Manny Pacquiao did more than knock out Ricky Hatton last night. His 73rd punch in the second round of the Junior Welterweight bout sent Ricky sprawling for the third and final time in what was a short-lived, lopsided event in front of 16,262 fans at the sold out MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. And in the process, I believe he placed himself among the elite in boxing history.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton / Photo: Newscom

There is little doubt that Manny is the pound-for-pound champion at this point. But what about all-time? Manny has compiled a 49-3-2 record in six different weight classes. Yes, six different weight classes. But under the tutelage of legendary trainer Freddie Roach, he has become quite possibly the most feared fighter in boxing today. Translation: he’s getting better with each fight.

I had little doubt that Manny would win this fight. Even with all the bravado of Ricky and his trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. leading up to the main event on HBO’s 24/7 series, I felt Manny was the faster, more technical fighter. But even Manny was surprised with the ease in which he disposed of his opponent:

“I’m surprised this fight was so easy but I did work hard since the beginning of March in training camp. Nothing personal. I am just doing my job, but this is as big a victory for me as when I beat Oscar De La Hoya.”

All the talk about Ricky being a bigger, stronger man — c’mon. He was a shade taller and a few pounds heavier. I did not, however, predict a second-round knockout for Manny. I thought Ricky had enough to possibly go the distance with him. After three months of training (to Manny’s two months), Ricky barely showed up for this fight.

Manny’s win sets up what I feel is an inevitable matchup with undefeated and unretired Floyd Mayweather Jr. in what could be one of the best fights of all-time. Sure, Floyd needs to get past Juan Manuel Marquez (July 18) in his first bout since “retirement.” And that could be a heck of a fight in it’s own right. But Pacquiao/Mayweather Jr. is what every boxing fan wants to see.

Source: ESPN.com

Imagine you are Antonio Margarito. Your impressive July beat down of Miguel Cotto was a rousing success both in pulling pay-per-view buys and in garnering media attention. Casual sports fans have started recognizing your name and maybe even your face.

The sky is the limit. Right? Well, not so much. There are so few people out there for you to fight for your deserved huge payday. Shane Mosley? Yawn, that guy never caught the public’s eye. Paul Williams? Nobody knows him and maybe he’s a little too dangerous. Zab Judah? I’d have a good time at least. Ricky Hatton? Um, maybe? Manny Pacquiao? Not for a while, but maybe. Floyd Mayweather, Jr.? He ain’t coming out of retirement for me. He’s scared of the Tijuana Tornado.

No, the guy I really want is Oscar De La Hoya and he says he’s done on December 6th. You then continue your daily morning routine, open your computer and check your boxing RSS feeds. Lo and behold there’s a new article from Dan Rafael about the Golden Boy.

Its headline is intriguing enough, “De La Hoya shies away from retirement talk.” You start to get really excited. Does he want to fight me? Please Oscar, please. I could retire after the money made from that fight. You scan down the page. Still no mention. But wait. Here it is:

“My dream is to fight at Estadio Azteca,” De La Hoya said at the news conference. “I want a big farewell fight to leave a lasting impression all over the world with a huge event…fighting there would be a dream come true, and that’s why I don’t rule out the possibility of having another fight next year.”

“Oh my heavens,” your inner Antonio must be thinking, “he must be talking about me! Who else would he fight at the Azteca? It ain’t gonna be Sergio Mora or Ricky Hatton I guarantee you that! I need to start training right now. It doesn’t matter if he wins or loses to Manny; everyone in Mexico will want to see that fight. I’ll be avenging my hero Julio Cesar Chavez. I can’t wait.”

Neither can we Antonio, neither can we.

August’s b5media sports channel theme day is “favorites”. Presumably I’m supposed to tell you about my favorite pro wrestler and/or boxer. The thing is, as a sports blogger/expert analyst journalism ethics tell me that I can’t show favoritism. I can’t root for one fighter over another. It would destroy my credibility. It would severely undermine the high standards to which jabandgrapple.com aspires.

“Um, excuse me.” It seems the peanut gallery has something to say. “Everytime you write about Jeff Hardy you say ‘I love you Jeff Hardy, I love you Jeff Hardy’. And what about your ridiculous and overt pining for Eve Torres? (Mr. JandG note: she doesn’t wrestle. I CAN favor her.) Or the fact that you’ve admitted that Y2J is your favorite. And then said that Randy Orton is your favorite. And then said that John Cena is your favorite. And then said that Edge is your favorite. And I think you might have even said that Kofi Kingston was your favorite. You have more favorites than a Las Vegas casino sports book. And in your glorious high standard blog as well.”

What you say might be true. But that’s wrestling. I’m supposed to take sides. That’s why there are good guys and bad guys. I am completely absolved. And, plus, I’m fair and balanced towards the people I don’t like like HHH, Mark Henry, the Great Khali, and Mike Adamle. Really, I am.

And anyway I don’t show favoritism in boxing. No sides no favorites pure rational Platonic objectivity.

“Um, here are two quotes from YOUR OWN BLOG:”

We are big Klitschko fans; Mrs. Jabandgrapple has even claimed to have married Mr. Jabandgrapple because of his passing likeness to Wlad.

and

Then Darling Jimenez knocks him down! Oh my heavens! Vamos Darling!

“Those don’t sound too nonobjective to me!”

I’ll admit, maybe once or twice I’ve cheered a bit for one fighter and not the other. But that doesn’t mean I have a favorite. The only favorite in my heart in the Manchester City Football Club. And I like them so much that I vehemently cheer (oops) for Ricky Hatton even though he hangs out with Manchester United strikers every now and then.

So if I were to admit a really really really favorite boxer/wrestler it would be Ricky Hatton but it oddly has nothing to do with boxing or wrestling and everything to do with, um, soccer. Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone… There’s only one Ricky Hatton!

Jeff Lacy was a rising super middleweight star prior to his March 4, 2006 demolition at the hands of Joe Calzaghe. Since then things haven’t been the same for the 2000 U.S. Olympian.

In December of 2006 Lacy staggered to a razor thin majority decision of Ukrainian Vitali Tsypko although few ringside observers felt Lacy had done enough to win. His next fight came a year later in December 2007 against The Contender favorite Peter Manfredo, Jr., a fight that appeared on the Ricky Hatton - Floyd Mayweather, Jr. undercard. Left Hook Lacy was again underwhelming in victory.

Tonight Lacy fights journeyman Columbian Epifanio Mendoza on ESPN2’s Wednesday Night Fights in only his third bout since Calzaghe and the first not seen on HBO. The fight is unlikely to answer questions about Lacy’s diminishing skills — Mendoza should give him little trouble — but it will be nice to see the consensus #5 super middleweight on free T.V. A convincing win might even solidify a fight against America’s other top ten super middle: Jermain Taylor.

served by picapp.com

The September 20 light heavyweight title match between Joe Calzaghe (45-0, 32 KOs) and Roy Jones, Jr. (52-4, 38 KOs) has officially been postponed because of a Calzaghe right wrist injury.

ESPN’s Dan Rafael quotes the fight’s promoter as saying “(Calzaghe) told me it’s an injured right wrist,” the promoter said. “I was told that he hurt it on Sunday punching a heavy bag.”

The initial word is that the match could be rescheduled for November. No word on whether the fight’s proposed venue, New York’s Madison Square Garden, would be available during that month. The NY Knicks have yet to release their schedule. The Rangers have a home date with the Boston Bruins on November 15 so that date is presumably out.

The Ricky Hatton vs. Paulie Malignaggi is currently on for November 22 so that date is also probably out. November 29 would sandwich the bout between Hatton and the proposed December 6 Oscar De La Hoya fight. That date wouldn’t make sense.

That leaves the 1st and the 8th. Our guess is the November 8. Make plans accordingly.

Image details: The Contender Challenge - UK v USA served by picapp.com

The boxing reality show The Contender has found a new home, a new weight class, and its most impressive roster of fighters yet. After one season on NBC, and two on ESPN, the showcase for up-and-coming fighters will now be shown on the Versus Network. Let’s hope it does better than their famously low-rated NHL coverage. The new season will begin in December.

In the past few months Versus has intermittently put its toes in the boxing waters; its most notable event being May’s Ricky Hatton vs. Juan Lazcano bout. The Contender solidifies the fledgling network’s dedication to the sweet science.

This year’s Contender crop will feature cruiserweights (200 lb.) rather than previous years’ middleweight contestants.

The result of frequent Contender title shots (Sergio Mora, Peter Manfredo Jr., Steve Forbes) means an even better set of fighters this time around. Among them are boxrec.com’s #8, #9 and #10 ranked cruisers (!) Vadim Tokarev, B.J. Flores, and (!) O’Neill Bell (last seen sleepwalking in Katowice against Tomasz Adamek) respectively.

We will be profiling all 12 Season Four Contenders in the near future. Until then, we here at www.jabandgrapple.com are very excited that The Contender has returned and even more excited at the terrific lineup of fighters.

Ninth Round TKO win for Manny Pacquaio. David Diaz didn’t score one round. Diaz summarized it best after the fight to the Top Rank announcer “He was so f***ing fast. I didn’t think he was that fast.”

After the fight Pacquiao indicated to the Top Rank interview (but not HBO’s Jim Lampley) that he wants to go up to 140 and fight Ricky Hatton. We’d love to see that one. The promise of the Pacquiao payday might also bring Floyd Mayweather out of retirement.

After the jump and/or below is a youtube of the HBO recap and Manny interview.
Below that is a youtube of David Diaz’ Top Rank interview. He’s really likable AND he drops the f-bomb four times! Enjoy

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Didn’t catch the Paulie Malignaggi fight on Saturday and catch a glimpse of his ridiculous hair extensions? Our Komondor dog shot wasn’t descriptive enough? The photo to the right is a “before shot” taken three days prior to Saturday’s fight. After the jump is the post-match interview Paulie did for British television. Check out the shorn locks and Paulie’s amazement that during the interview “they’re picking up pieces of my hair all over the ring!”

In the interview he manages to complain about many things. They include: his opponent Lovemore N’Dou’s complaining, N’Dou grabbing technique, the fact that N’Dou didn’t have any points deducted, his broken hand for “most of the fight” (actually only the second half), and that N’Dou was trying to unleash his ersatz locks.

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In Saturday’s Ricky Hatton-Juan Lazcano undercard match Brooklyn junior welterweight proved that you can’t hit what you can’t see. The problem wasn’t the head speed of his opponent South African Lovemore N’Dou; N’Dou was relatively stationary. No, the problem was Malignaggi’s recently implanted 18-inch-long hair extensions.

In the first round of the IBF junior welterweight title bout The Magic Man more resembled a Komondor dog (pictured to the right) than a boxer. His long twisted fake locks escaped their weak rubber band-hold less than a minute into the fight. Paulie spent the next two minutes fighting through his heavily-obscuring hair. While the bush league Versus Network went to commercial the fight’s essential storyline played out as his corner wrapped the extensions in sturdy athletic tape.

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In the main event of an entertaining mid-day Saturday pair of junior welterweight bouts Ricky Hatton outlasted Juan Lazcano by a wide margin.

55,000 screaming Mancunians poured into Eastlands, the home stadium of Manchester City FC, to see their favorite son outperform and out-brawl Lazcano. Hatton was hurt twice by Lazcano — in the 8th and in the 10th — but his near-constant pressure and successful stream of body punches and left hooks proved too much for the American.

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