Pacquiao clobbers Margarito, claims eighth crown

ARLINGTON, Texas – Manny Pacquiao was once again masterful, beating Antonio Margarito so frightfully that Margarito’s face looked as it had been pounded repeatedly by a club.

Pacquiao won a unanimous one-sided decision in a blowout from the opening seconds of the fight to capture the World Boxing Council super welterweight title before 41,734 in-awe fans at Cowboys Stadium.

Pacquiao’s title belt, coming against an opponent who had a 17-pound weight advantage when the bell rang, 165-148, was the eighth in his illustrious career. Pacquiao has won world titles at 112, 122, 126, 130, 135, 140, 147 and now 154 pounds.

Judges Jurgen Langos had it 120-109, Glen Crocker had it 118-110 and Oren Schellenberger had it 119-109 for Pacquiao. Yahoo! Sports scored it 120-107 for Pacquiao, giving Pacquiao a 10-8 edge in the 10th round when he dominated tremendously.

Margarito, fighting for the first time in the U.S. since Jan. 24, 2009, when he was caught with an illegal knuckle pad in his gloves before a loss to Shane Mosley, was never in the fight. Pacquiao’s speed was blinding and was the difference in the fight.

Pacquiao was hurt when Margarito landed a combination to the ribs, but he spun off the ropes and landed a three-punch combination to the head. Margarito’s right eye was swollen grotesquely, beginning in the fourth. By the 10th round, the left eye was a slit, too.

Pacquiao was looking at referee Laurence Cole late in the fight, asking him to stop it. Pacquiao said he eased off in the 12th round. “I did my best,” Pacquiao said. “He’s strong. He’s a very tough fighter. I can’t believe [he took those punches].”

Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, added “We didn’t lose a round. I wish they had stopped the fight. They probably ruined his career by not stopping the fight.”

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Bata eliminates Archer in 10-ball Challenge

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino pool legend Efren 'Bata' Reyes eliminated fellow former world champion American Johnny 'Scorpion' Archer, 15-11, in the Fat Boy 10-Ball Challenge in Indiana, US.

The win set up a titular showdown between Reyes and local bet Brandon Shuff, who brought down countryman Shannon Murphy, 15-9.

Reyes traded racks with Archer until they were tied at 8-8.

In the 17th rack, the American missed a low percentage 8-ball allowing Reyes to take the rack, then break and run the next two.

He never looked back after that and earned a seat in the finals.

Reyes, a native of Angeles City and pride of Puyat Sports, is also competing in the 9-ball division of the 12th Annual Derby City Classic.

Reyes will go up against Bernie Collins of the USA while stablemate and former World No.1 Francisco “Django” Bustamante will meet Sylver Ochoa of Mexico.

Also competing in the 9-ball competition is veteran pool player Rodolfo “Boy Samson” Luat.

Another Puyat Sports ace Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan stamped his class in the one-pocket division, eliminating last year’s champion John Schmidt in a 3-0 victory. – by Marlon Bernardino

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Gorres showing signs of improvement

A piece of good news to go with Manny Pacquiao’s victory was a report that Filipino Z Gorrez had shown signs of improvement at a hospital where he was brought to after his bout with Columbia’s Luis Melendez also in Las Vegas.

His manager, Mike Aldeguer, was reported being told by doctors that Gorres is showing positive signs.

It was learned that the Filipino southpaw “was trying to remove the tube on his mouth himself, a sign which doctors said Gorres “is not brain dead.”

Gorres did win the fight by dropping Melendez in the third round of their scheduled 10-round bantamweight fight, scoring his 30th win (with two setbacks and two draws).

Melendez was reported to have scored a hard hit on Gorres’ head late before the end of the third round. The punch proved fatal as the Filipino felt dizzy and was immediately brought to a hospital for treatment of nausea.

While he was able to beat the mandatory count, he was said to have a hard time going upright. He was nevertheless declared winner by virtue of the judges’ scores of 98-90, 98-90 and 97-91.

At a hospital, part of his skull had been removed to drain the fluid in his brain.

Considering the gravity of what he took, Gorres may no longer continue with his career.

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Z Gorres in critical condition after winning Las Vegas fight

LAS VEGAS - Filipino boxer Z "The Dream" Gorres is reportedly in critical condition after undergoing an emergency surgery at a hospital in Las Vegas, where he was rushed after winning his fight against Colombian foe Luis Melendez at the Mandalay Bay Hotel on Saturday.

Michael Aldeger, Gorres's manager told ABS-CBN News that the Filipino boxer had to undergo surgery due to a blood clot on the left side of his brain.

Aldeger said that as of 1:57 p.m. (Manila time), Gorres remains unconscious and doctors at the University Medical Center have advised them the boxer is in critical condition.

The boxer was rushed to hospital after going down in the last round of his fight against Melendez.

Despite going down badly, Gorres was able to get up 30 seconds before the final bell rang and was declared winner via unanimous decision.

The fight started out slow for the both fighters, but the action picked up when Z Gorres knocked down Melendez with a one-two combination at the 3rd round.

The fight's pace went up further after the Filipino boxer landed another combination with his left and straight punches against the Columbian fighter.

Melendez got up, but was overwhelmed by the Filipino throughout the fight. The Columbian fighter, however, came back strong and held his own in the 10th round.

Melendez toppled Z Gorres with his own version of a one-two combination.

The Filipino was able to recover from the knockdown, but after being declared winner in the bantam weight division fight, he collapsed again to the ground.

Z Gorres stayed on the floor for about 5 minutes before he was brought out of the Mandalay Bay on a stretcher and brought to hospital. -- Report from Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News

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Ginobili catches bat

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AFP) – Tony Parker scored 24 points and Manu Ginobili added 13 points and a Halloween holiday treat for Spurs fans Saturday as San Antonio notched a 113-94 NBA victory over Sacramento.

The Spurs, coming off a disappointing loss to Chicago, got a big night from Parker, who also contributed seven assists.

"We wanted to bounce back," Parker said. "The Bulls outplayed us last game. So we wanted to make sure we came out tonight with a lot of energy. And that's what we did."

San Antonio led by 16 at the half, and stretched that lead to 21 with one quarter remaining thanks in large part to Parker's eight points in the third period.

But Ginobili was the talk of the night. He scored 13 points off the bench, but his most impressive feat was catching a bat that swooped toward the court and disrupted the game.

"That was amazing," Parker said. "The legend continues with Manu. Unbelievable. ... He's always doing crazy stuff."

The bat appeared late in the first quarter. As players dodged out of the way, officials halted play before the bat circled away.

When it returned, Ginobili swatted it down with his hand, then carried it off the court.

The crowd cheered, and even a few Kings players clapped.

"When you can't dunk anymore, you have to find a way to make it into the news," said Argentina's Ginobili, who was limited last season by an ankle injury. "So that's what I did. I grabbed a bat. I didn't think it was a big deal."

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich called it a classic Ginobili moment.

"He never ceases to amaze me and he just did it again," Popovich said. "The legend grows. It's incredible on Halloween night. You would call someone a liar if they told you that story."

Pacquiao still P4P king

Despite Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s blazing return to the ring last week, Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao is still entrenched in his position atop the mythical pound for pound (P4P) throne based on the latest rating list of The Ring Magazine.

The reputable magazine, considered the “Bible of Boxing," named Pacquiao No. 1 in its ratings released Sept. 20, a day after Mayweather hacked out a one-sided unanimous decision over bloated lightweight Juan Manuel Marquez in his comeback fight.

P4P king Manny PacquiaoMayweather, the former top P4P fighter prior to his retirement in 2007, was rated No. 2, dislodging Marquez from his old spot behind the Pacman. Marquez, who fought Pacquiao in two close encounters, dropped three notches to No. 5.

Mayweather’s reentry into the prestigious ratings created changes from No. 2 down.

Sugar Shane Mosley, who had previously attempted to seal a fight with Pacquiao and even climbed up the ring to challenge Mayweather after the Marquez fight, went up to No. 3 from No. 4. Mosley switched places with previously third-ranked Bernard Hopkins.

After the fifth-ranked Marquez were Israel Vasquez at No. 6 (from No. 5) and Rafael Marquez at No. 7 (from No. 6).

The only other Filipino in the list, WBA interim super flyweight champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash" Donaire, Jr., slipped one place to No. 8.

Pacquiao’s rival on Nov. 14, WBO welterweight king Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico, occupied No. 9, a one-spot drop, while WBA and IBF junior featherweight champ Celestino Caballero completed the Top 10.

The dispute for the mythical P4P title is expected to be the main beef if and when a megafight is forged between Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr.

Exploratory talks have reportedly started for a possible big-money showdown between the two P4P superstars by next year.

But before that, the Pacman, who was impressed with Mayweather’s dismantling of an overmatched Marquez, would have to take care of his upcoming business against the tough Cotto first. - GMANews.TV

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Richard Jefferson "The Runaway Groom"

Richard Jefferson and fiancee Kesha Ni'cole Nichols were set to tie a know this coming Saturday at the Mandarian Oriental Hotel in Manhattan but Jefferson decided to call a full timeout shortly before the ceremony. He didn't tell his friends but sent his best man with his Black Amex(credit card) to take care of all his guests. The crew partied the night off while Kesha cooled her heels in one of their suites.

Maybe Jefferson thought that he might find his true soul mate somewhere else so i guess my best bet will be the San Antonio dance team, where else would he search. Or just maybe Tony Parker, his new teammate, lets him know that winning a ring opens the door to dating options not limited to on-court entertainers? I'm sure Eva Longoria loves Parker not just because of his championship rings.

I hope whatever reasons Jefferson has in his mind, it must be good enough for him to lose a really attractive girl and spent a ton of money on a wedding that didn't happen.

Read more here.