How a boxing bout could end in draw

How a boxing bout 
could end in draw 

By Alex P. Vidal

There are three possible ways for the Pacquiao vs Bradley rematch to end in a draw: 1. Accidental head butt before round four; 2. Split draw after 12 rounds; and 3. Majority draw after 12 rounds.
According to rules, if the ring physician, consulted by referee after a fatal head clash before the fourth round, considers one of the fighters unfit to continue due to the wound he suffered, the referee automatically waves off the fight and declares a technical draw. The champion retains his title.
The scenario is not most likely to happen in the Pacquiao vs Bradley rematch since one of them fights in the distance and does not gore an opponent. While Pacquiao wants a fierce brawl, Bradley wants a cha-cha dance.
In split draw after 12 rounds, the three judges submit contrasting results. One for Pacquiao, the other for Bradley, the third one even.
In majority draw after 12 rounds, two judges score a draw while the third judge scores either for Bradley or Pacquiao. The draw score of the two judges will overcome the third judge who scores either for Bradley or Pacquiao.  
Among the three possible draws in world title bouts in history, split draw was almost always the main reason.
A "no contest" usually occurs when the referee terminates the bout because both protagonists refuse to follow repeated instructions and ignore the authority of the third man in the ring. 

Guimbal re-enacts Moro raid in Bantayan Festival

Guimbal re-enacts Moro 
raid in Bantayan Festival

By Alex P. Vidal

The Municipality of Guimbal, headed by Mayor Christine S. Garin, celebrated the 12th Bantayan Festival with interesting events that showcased Guimbal’s rich history, heritage and tradition. 

A cultural presentation through re-enactment of Moro Raid, performed by Tribu Bunabi, narrated the history of the town of Guimbal held last April 10 at Bantayan Beach Resort.

The beach resort is situated beside the the 17th century Moro Watchtower used as a look-out to forewarn the natives and to enable them to defend Guimbal from marauding Moro pirate raiders who captured Guimbalanons and sold them at slave markets in Kolambogan, Mindanao during the Spanish colonial era.

New Pacquiao-Bradley judge known to score a big margin

New Pacquiao-Bradley judge  
known to score a big margin 

"If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?"
Vince Lombardi

By Alex P. Vidal

The name Craig Metcalfe does not ring a bell among Filipino boxing fans familiar with personalities involved in officiating big time Las Vegas fights probably because he is based in Canada. 
Metcalfe, a Canadian, is a last-minute replacement for the "ill" John Keane of Great Britain. A real estate broker in Alberta, Metcalfe will judge the Pacquiao-Bradley rematch on April 12 along with Glenn Trowbridge of Nevada and Michael Pernick of Florida. Kenny Bayless will be the third man in the ring.
Because of the controversy over the first fight, the Nevada State Athletic Commission agreed to assign two judges from outside Nevada. The WBO could only assign a supervisor.
When he was assigned to judge famous duels mostly involving WBC championships in the past, records showed Metcalfe gave margins by a mile to celebrity boxers.

FIRST TIME

The Pacquiao-Bradley rematch will be the first time in Metcalfe's 15-year career as judge that he will officiate for two successive times in the gambling capital of the world. He is busy officiating bouts mostly in Canada. Last March 8, Metcalfe was back in Las Vegas when Saul Alvarez TKO'd Alfredo Angulo in 10th. When the fight was terminated, Alvarez was ahead by seven rounds in Metcalfe's scorecard, 89-82. If the fight set for 12 rounds went the distance, there was no way for Angulo to chase Alvarez's lead in Metcalfe's ledger.
Alvarez is the more popular between the two courtesy of his 12-round majority decision defeat to celebrity Floyd Mayweather for WBC light middleweight and WBA super light middleweight crowns on Sept. 14, 2013. Incidentally, Metcalfe was a judge in the Mayweather-Alvarez setto held at the MGM Grand.
Of the three judges, it was Metcalfe's score that caught the attention of fans with malicious minds. He scored a lopsided 117-111, while Dave Moretti had it 116-112 for Mayweather. Third judge C.J. Ross disagreed with them and submitted a draw, 114-114. Ross, a veteran of more than 30 world title bouts, was the same judge who scored an atrocious 115-113 in favor of Bradley in the first Pacquiao bout on June 9, 2012.

PERFORMANCE

Going back to Metcalfe's performance in the Mayweather-Alvarez setto. The scorecard showed he had "no mercy" for Canelo, who was never in danger of falling down during the rumble. Many fans wondered if Ross saw the bout even, how in the hell could a fellow judge see a one-sided action when they were both watching and officiating the same pair of protagonists in the ring?
Also, when Vitali Klitschko halted Tomasz Adamek in 10th for WBC heavyweight title at the Stadion Miejski in Wroclaw, Poland on Sept. 10, 2011, Metcalfe's scorecard was also a head-turning 90-80 at the time of the stoppage. He gave Klitschko almost a shutout score that would have rendered impossible Adamek's efforts to chase with two rounds left. 
Was it a mere coincidence that in all these championship clashes, Metcalfe showed apparent generosity for celebrity fighters like Alvarez, Mayweather and Klitschko by giving them kilometric leads? Pacquiao and Bradley are both also considered as celebrities. Will Metcalfe give weight to their rank in the galaxy of boxing stars? Or he will judge the fight according to their performance?  

TEN FEET 

There was one championship fight, however, that Metcalfe stood ten feet tall. This was when he scored 115-113 for Andre Ward, who retained his WBC/WBA super middleweight belts by unanimous decision against Carl Froch at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Dec. 17, 2011. His tally agreed with fellow judge John Stewart, who also scored 115-113. Third judge John Keane, the man originally assigned in the Pacquiao-Bradley rematch, had a terrible 118-110 also for Ward.
"Metcalfe is a good judge. We have no issue whatsoever," Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti recently told ESPN.com.
If no knockout will happen, the fight will be decided anew on the scorecards. We will keep an eye on Metcalfe and his two colleagues.

Pacquiao needs a samurai to bring down Bradley

Pacquiao needs a samurai 

to bring down Bradley

"It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see."

Winston Churchill

By Alex P. Vidal

Manny Pacquiao's fiery eleventh hour assault against Timothy "The Desert Storm" Bradley in their first meeting on June 9, 2012, failed to convince judges Duane Ford and C.J. Ross, who scandalously awarded the WBO 147-lb title to the unbeaten black fighter from Palm Springs, California via 12-round split decision.

Both judges scored an identical 115-113 for Bradley to obscure Jerry Roth's 115-113 in favor of the eight-time world champion, who plans to run for senator in the Philippines in 2016. In the eyes of both the experts and fans, Pacquiao was the clear winner. 

Pacquiao (55-5, 38 KOs) got tired of chasing the elusive Bradley (31-0, 12 KOs) and "lost" in the last three rounds. Both ended the 12th and final round throwing wild punches.

I was at ringside at the MGM Grand from start until the 10th round. I hurriedly left my assigned seat (Floor "G" Row "F" #18) before the 11th round. By 11th and 12th stanzas, I was watching the fight inside the media center and saw a lopsided duel with Pacquiao landing most of the haymakers. I wanted to be the first to get the official scorecards transmitted immediately to the media center.

WINNER

To my horror, Bradley, 30, was declared the winner by split decision. I pulled the first piece of paper that came out from the copier machine and downloaded it on my Facebook account. Thousands of "friends" shared it as the world exploded in outrage over the "highway robbery."

Fans had expected a come-from-behind KO win for Pacquiao in the first Bradley duel but were ready to accept a decision when Pacquiao could not nail the lucky punch. But not a bum decision. They crucified the two judges, not Bradley.

Although Pacquiao, 35, has not scored a stoppage win since Nov. 14, 2009 when he snatched Miguel Angel Cotto's WBO welterweight belt via 12th round TKO, he is no stranger to late round knockout victories. Pacquiao retired Oscar De La Hoya in 8th; halted David Diaz in 9th; demolished Jorge Solis in 8th; TKO'd Erik Morales in 10th in their rematch; stopped Marco Antonio Barrera in 11th; put away Nedal Hussein in 10th. They were some of his fiercest battles en route to become a ring legend.

BACK-TO-BACK

In their rematch on April 12, Bradley seeks to become the first fighter to score a back-to-back victory over the famed Pacquiao. His confidence boosted after rolling past Ruslan Provonikov (23-2, 16 KOs) and Juan Manuel Marquez (55-7, 40 KOs), Bradley increased muscles and posed for photographers in apparent copycat of Marquez, who did the same trick prior to knocking out Pacquiao in 6th last December 8, 2012.

The message Team Bradley wanted to impart was: "I'm willing to engage Pacquiao in a brawl and I won't run away." This could be meant to confuse Team Pacquiao which expects Bradley to again dance and avoid a head-on collision.

Nobody survived with Pacquiao in a phone-booth brawl except Marquez, whose one-punch demolition of Pacquiao was considered as a "lucky punch". In order to beat Pacquiao, Morales, in their first meeting on March 19, 2005 also in MGM Grand, sprayed the Filipino superstar with blinding and dizzying jabs and confused him with consistent lateral movements from start to finish.

EXPOSED

No boxer has been very much exposed in Las Vegas than Pacquiao in as far as styles and weaknesses are concerned. Even those who have been vanquished have studied Pacquiao, but only a few of them have been given the privilege to face him again in a rematch and a trilogy.

Like in his previous bouts, Pacquiao is again under pressure to satisfy bloodthirsty fans with a knockout win. But given Bradley's mental and physical preparations, it looks like the Filipino congressman will need to bring a samurai or revolver to fulfill this difficult mission assigned to him by fans baying for Bradley's flesh and blood. 

Bradley's camp is aware of the danger their ward faces once the reigning WBO welterweight champion makes a mistake of forcing a KO win against the durable Pacquiao only because Bradley now looks like Incredible Hulk. Team Bradley is also aware that finishing the full route against Pacquiao is already half winning the bout -- with or without "cooperation" of the judges.

How we report, predict fights of Manny Pacquiao

How we report, predict 
fights of Manny Pacquiao

"Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." 
Niels Bohr

By Alex P. Vidal

Boxing journalists make their respective pre-fight analysis and predictions while inside the media center of a host hotel and casino in Las Vegas. 
Only those accredited by Top Rank and Magna Media International are strictly allowed inside the media center where celebrities and VIPs proceed to be interviewed from time to time a week before, during and after the event.
Whether you are an American, a Latino, a Russian, a Japanese or a Filipino writer or newscaster, your opinion matters. If the opinion is impressive, it lands in the blogs and newspaper pages the following morning with proper attribution. Boxing writers also compliment each other by sharing and swapping data and sources. Sometimes they interview each other.
Not all predictions are accurate though. Nobody had expected Pacquiao to lose against Timothy Bradley when they first collided on June 9, 2009. Although most experts believed Pacquiao was robbed, the controversial 12-round split verdict was never reversed. The WBO 147-lb belt stayed in the waist of the black fighter otherwise known as the Desert Storm.

WEIGH-IN

Hours before the official weigh-in or a day before the first Pacquiao-Bradley fisticuffs, Filipino writers having lunch in a Filipino restaurant on Las Vegas strip predicted a knockout win for Pacquiao. Nick Giongco of Manila Bulletin said he saw Bradley going to dreamland before the 10th round. Roy Luarca of Philippine Daily Inquirer and Abac Cordero of Philippine Star agreed with him. Vancouver publisher Rey Fortaleza and publicist Robbie Pangilinan did not disagree. I reiterated what I earlier told Rey and Robbie that "2012 is not the year of Pacquiao" and that I saw Bradley winning by a split decision. 
My analysis was consistent with the statement I made in a long distance noontime interview with Bombo Radyo anchorman Don Dolido that Pacquiao would suffer his fourth loss since yielding via 12-round unanimous decision to Erik Morales for WBC international super featherweight title on March 19, 2005. The same statement I made to RMN-DYRI Iloilo anchorman Novie Guazo, GMA-6 Ratsada, and many other colleagues in Iloilo media.
When the American TV analyst posted the interview he gave me on youtube where I pushed for Pacquiao's mandatory retirement after the Bradley fiasco, I was sledge-hammered by angry Pacquiao fans and called names.   

ANTICIPATE

Many of us also failed to anticipate Pacquiao's 6th round KO defeat to Marquez nine months later. Prior to the December 12, 2012 debacle, Filipino, American and a few Latino writers and analysts had predicted a stoppage win for Pacquiao in his fourth meeting against the "slow" and "aging" Marquez.
We sensed something wrong when instead of egging Pacquiao to retire after the loss to Bradley, Top Rank boss Bob Arum still signed Pacquiao up for a record fourth clash against the grizzled Mexican bomber. Ergo, I picked Marquez to win on points. 
On the eve of Pacquiao's bout against Brandon Rios in Macau last November 24, 2013, tenminutes.com posted my pre-fight prediction of a Pacquiao victory by unanimous decision even as Manila experts made a cocksure prediction of a KO ending for Rios.

MENTION

While I am proud to mention that I was able to correctly predict Pacquiao's last three fights as well as some of his past fights, I also goofed when I claimed that Pacquiao stood no chance against the legendary former Olympic gold medalist Oscar De La Hoya, who capitulated in the 8th round on December 6, 2008. 
As sportswriters, we are not in business to compete with Madame Auring or Nostradamus. 
We only report the facts and events based on what we see and the interviews we make. Attendance in press conference is also important. Direct quotes from news sources are essential for the story we write. We are given accreditation because of our credentials and experience, not because we are good in our forecasts and because we belong to giant news networks and publications. We don't claim to be experts, but we have the edge when it comes to calling spade a spade and chronicling the events on a blow by blow account.  

LOVE YOU INSIDE AND OUT (Bee Gees)

'Friends' quarrel for Pacquiao's belt like their meals are at stake

"It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy to deprive a man of his natural liberty upon the supposition he may abuse it." -- George Washington

By Alex P. Vidal

Fans must be wondering why in Manny Pacquiao's last four fights, no one was carrying his championship belts in the ring during the introduction ceremony. Aside from the regular WBO strap, he is a life-time "title holder" of Ring Magazine's championship belt.
Cris Aquino was no longer around to carry the Philippine flag. In almost all of Pacquiao's previous fights in the United States, we saw Evelio "Bing" Leonardia raising Pacquiao's belt while grinning from ear to ear like he hit a casino jackpot.
Everytime Pacquiao fought in the United States, Leonardia had to take a leave as mayor of Bacolod City to mount the American ring with the rest of Team Pacquiao. In Pacquao's last four fights, Leonardia, now a Bacolod city congressman, was still there, but he no longer was carrying Pacquiao's belt (this can be verified in the video of Pacquiao's previous fights). 

AWARE

Leonardia was aware that he had been the subject of envy, intrigues and ugly gossips from some Pacquiao minions jealous of his exposure to the global media. "Dati ako ang humahawak ng belt ni Manny," sobbed Lito Mondejar, Pacquiao's former promoter in "Mano Mano", a weekly boxing promotion in Manila where Pacquiao was discovered in the 90's. While we were having lunch at Denny's in Las Vegas, Mondejar chortled: "Sila mismo ang nag o offer sa sarili nila. Yan namang si Manny hindi naman maka hindi mabait kasi." (I was the one previously assigned to carry the belt. They were the ones who offered themselves and Manny Pacquiao could not say no.)
Leonardia was unfazed. He insisted it was Pacquiao, now his colleague in congress and kumpare (the Bacolod solon acted as godfather of Pacquiao's child), who invited him to carry the boxer's belt. He had been carrying the belt uninterrupted since June 28, 2008 when Pacquiao wrecked via 9th round TKO David Diaz for WBC lightweight title at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
To be seen with Pacquiao inside the ring during introduction ceremony, watched by millions of TV audience worldwide, is a dream come true for most characters in Team Pacquiao. The gargantuan publicity mileage is a slam dunk for any Filipino politician like Lito Atienza and Chavit Singson who tagged along Pacquiao like leeches.  Not everyone though has the privilege to enter the ring. Top Rank provides special color-coded identification cards for those allowed inside the square battlefield.

THREAT

The biggest threat to Leonardia's franchise of Pacquiao's belt, however, did not come from within the boxer's inner circle. Mondejar, who carried the belt when Pacquiao pulverized in the 8th round Jorge Solis for WBC international super featherweight title in San Antonio, Texas on April 14, 2007, did not anymore press for his birthright to the belt.
When Pacquiao squared off versus Ricky Hatton for IBO light welterweight on May 2, 2009 in Las Vegas, song writer Lito Camo and Texas-based pediatrician Allan Recto got interested in Leonardia's role. A near ugly scuffle ensued in the dressing room when Recto tried to grab the WBC belt from Leonardia, who tightly embraced the belt and refused with extreme resistance to hand it over to the determined Recto. "Bing, ako naman ma uyat sang paha. Nag OK na si Manny (Bing, it's my turn to carry the belt and I have the go signal of Manny)," Recto jabbed at Leonardia. "Wala ka hambal si Manny sina. Sa akon ini ya na assign. Ano ini imo ya man?" Leonardia angrily retorted, his hands keeping a tight grip on the belt. (Manny hasn't told me that. I am still in charge of this belt. What's this are you doing?)

SYMPATHY

In an apparent attempt to get his sympathy, Recto then looked at assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez and asked: "Boy, paano ni?" (Boy, what's your stand on this?) Fernandez didn't say any word.
Camo, on the hard hand, cried like a baby denied of his biscuit when told that his request to carry the Ring Magazine belt could not be granted because it was already assigned to the father of Jinky Pacquiao.
The composer of Willie Revillame's "Wowowee" show thought he had the job on the bag and was preparing for his date with fame when told of the bad news. Camo believed Pacquiao had fallen in love with his talent after composing some of Pacquiao's Tagalog songs that became a hit in the Philippines.

INTEREST

"Why the hell would this Lito Camo be interested on carrying the belt inside the ring? Aside from composing some of Manny's songs, what has he done to deserve this kind of attention?" bewailed a Canadian lawyer irked by what he saw.
"Ang problema sa iba diyan, naka say hi and hello lang kay Manny lumalaki na ang ulo akala nila importante na sila sa buhay ni Manny. Mabait lang talaga si Manny kaya hindi siya umaayaw sa mga lumalapit sa kanya pero hindi ibig sabihin na abusuhin nila ang kabaitan nia (There are people not really closed to Manny who think they are important to the boxer's life, thus they abuse his kindness. Because he is a good man, Manny does not say no to those who approach him," commented a broadcast journalist and former boxing manager, who now resides in San Francisco, California.