October 2008 Archives

A flaw has been discovered in Oscar dela Hoya's recent fights, writes Roy Luarca, citing boxing observer Robert Cassidy. Excerpt:

In his article on www.newsday.com on Sunday, boxing writer Robert Cassidy noted that De La Hoya was leading against such tough foes as Felix Trinidad, Bernard Hopkins, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Sugar Shane Mosley only to allow victory to escape his grasp. De La Hoya fans may point out to incompetent judges as the culprit, said Cassidy, but ring pundits also noted that the ageing 10-time world champion seemed to be fading in the last few rounds. At 35 now, De La Hoya may no longer be the deadly finisher who sowed terror in the ring in six weight divisions.

Meanwhile, Recah Trinidad recalls Leonard's advice to Manny Pacquiao: he shouldn't forget his shield. Recah writes: "Leonard put it bluntly and told Pacquiao he won’t stand a chance against Oscar De La Hoya if he forgets his shield, no matter how flimsy, in the dugout. "That, you bet, is a big improvement from what the sage Angelo Dundee had predicted when he swore that he didn’t see any chance of Pacquiao winning over De La Hoya."

Says Leonard: “As the smaller guy, Pacquiao will be very aggressive. But he must protect himself from the big punches, he has to be defensive.”

Trinidad says Leonard admits Pacquiao is “open and very vulnerable when he’s on the attack,” as he predicted an interesting match. Definitely, this won’t be a mismatch, Trinidad adds, quoting Leonard.

By Anna Valmero INQUIRER.net PASIG CITY, Philippines -- Start them on a sport while their young. This has been the inspiration of Toby’s Youth Badminton Championships. Now on its sixth year, the cup continues to attract young talent to compete with other badminton players of their own age. Toby Claudio, vice president for operations at Toby’s Sports said starting sports development at the “grassroots” level -- meaning the youth -- is the best way to keep the local talent pool fresh and helps offer better training to athletes. “Often, we believe that training is for a selected pool of very talented athletes. But the key to develop and hone players is to offer the opportunity to as many kids as possible. From here, players will emerge as they learn in the court and during their early training,” Claudio said. One of the challenges for young badminton talents is how to get exposure and experience in competitions, given that most of these cater to the yuppies and working class players. Through their badminton cup, Claudio hopes they are helping the youth gain experience and exposure while playing at the court and get acknowledged as they publish results of the competition. At present, 10 to 15 players from the cup were drafted in the national team. Right now, alternatives to physical sports such as video games and the Internet get the attention of the young. Through the event, Claudio aims to encourage kids to get active even when their young so they can avoid the sedentary lifestyle most adults have today. “More than building the physical skills, sports like badminton can help players learn sportsmanship, fair play, discipline, hard work and training -- essentials to building one’s character,” said Claudio. A parent of two players in the cup, Jojo Vargas, concurred. He said his kids Anton and Mikaela who play in the cup learned to manage time for both school work and badminton training, unlike before when they were not playing the sport. Badminton became a popular sport in the country given that it is easy to learn, the equipment for beginners is not costly and facilities are widely available given that the sport became popular in the start of the decade, said Nicole Limon, marketing supervisor of Toby’s Sports. She said the youngest player joining the event is aged five years. To let the youth focus on the competition, the event does not give out money as prizes. Winners instead are awarded with apparels and equipment from the event sponsors. About 1,000 players with ages from 8 to 18 participated in the annual cup, a joint effort between Toby’s Sport and sports gear company Dunlop. Participants hailed from Manila, Laguna, Cavite, Pampanga, Batangas, Ilo-ilo and Cebu. Eliminations will run from October 25-31 at the West Drive Badminton Center, with finals slated in November 14-16 at SM Megamall Atrium A. List of winners for the eliminations will become available October 31.

More verbal tussle between the camp of Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao in this recent story written by Marc Anthony Reyes. One thing is for sure, this is going to be a fight that you don't want to miss. Excerpt:

The fight is still two months away, but Oscar De La Hoya is already throwing verbal jabs at the man whose derisive taunt challenged him into fighting again. And it's not Manny Pacquiao, but Freddie Roach. Just before hitting the second stop of a fight promotion tour in Chicago, De La Hoya boasted that he has a training headstart of one and half months over Pacquiao, and that he's just 5 lbs away from the 147 lb catch weight. The 10-time, six-division champ also took a dig at Pacquiao's trusted corner man, saying the two-time Trainer of the Year got it all wrong during his sensational split decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year. "He (Roach) knows my training regimen, but he doesn't know everything," De La Hoya was quoted by thesweetscience.com.