Manny Pacquiao wins welterweight crown

Manny Pacquiao looked like a much younger fighter after knocking down the previously unbeaten Keith Thurman.

He may have lost some of the speed and power when he was in his prime, but thte 40-year-old Manny Pacquiao showed that he still had plenty of boxing left in him.

From the start of the fight in Las Vegas Saturday, the amazingly fit and energetic Pacquiao  seemed to surprise champion Keith Thurman, who tasted defeat the first time in his boxing career. 

The Filipino boxer quickly lunged in to deliver a barrage of punches to the body and head and just as quickly, Pacquiao would jump back and out before Thurman could counterpunch. Pacquiao knock down of Thurman in the first round looked like vintage Pacquio, pleasing the partisan audience at the MGM Resort.

In the middle rounds Thurman seemed to realize that he was being outscored and managed to win a few rounds but Pacquiao remained unfazed. Pacquiao fought back enough to counter the points being made by his opponent.

The older Pacquiao showed his stamina by becoming the agressor again the 10th and 11th rounds, apparently hurting Thurman with body blows.

Pacquiao's aggressiveness in the early rounds and Thurman's strong comeback mad the outcome of the 12-rounder uncertain even with the sold-out audience favoring the Filipino.

The first judge gave the fight to Thurman but the next two judges awarded the WBA world welterweight crown to Pacquiao. Post fight analytics showed that Pacquiao outpunched Thurman by 686 to 571.

It was the Filipino senator's 62nd win of a remarkable 71-fight career that has spanned 24 years. The welterweight crown is the ninth title for Pacquiao. Veterans at ringside described the performance as Pacquiao's best since his dazzling win over Antonio Margarito in 2010.

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Manny Pacquiao beats Broner in unanimous decision

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Manny Pacquiao landed a clean blow against Adrien Broner but failed to knock him down.

Manny Pacquiao proved that he is in better shape at age 40 than most of the rest of us at whatever age.

The Filipino boxer beat Adrien Broner last Saturday (Jan. 19) in Las Vegas with a unanimous decision by all three judges. It was the 61st victory in the fighter's storied career.

Pacquiao landed 112 of 568 thrown punches. Broner threw only 295 punches and landed just 50.

Two judges favored Pacquiao by a 116-112 score, while the third had it 117-111.

There were no knockdowns, but Pacquiao landed the heavier punches — and lots of them.

For Pacquiao fans, it might have looked like a flashback to the the fighter's glory days when he held multiple crowns in various weight divisions. He showed he still has the speed that carried him over his 24-year career. Clearly, he was the better fighter in this match but he also showed that the power he was noted for has diminished with age. Despite some strong on-targe blows, he was never able to drop Broner.

Naturally, whenever Pacquiao fights, the subject of a rematch with unbeaten Floyd Mayweather came up.

"Tell (Floyd) to come back to the ring and then we will fight,” said Pacquiao. “I’m willing to fight him again, to fight Floyd Mayweather.”

In 2015, Mayweather easily handed Pacquiao a defeat in the much-ballyhood fight to determine who was the best pound-for-pound in the world. It had the richest purse of any fight in history and a repeat of that prize that may be the only draw to bring Mayweather out of retirement.

The 42-year old fighter was at ringside for the Pacquiao-Broner bout but refused to respond to inquiries about a possible rematch with the Filipino boxer, who when not training for a fight is a senator in the Philippines and still retains hero status among his countrymen in the Philippines and around the world.

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Manny Pacquiao opponent booed for making Asian joke

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Boxer Adrien Broner laughed at his own jokes, but no one else was laughing.

ASAM NEWS

TO THE SOUNDS of boos, boxer Adrien Broner made racist Asian and Black jokes about legendary boxer Manny Pacquiao in an effort to drum up buzz about their January 19 fight in Las Vegas.

Broner dropped “F” bombs and other four-letter words frequently during a joint news conference to promote the fight.

“Before beating me, he has a better chance of becoming a driving instructor,” Boxing Scene reported Broner said, referring to the Asian bad driver stereotype.

Broner didn’t stop there.

“(Pacquiao) f—-d up his money, f—-d up his taxes. If you ask me, he’s a black fighter,” he went on to say to another round of boos from the crowd.

Pacquiao smiled throughout the whole news conference. You can hear some of Broner’s profanity-laced tirades below.

“I got to be the one that sells the fight,’’ said Broner, according to USA Today. “His English isn’t that -- well, you know.-- Isn’t that good. All he do is smile and say one word at a time. 
So I got to sell the fight.’’

Pacquiao and Broner will meet in the ring Jan. 19 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It’ll be the 14th time Pacquiao has fought at the MGM Grand and 20th time in Las Vegas overall. Many of those fights will go down as some of the best in the sport’s history, as well as the biggest moneymakers.

Pacquiao hopes to get a rematch with Floyd Mayweather, but those plans could be sidetracked if the 39-year old fighter does not beat Broner.

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AAPI Athletes: Filipino Flash victorious in his return to the ring

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Filipino American boxer Nonito Donaire lands a right hand on Hernandez.

"THE FILIPINO FLASH" took the first step on his comeback trail with a dominating victory over Ruben Garcia Hernandez in a 10-round fight in Texas' Alamadome.
Five-division world champion and Filipino boxing great Nonito 'The Filipino Flash' Donaire earned a unanimous decision over Mexico's Hernandez to become the new WBC Silver featherweight champion, Saturday evening (Sept. 23) in San Antonio, Texas.

The 34-year old Filipino fighter last saw action in November of 2016 when he lost his WBO World super bantamweight to Jessie Magdaleno in a stunning upset.

Saturday, Donaire didn't try to slug it out but kept his promise to rely on his speed and savvy to best the younger Garcia Hernandez. 

After ten rounds, the three judges were in agreement in scoring: 100-90, 97-93, 99-91.

"I feel like I’m getting back to the elite level in the way I’m fighting," Donaire told Sporting News. "It’s just more practicing of it and the conditioning of my body to react to certain situations in a fight without thinking about it.

"I boxed very well, which is something I haven't done in a long time. I moved my legs well and maintained it throughout the whole fight.

"I've always been an aggressive boxer but this time i used my jab and combinations. I had the urge to just brawl and I felt like I hurt him. But ultimately I did a great job showing versatility in my game."

Donaire said that after his win against Hernandez, he'll be gunning for the game's top featherweights. Donaire improves to 38-4 in his career. 

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AAPI Athletes: 'The Filipino Flash' defending his boxing crown

Filipino American boxer Nonito Donaire is back in the ring.

NONITO DONAIRE, JR., aka "The Filipino Flash," is fighting tonight (Sept. 23) to defend his WBC Silver Featherweight title against Mexico's Ruben Garcia Hernandez in San Antonio, Texas.

For Donaire, it will be the first time back in the ring since losing his WBO super-bantamweight crown to Jessie Magdaleno in Las Vegas in November of last year.

Donaire (37-4, 24 KOs) is scheduled to take on Ruben Garcia Hernandez (22-2-1, 9 KOs) in the co-main event of a 12-bout card at the Alamodome’s Illusions Theater.

During the weigh-in held Friday, Donaire, 34, came in at 125.5 pounds, while Garcia Hernandez weighed in at 126 pounds. 

"The second half of my career is going to be an explosion," said Donaire, who holds titles in five different weight divisions. "It’s going to be an amazing ride and everyone is going to see great fights. You know I’ll get in there with anybody."

He has in his sights a rematch with Magdaleno. Magdalena has reneged on his promise to give Donaire an immediate rematch and called the Filipino Flash a sore loser.

Donaire said he never expected Magdaleno to turn arrogant so soon after wresting the crown. In a social media rant, Magdaleno said, “I don’t need to fight you right now, I don’t need anything from you, dude … I can get better paydays from other great potential fighters … there are bigger and better matches than you … you’re old now, everyone sees it.” 

The Filipino/American fighter, who trains in the San Francisco Bay Area, said, “I’m ready to destroy everybody in my path. That’s the game plan. I want to get back to that world title shot. I will happily fight anybody for that shot to reclaim my place at the top of the division."

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