Boxing ta!

[thadzonline]

---

boxing - baskbetbol - billiards!

ayawg kalimti ang bowling ...4 B's of Philippine sports

[yokam]

If only the Olympics holds events like bowling and billiards then Philippines has a greater chance of winning a gold medal.

[thadzonline]

If only the Olympics holds events like bowling and billiards then Philippines has a greater chance of winning a gold medal.

I think this is being considered na man and mura nag demonstration events na man gani the past few Olympic games

[yokam]

Yeah, it's among the "future" games for the Olympics. Along with some other sports like sumo, gold, rugby and the rest. Baseball and softball are dropped for the 2012 Olympics daw. Why?

[thadzonline]

Yeah, it's among the "future" games for the Olympics. Along with some other sports like sumo, gold, rugby and the rest. Baseball and softball are dropped for the 2012 Olympics daw. Why?

basin wlay stadium available ang London for that kay puro ra soccer stadium ang ilaha..nyahahaha

[BushidoFMA]

akong thoughts about ani noh is...dili jud totally kuhaon ang basketball pero dapat unta ang focus jud sa philippine sports commission is katong mga area where naa tay dako nga percentage nga maka daug.

nindot man ta no kuhaon nato ang glory pero palaban pod lagi ta ug fil-am, or unsa pa ng mga -am dha. What does that tell us? kulang jud ang filipino blood para makadaug ug international basketball tourney.

[erwin_rommel]

akong thoughts about ani noh is...dili jud totally kuhaon ang basketball pero dapat unta ang focus jud sa philippine sports commission is katong mga area where naa tay dako nga percentage nga maka daug.

nindot man ta no kuhaon nato ang glory pero palaban pod lagi ta ug fil-am, or unsa pa ng mga -am dha. What does that tell us? kulang jud ang filipino blood para makadaug ug international basketball tourney.

gamay ra pud au ang budget para sa sports commision so gamay gihapon ang chances sa ato country for olympic gold. layo ra kaayo tag training sa uban countries

[yokam]

nindot man ta no kuhaon nato ang glory pero palaban pod lagi ta ug fil-am, or unsa pa ng mga -am dha. What does that tell us? kulang jud ang filipino blood para makadaug ug international basketball tourney.

That's actually where our pride comes in. We know the fact that we can't win it if we field in pure blooded Filipinos because they're too small. We badly need Fil-Am reinforcements to help us in that cause, they increase our chances of winning international competitions. After all, FIBA allows half-blooded players to suit up for different teams so there's nothing wrong with that. Russia even won the FIBA Europe title through the heroics of a naturalized citizen in JR Holden (pure-blooded American).

As long as these Fil-Ams are Filipino by heart, there's nothing wrong about it.

[shimiyu]

After all those achievements, will we not try to regain the glory and the pride that was once ours?
When it comes to boxing, there's no doubt we've got too much potential Filipino fighters. Yet saying that we should give more importance to boxing than basketball is too unfair and should I say a very nonsense idea. Both are different sports and everybody knows that RP can excel in both. Both sports are run independently, we've got ALA for boxing and SMC for basketball as major supporters for the sport. Why not we focus on how to improve such sports especially basketball rather than leave it behind. Di ta magtinapulan.

yeah, we can't focus on one sport only, to the detriment of the other.

[shimiyu]

some interesting article... i certainly agree with the last four reasons.
_________________________________________________

Boxing's Enemies
by Marty Mulcahey (Sept 22, 2007)

http://www.maxboxing.com/Mulcahey/Mulcahey0922a07.asp

Last month I wrote an article entitled "Boxing's Allies", which listed ten factors and trends that should ensure boxing's growth in the future. Much of the feedback on it was positive, but mentioned that I needed to point out negative aspects of the sport to highlight facets of boxing that need to be corrected, in order to assure boxing’s health and maximize it's viewing audience. To that end I am writing this feature.

One thing before I get started, as Mark Twain once stated about his prematurely reported death...,the news of boxing's demise has been vastly exaggerated. Boxing is the cockroach of the sporting world, and will outlast other competitive activities because it is the most primal of all sporting endeavors. Boxing is in our DNA, and that alone will assure boxing's continued presence on the sporting landscape. Knowing this, here are ten things preventing boxing from moving up the sporting food chain.

10. ESPN Classic - This will surprise many, and is not an obvious choice. Many fans will say I am dead wrong, and I will even agree with people who oppose this selection on a forty percent basis. The three hour Ringside shows hosted by Brian Kenny are fantastic and so are many other classic bouts, from various decades that are shown on the network. However, just because ESPN owns the right to a fight does not make it a classic. I would say 40% of the fights ESPN Classic are poor to downright horrible. Not one, but two hours of "The Best of Butterbean"!? Iran Barkley vs. Gerrie Coetzee? Take a look at bouts recently featured, like Ray Mercer vs. Mitchell Homsey, Wladimir Klitschko vs. Carlos Monroe, Joel Casamayor vs. Yoni Vargas, and other mismatches. If a casual sports fan looks at these bouts, he will think boxing is the most boring martial art since Tai Chi.

9. Dragging out showdowns - Do you remember that classic Kostya Tszyu vs. Oscar De La Hoya bout? How about that Riddick Bowe vs. Lennox Lewis grudge match? Recently we had Jorge Arce vs. Vic Darchinyan, and Arthur Abraham vs. Felix Sturm implode because of unexpected defeats. Oscar De La Hoya vs. Pernell Whitaker, and Bernard Hopkins vs. Oscar De La Hoya were nearly scuttled by Diosbelys Hurtado and Felix Sturm. In the case of Sturm vs. De La Hoya, I am sure Oscar's performance did nothing to improve the box office. Good fights sell, period.

8. PPV's - There are simply too many, and the Ivan Calderon vs. Hugo Cazares bout was a perfect example of this. Yes, that was the main event, and the undercard did not feature any title bouts either. At least stack the card with four good title bouts in the lower weight classes if you are going to charge us. I can see that bout as the first bout of a big PPV fight card, or even the co-feature of a Showtime or HBO card. Can someone explain how the Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Rocky Juarez fight is a PPV bout before Marquez gets injured, then miraculously becomes a free bout for Showtime subscribers a couple months later? It is made a PPV because promoters know just enough fans will buy the event. Now, if only I could convince just enough fans not to indulge in these kind of PPVs for one year.

7. Promotional squabbles and lawsuits - Top Rank vs. Golden Boy (over Manny Pacquiao) was almost as violent and fun to follow as anything that duo could put together in the ring. How about Cedric Kushner offering to drop a lawsuit (which he filed for Shannon Briggs) against Shelly Finkel, if Finkel grants Kushner promoted fighter David Tua a title shot at against Wladimir Klitschko? Lawsuits are as common as spit buckets, and just as nasty when they talk about it to the press. Lou DiBella vs. Bernard Hopkins was the classic love turned to hate via the courtroom melodrama. Lawsuits create an atmosphere of mistrust and resentment for the future, and it is human nature to hold a grudge. It would be great to see a Bob Arum vs. Don King challenge of champions event. I doubt the money involved would be big enough for the duo to put up with each other long enough to haggle out a contract.

6. The current state of the heavyweight division - For better or for worse (much worse lately), boxing is viewed by the casual sports fan through a window provided them by the heavyweight division. Ask Joe Sixpack who the heavyweight champion is right now, and you will get everything from Lennox Lewis to Evander Holyfield, as well as the occasional Mike Tyson. A few intelligent ones will be able to tell you, 'Some Russian, right?' America needs to produce another Tyson or Holyfield type fighter, a man that would draw more viewers to the electricity big championship fights produce. As we all know, once someone catches the bug it won't let go.

5. Perfect Records - Hey, that Oganov guy sure deserved a TV date, didn't he? No, not really. A guy (Fernando Zuniga) with two losses to good fighters sent the 26-0 guy with 26 kayos back home with his first loss. Yeah that undefeated record looks good initially, and might draw in uninitiated fans. However, excellent fighters like Kostya Tszyu and Marco Antonio Barrera became more complete boxers after their losses. There are exceptions to this rule, and right now Floyd Mayweather and Joe Calzaghe are it. A famous saying in sports is "If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying." For boxing I would like to rephrase it, "If you ain't got a loss, you ain't trying."

4. No central body to rule over boxing - Boxing needs to have one accepted world body to lord over the sport, as FIFA does with soccer. The money is obviously there. Heck, boxing supports four major sanctioning bodies, and promoters to boot. Having a strong brand name like FIFA, NFL, NBA, or IOC would attract advertisers and other investors to the sport as well. America seems an ideal setting for such a venture, and The Ring magazine already provides a ranking system that it could adopt. It should license all promoters, referees, judges, boxers, and trainers to ensure the safety of all concerned. It would ensure all rules are implemented and followed uniformly. It could also negotiate better TV deals, as the NFL and MLB have. Abraham Lincoln said it best, "A house divided against itself cannot stand".

3. Dueling TV dates - Showtime, under the guidance of Jay Larkin, did a lot to stop this plague on our sport. They announced the network would air feature fights on the first Saturday of the month. Now there can be no excuses, or claims of ignorance, from promoters and competing broadcasters. Everyone is aware this timeslot is taken. Ignore it at your own peril. Then Showtime stepped up with quality bouts, that have in most instances surpassed HBO's and PPV events scheduled for the same date. ESPN is the worst culprit, scheduling boxing events against itself. Often ESPN Classic will feature bouts at the same time as ESPN2 airs its live shows. I doubt they would be this callous with their NFL product.

2. Bad Decisions - At it's heart, America is all about fairness. Heck, one of the reasons we started the revolution against the English was over fair trade practices. I can't tell you how many e-mails I get when a major fight (Lewis vs. Holyfield, De La Hoya vs. Sturm, or Paulie Ayala vs. Johnny Tapia) is judged poorly. It is as if they are all typed by the same person, and start out with "This is the last straw. I can not take it anymore." They are all the same because we all feel the same frustration. Unfortunately, there are no easy fixes for bad decisions. We can not expect judges to be programmed automatons, and I can accept divergent opinions on aggression versus ring generalship. Just remember that no one can escape their conscience, so judges who willfully rob a fighter of their just due will get theirs.

1. Sanctioning Bodies - Confusion. That is the one thing four divergent opinions on the same subject is bound to create. I am not even talking about manipulated opinions here, because once you throw in long held rivalries and malice things get even murkier. A major problem is having four world champions for one world. Picking challengers are as much about politics as a boxer’s skill set. The fact is that ratings have been proven to be manipulated by a Federal court, and lets not forget that they have elevated a deceased boxer up their rankings as well. Rankings are just the tip of the iceberg. You also have an infinite number of minor titles, titles by region, the ever popular super champion, champions in recess, and interim champions. I am most partial to the stripped champion, since in all reality they deserve to be stripped for being a part of the problem, instead of the solution. So what is the solution? The Ring Championship belt, or a belt created by a central governing body. Let's start with the one we already have.