principal weapons seemed less like fists and more like precision-guided missiles, such was his relentless accuracy in finding the point of his opponent’s jaw. As early as the eighth round, Cotto, a spirited pugilist of the old school, was utterly vanquished, his face bloodied, his marbled body sagging, his noble ambitions sapped by the ubiquity of his opponent’s knuckles. Only a will that exceeded his good sense kept Cotto upright until the merciful intervention of the referee a minute into the final round.

It would be tempting to eulogise further about Pacquiao’s genius as a boxer — about his speed, the kaleidoscopic geometry of his punches, his capacity to absorb punishment, even from heavier, bulkier opponents — but there is a more pressing issue that must be addressed, now more than ever. The sport has at present the rare good fortune of boasting two of the greatest pound-for-pound practitioners in history and it is imperative that they are brought together for what would rate among the most seismic collisions of this or any other era.

A match-up between Pacquiao and the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr next year would not only be the richest bout in history, it would also make all other recent “super-fights” seem like irrelevances. It would certainly be the most seminal contest to have taken place in a boxing ring since Marvin Hagler put his middleweight title on the line against a twinkle-toed Sugar Ray Leonard at Caesars Palace in 1987, a bout that lived up to the hype, even if the judges’ scoring caused bitter dispute.

“If Mayweather wants to fight Manny, let him call me,” Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, said in the aftermath of Saturday’s bout. To which Mayweather replied: “Manny Pacquiao doesn’t say anything directly about fighting me because he might just know it’s not a fight he can win.”

It is to be hoped that these barbs represent the opening skirmishes in a verbal war that will rage until the boxers touch gloves some time next year and do not herald the dreadful possibility that the match will not be made because of clashes of ego or arguments over contractual minutiae. One thing is certain: if the power brokers fail to get this contest on, the sport of boxing will forfeit any residual claim to credibility.

For it is match-ups such as these, and the emotions they arouse, that are capable of elevating pugilism beyond other forms of sporting and artistic spectacle. Look back across the decades and it is not cricket or even football that provides the definitive iconography of the age, but the contests that brought nations to a standstill. Johnson-Jeffries, Louis-Schmeling, Robinson-La Motta, Ali-Frazier, Leonard-Hagler. Bouts that changed the world.

Sure, boxing does not command the cultural status it once did, not least because of the (entirely understandable) moral scruples of a new generation of sports fans, but by bringing together boxers of bona fide greatness the sport can hope to gain a foothold again in the mass consciousness. This, after all, is how boxing first managed to inhabit the zeitgeist and why scribes such as Hemingway and Mailer flocked to deconstruct its wider meaning.

Tthere can be little doubt that a showdown between Pacquiao and Mayweather would resonate far beyond boxing’s traditional constituencies. Pacquiao is already a national icon whose fists are capable of bringing warring factions to a standstill. His storybook odyssey from street urchin to world champion has captivated his countrymen and brought unity to a nation divided by religion and political ideology.

“Manny is a unifying force in the Philippines, the epitome of the American dream,” Jeng Gacal, a Filipino lawyer, has said. “He has totally entered the consciousness of every Filipino. The entire country looks at him, wants him to do something, change something. He has genuine kindness and caring for other human beings, and he wishes to use that in his political career.”

Pacquiao, who is also a pretty decent singer, intends to stand for Congress next May.

Then there is Mayweather, a gun-toting, trash-talking diva born into a boxing dynasty in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but whose intuitive understanding of the complex geometry of prizefighting has elevated him into the uplands of sporting immortality. His critics argue that he lacks courage and class, but no man who has fought his way through 40 bouts and six world titles — and come out with his dignity as well as his undefeated record intact — should justly be accused of anything other than devastating brilliance.

His past two bouts, in particular, were masterpieces of defensive comprehension. One hesitates to compare any boxer to Willie Pep — the Will-o’-the-wisp featherweight of the 1940s who was once said to have won a round without throwing a punch — but in the case of Mayweather the comparison is obligatory. In his most recent bout, so effortlessly did Mayweather elude the fists of Juan Manuel Márquez that his opponent seemed part of the act. That is what happens when there is a gaping chasm in ability between athletes: sport becomes choreography.

So, who will win, assuming they get it on? Anyone who watched Pacquiao in his past two bouts will find it difficult to accept that any mortal could withstand his scalpel-sharp fists and the exquisite accuracy of his counter-punching. But those who have watched Mayweather in recent times will be drawn to the conclusion that he has the capacity to overwhelm any opponent with his artistry and defensive intricacies. Therein, of course, lies the delicious contradiction essential to any great bout.

As the saying goes, unstoppable force against immovable object.

Mayweather has long hankered after an acknowledgement from the boxing intelligentsia that he rates among the first rank of pound-for-pound boxers, but thus far there has been a reluctance to bestow that accolade given the American’s perceived tendency to duck tricky opponents. Regardless of the validity of this viewpoint, there can be little doubt that Mayweather now has a priceless, if perilous, opportunity to demonstrate to his critics the authenticity of his courage. If he is willing to test his skills against the formidable Filipino, andcan subdue Pacquiao, nobody will be able to deny him his due. This is, therefore, a test of nerve as well as of status. One thing is certain: the world will not forgive any man who stands in the way of a contest that may one day be remembered as the last of boxing’s mega-bouts. SOURCE: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/matthew_syed/article6920617.ece