Clear Malones first before clearing Maasin

"Whoever blushes is already guilty; true innocence is ashamed of nothing."
--Jean-Jacques Rousseau

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- It was Mayor Mariano Malones of Maasin, Iloilo in the Philippines, who was falsely accused of being involved in narco-politics.
Malones, his family and political supporters, have endured humiliation for several months now from the wrong accusation.
If there is someone who should be cleared first, it is the mayor.
Maasin, known for its world-class bamboo products, was never considered as hotbed of illegal drugs.
Even residents of Maasin will never believe that cases of illegal drugs in the town's 50 villages are at alarming stage.
It is but proper that the Oversight Committee of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA-6) and the Police Regional Office (PRO-6 should first settle the issue on Malones.
The League of the Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP-Iloilo) has been fighting for Malones' innocence after President Rodrigo R. Duterte tagged Malones, along with Calinog Mayor Alex Centena, Carles Mayor Salagunting Betita, and Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog as allegedly involved in protection racket of illegal drugs.
The scheduled declaration of Maasin as "drug-free" in a ceremony on July 14 is good, but it's like pushing the cart ahead of the horse.

-o0o-

Instead of agreeing to fight WBO 147-lb champion Jeff Horn in a rematch, we suggest that Sen. Manny Pacquiao should retire and give other promising boxers the chance to fight for the world crown.
It will be a good match if Horn will face Amir Khan (31-4, 19 KOs) in his first title defense.
Both Horn and Khan have almost the same hieght and style.
Horn and Khan fight like Marcos Maidana and Victor Ortiz. They move forward like roller coasters and they aren't afraid to slug it out against the aging Pacquiao, who is arguably one of the most destructive prizefighters to ever walk on this planet but who is already past his prime.
Horn shouldn't push his luck by asking for a Floyd Mayweather Jr. duel.
Mayweather, who will fight UFC phenom Conor McGregor on August 26 in Las Vegas, will eat the Aussie alive.

It's time to move on, the WBO has spoken

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Now that Jeff Horn's win over Manny Pacquiao was finally confirmed July 10 after a scoring review by no less than the World Boxing Organization (WBO) declared the 29-year-old unbeaten Australian the clear winner, it's time to move on and accept defeat.
In our capacity as a licensed professional judge/referee, we also explained in details in an article earlier why Pacquiao lost after fans of Pacquiao ran berserk even in the social media.
With this development, we respectfully request the Games and Amusement Board (GAB), which earlier wanted to join the fray, to stop exacerbating the imbroglio by calling for an investigation of the alleged cheating on July 2 in Brisbane, an accusation which was unfounded and had no basis at all.  
Here's part of the Agence France-Presse story entitled "WBO review rules Horn beat Pacquiao":
"The WBO -- which does not have the power to reverse a decision unless fraud or law violations are proven --set up a panel of independent judges who were asked to watch the bout without sound and determine who won each round.
The results were tabulated to show clearly the rounds each fighter won using an average scale based on 60, 80 and 100 percent, with three of the five officials needing to be in agreement.
A similar method has been used to review WBO title fights before.
“Upon the analysis, the findings stated that Pacquiao won the 3rd, the 8th and 9th by 100 percent; the 5th round was won by 80 percent; and the 11th round by 60 percent,” the WBO said in a statement.
“Horn won the 1st, 6th and 12th rounds by 100 percent; rounds 2, 4, and 7 by 80 percent; and then, the 10th round by 60 percent.
“From the results, it can be established that Pacquiao won five rounds while Horn won seven rounds. Based on this analysis, Jeff Horn was the winner of the bout.”
Horn welcomed the review when it was announced, and said he was ready for a rematch, an option specified in the Brisbane fight contract.
“Let them review it,” the 29-year-old told Queensland’s Courier Mail newspaper.
“They will see it on a TV screen and probably see the same thing everyone else saw — me winning the fight.”
Both the Philippine board and Pacquiao had criticised American referee Mark Nelson for supposedly allowing the underdog Australian to get away with illegal tactics without giving him warnings or point deductions.
The loss sparked calls in the Philippines for the 38-year-old Pacquiao, a national icon after rising from poverty, to retire and concentrate on politics.
Pacquiao briefly retired from boxing last year to pursue his long-held political ambitions and was elected senator. But he quickly made a successful comeback against Jessie Vargas in November, saying he still felt like a youngster."

Defeats of Onyok, Pacquiao explained

“Rhythm is everything in boxing. Every move you make starts with your heart, and that’s in rhythm or you’re in trouble.”

– Sugar Ray Robinson

By Alex P. Vidal

FAIRFAX, Virginia -- In simple analysis, let us explain why amateur boxer Mansueto “Onyok” Velas Jr. and professional fighter Manny Pacquiao lost on points in championship duels many Filipino fight fans thought they won.

Bulgaria’s Daniel Petrov Bojilov outclassed the Philippines’ Velasco Jr. , 19-6, for gold in the five-round lighflyweight finals of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, but many Filipino fans called it a “The Robbery in Atlanta”.

It was not.

The five feet and two inches tall Velasco was simply clobbered by five feet and six inches tall Bojilov under the old International Boxing Association (AIBA) scoring system.

Many punches thrown by Velasco landed accurately, but not all of them could be translated to points. Bojilov may have thrown lesser punches as compared to Velasco, but many of them were enough to be translated to points.

COMPUTER

Before the computer system was changed on March 13, 2013, each judge in amateur boxing gave an individual score for each boxer. The score given to each boxer would be taken from three out of five judges either by similar score or trimmed mean.

The computer scoring system has been abandoned, with amateur boxing instead using the 10-point must system, similar to professional boxing.

The scorecards in the Manny Pacquiao versus Jeff Horn for the 12-round WBO welterweight tussle in Brisbane on July 2 read 117-111, 115-113, and 115-113 all for Horn, who statistically landed far fewer punches than Pacquiao. 

But CompuBox showed Pacquiao was statistically more accurate.

The controversy lies on the fact that CompuBox isn’t necessarily always dead-on accurate with its punch-tracking and not all fans know this.

In a 10-point must system, three judges, facing the ring from different angles, decide in every round to award 10 or 9 points to each boxer.

The decision to award 10, 9, or 8 points is anchored on the following: effective hits, defense, ring generalship, and knockdown.

A fighter who goes down from a legitimate punch but survives in one round gets an automatic 8 and his rival gets an automatic 10.

DOMINANT

A dominant boxer in every round gets 10 and his rival gets 9.

A 10-10 score for each round is allowed, but judges are discouraged from giving an even score. They have to find a winner in each round.

Computer statistics, or the the CompuBox records used by those who protest Pacquiao’s defeat to Horn, are not always the metric basis to determine the winner in a professional bout.

This explains why Oscar De La Hoya defeated Pernell Whitaker in 1997: 115-111, 116-110 and 116-110; Floyd Mayweather won over Jose Luis Castillo in 2002: 116-111, 115-111 and 115-111; Felix Trinidad beat De La Hoya in 1999: 114-114, 115-113 and 115-114; Whitaker drew with Julio Caesar Chavez in 1993: 115-113, 115-115 and 115-115, among other controversial fights.

Read the handwriting on the wall, Manny!

“It is also a warning. It is a warning that, if nobody reads the writing on the wall, man will be reduced to the state of the beast, whom he is shaming by his manners.” 
― Mahatma Gandhi

By Alex P. Vidal

FAIRFAX, Virginia -- I knew Jeff Horn was about to shock the world as early in the seventh round, but I was able to muster enough courage to first declare in my Facebook page that the unbeaten Aussie would upset WBO welterweight king Manny Pacquiao when the fight entered the 10^th stanza of the 12-round championship tussle in Brisbane on July 2.

The scores: 117-111, 115-113, 115-113 didn’t surprise me. I scored it 116-114 for Horn.

Pacquiao got distracted by pressures to score a knockout.

He needed a knockout to bring back his invincibility and convince fight fans he wasn’t yet over the hill.

But boxing isn’t always about knockout.

It can be won also on points.

HOMETOWN

Horn, egged by a hometown crowd, was determined to snatch the WBO tiara off from his head, thus he engaged the 38-year-old superstar in a toe-to-toe brawl without fear and hesitation.

In the sixth round, Horn, 29, showed that he could swallow Pacquiao’s best punches and didn’t retreat.

The white fighter from Brisbane Queensland stuck to the game plan: pressure the Pacman from pillar to post and avoid fighting him from the distance.

Taller by three inches at 5 feet and nine inches, Horn, an orthodox, complicated matters for unorthodox Pacquiao when he swapped bombs side by side instead of stepping backward while Pacquiao was digging on Horn’s body.   

Refusing to be intimidated, Horn was ahead entering the eight round.

The senator from Mindanao has not sent to dreamland the last nine customers he beat in eight years.

The loss to Horn (17-0-11 KOs) was also his fourth in the last eight years.

Pacquiao’s last TKO win was on Nov. 14, 2009 when he stopped Miguel Cotto in the last round for the WBO 147-lb bauble in Las Vegas.

FOUR

After a scintillating Cotto TKO win, Pacquiao rolled past Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley, and Juan Manuel Marquez (third meeting) all on points.

Then came back to back setbacks to Timothy Bradley Jr. On June 9, 2012 and a shock five-round KO loss to Marquez (fourth meeting) on December 8, 2012.

Followed by three straight wins against Brandon Rios, Bradley (rematch), and Chris Algieri before Pacquiao succumbed to Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 2, 2015.

He should have retired after the Mayweather debacle after bankrolling $100 million.

Pacquiao’s third meeting and second victory over Bradley and another win against Jessie Vargas all in 2016 were meant to deodorize his marketability after a not-so-impressive performance against Mayweather.

Pacquiao’s No. 1 marketing man, Bob Arum, made sure Pacquiao wasn’t tainted when he and Mayweather failed to satisfy the paying fans who protested the “lackluster” duel.

STOCK

The twin wins over Bradley and Vargas, however, didn’t improve his stock.

Pacquiao did not only stagnate, he declined as manifested by his diminishing work rates en route to scoring his last two wins before the Horn shocker.

He could not paddle his canoe as senator and ribcracker in two rivers.

At 38, his speed and power could no longer send fears in the hearts of younger and hungrier welterweights today.

The Horn defeat was a handwriting on the wall for Pacquiao that it’s time to finally hang up his gloves even if Bob Arum and the Top Rank will run berserk.

There’s no more reason for him to stay in the fistic business.

He has achieved titanic stardom that can’t be duplicated by any Asian fighter today.

He has earned gargantuan millions of dollars that no other prizefighter in his generation other than Mayweather has achieved.

His political career has been a success while riding on fame and glory he garnered through years of giving the Philippines pride and respect in the world of prizefighting.

Pacquiao should have quit when he was ahead.

Another ‘Jeff’ has ax to grind vs Pacquiao

By Alex P. Vidal

FAIRFAX, Virginia -- The Aussie who has ax to grind for 17 years against Manny Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 KOs) is also known as “Jeff” but he isn’t Jeff Horn (16-0-1, 11 KOs), WBO’s No. 1 welterweight contender, who will fight Pacquiao for WBO 147-lb crown in Brisbane, Australia on July 2.

Jeff Fenech, now 53, is a former undisputed world super bantamweight champion, who went wild in Manila on October 14, 2000 when his unbeaten ward, Nedal Hussein, lost a controversial 10^th round TKO to Pacquiao for the WBC international super bantamweight title at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo City, Philippines.

Fenech, who insisted until now that Hussein had been robbed, nearly attack famed referee Carlos Padilla, who stopped the fight due to Hussein's eye injury.

Fenech accused Padilla of administering a “long count” when Hussein knocked down Pacquiao in the fourth canto of the 12-round championship fight.

SLOW

Padilla, third man in the ring during the 1975 “Thrilla in Manila”, was accused of allowing Pacquiao to clear the cobwebs with a slow count.

Fenech filed a protest but Pacquiao’s win had been upheld.

He was not impressed with Pacquiao’s talent. Fenech criticized the Filipino politician for his weak chin saying Hussein could have finished off Pacquiao in the fourth round had the fight was officiated by a neutral referee.

Fenech and Hussein had been asking for a rematch that never materialized until Hussein, now 41, decided to retire after losing to Takashi Uchiyama by knockout for Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) super featherweight tiara in Tokyo on September 8, 2007.

Now that Pacquiao’s title defense will be held in their home court with an estimated paying fans of 55,000 or more, Fenech has advised Horn he can upset Pacquiao at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Queensland Australia if he uses the right tactics.

Fenech recently told Grantlee Kieza of the Courier Mail: “Just bash the bloke in close. It’s no more Mister Nice Guy now. I’m not saying break the rules but you have to rough Manny up. Jeff, do everything to hurt him in close. Twist him, twist his knees, use your weight advantage, bully him--bang your shoulder into him. Manny can punch at a distance, Jeff. Close the distance. Stay on his chest and make him feel all of his 38 years.”

STAR

Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, meanwhile, has praised Horn as a future major star saying he expects a viewing audience of 10 million on ESPN.

“If Jeff Horn, win or lose, performs as well as I think he will, he will end up to be a major star in the United States just because so many eyeballs have seen him,” Arum said on June 26 as he watched Horn train. “And I really believe that Jeff Horn will give an outstanding account of himself. This is a great, great, great opportunity. The fight will be shown free to the American public on ESPN, the largest sports network in the world. ESPN is going all out to promote the event. We’re looking forward to an audience as large as 10 million in the United States and maybe larger…. it will dwarf anything Manny Pacquiao has done in the United States in the 15 or 16 years that he’s been fighting.”