Marquez Knocks Manny Pacquiao Out Cold in Six

MGM Grand, Las Vegas - Juan Manuel Marquez (55-6-1, 40KOs) knocked Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38KOs) out cold in the sixth round of their fourth and likely final battle. Their first fight, in 2004, ended in a twelve round draw, with Pacquiao winning close controversial decisions in 2008 and 2011.

Marquez looked stronger, but Pacquiao was quicker and may have done enough to grab the first round. Pacquiao certainly grabbed the second with quicker, accurate punches.

In the third round, Marquez made the pro-Mexican arena explode when he landed a huge right hand that put Pacquiao down on his back. Pacquiao appeared to recover well and traded punches with Marquez at the bell. It was the first time Pacquiao was "dropped legit" since he was a flyweight.

Pacquiao boxed well in the fourth, but Marquez may have stolen it close at the end with a flurry of shots.

In the fifth we saw a classic. It was Pacquiao who returned the favor with a huge left hand that made Marquez go down due to his glove touching the mat to hold himself up. Following that, Marquez landed a massive right, but Pacquiao took it and kept coming. Pacquiao then hurt Marquez again and went for the finish, and the two boxers stood toe to toe - exchanging huge punches with Pacquiao getting the better of the action.

Marquez's face was falling apart in the sixth round. It appeared that he was getting busted up but then a counter hook to Pacquiao's jaw knocked him out cold in the final ten seconds. Pacquiao fell flat on his face, wasn't moving and the fight was waved off.

Read More

Pacquiao vs Marquez Weigh-In: Where Pac-Man and Dinamita Stand

Manny Pacquiao weighed in at the maximum weight, while Juan Manuel Marquez came in a few pounds less.

A capacity crowd of 5,500 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas watched the two rivals step onto the scale and jump the last hurdle prior to Dec. 8's fourth and final showdown.

Pacquiao, 34, weighed in at 147 pounds and Marquez, 39, weighed in four pounds less, at 143 pounds.

Marquez’s lean and muscular physique has drawn concerns from Freddie Roach, Pacquaio’s trainer.

"I asked Manny to do a drug test for this fight because I believe that Marquez is a much bigger person now—and I'm not sure exactly how he is getting there,'' Roach said, according to Jon Saraceno of USA TODAY Sports.

Roach later retracted those comments on Dec. 7, claiming he was “just joking,” according to Saraceno.
Weight has been a continual issue of dispute for Pacquiao when inking fights.

Before his last bout, Pac-Man tried to get Miguel Cotto to come down to the 147-pound welterweight limit, but the fighter balked and accepted an offer from Floyd Mayweather to fight him instead at a higher limit.
Eventually, Timothy Bradley moved up to Pacquiao's desired weight group and beat the champion by a split decision.

Dinamita and Pac-Man have both been through it all in their careers, as well as against one another. In each of their three previous head-to-head fights, they have fought at different weight limits. Although, their previous bout was fought at the same limit.

Before the pair’s most recent bout on Nov. 11, 2011, Pac-Man weighed in at just 143 pounds, while Marquez came in at 142.
Even though this will be the fourth and final installment of this series, this fight will not definitely result in defining who the better fighter is. That is, unless one of them decisively finishes the fight or knocks out the other.

Any type of doubt or uncertainty as a result of another controversial decision would send Marquez home from Vegas disappointed for a fourth time.

He looks in prime shape, though, and as ready as he will ever be in his final shot at taking down Pacquaio once and for all.

Read More

Pablo' death toll rises to 456

MANILA, Philippines – The official death toll from typhoon "Pablo" (international codename, Bopha) is now at 456, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Friday.
The NDRRMC said the figure is expected to rise further with some 533 still missing.
At least 445 people were also reported injured.
More than 200 died in Compostela Valley, whose towns of New Bataan and Monkayo were heavily devastated by flashfloods and mudslides.
Meanwhile, at least 132 were reported dead in Davao Oriental, where the typhoon's eye first landed on Tuesday.
Most of the missing persons were reported in Compostela Valley, particularly in New Bataan, which remains covered in mud after rain water gushed down from the mountains.
Of the total number of fatalities, 110 in New Bataan remain unidentified; 27 in Boston, Davao Oriental; 21 in Compostela, Compostela Valley; 10 in Montevista, Compostela Valley; and 9 in Caraga, Davao Oriental.
The typhoon also affected at least 5.14 million people in 11,862 barangays, with over 306,000 taking shelter in evacuation centers.
'Pablo' too strong
Davao Oriental Governor Corazon Malanyaon said the immense strength of Pablo rendered their preparations useless.
"Talagang intensive ang aming orientation, dissemination [ng information] and all - even up to the last day, even up to the last moment… we re able to identify all the sites for evacuation," she told radio dzMM.
"Kahit ano pa palang preparasyon mo, marami pa rin things that are not within your control. Pablo was so strong for us," she added.
Compostela Valley Governor Arturo Uy, meanwhile, said he may have to ask President Benigno Aquino III for assistance in the province's rebuilding efforts.
Uy also appealed for more aid, particularly food, clean water, shelter and medical provisions.
The NDRRMC pegged the damaged from the typhoon at P4 billion.
So far, 26 municipalities and four provinces have declared a state of calamity.

Read More

TYPHOON “PABLO” UPDATE

At 2:00 p.m. today, 08 December 2012, Typhoon "PABLO" was located at 250 km West of Vigan, Ilocos Sur (17.4°N, 117.9°E).

Read More

Aquino pressed anew to certify RH bill as urgent

MANILA, Philippines — Without being certified as urgent by President Benigno Aquino III, House majority leader Neptali Gonzales II said that it was unlikely that they will be able to approve the Reproductive Health Bill within the week.
“If we want this to be transmitted to the Senate before we adjourn, the best chance is for it to be certified as urgent by the President,” Gonzales told reporters during a media forum on Tuesday, stressing that they have only eight session days left before they go on Christmas break,
More delays were seen as legislators against the Reproductive Health Bill made good on their vow to scrutinize the amendments to the measure line by line, starting on Monday when they began with the process of deliberating on individual amendments. The substitute version has 27 pages and lawmakers have so far tackled line 2 on its second page.
“I believe in my heart that the President should certify this. It will give a boost to have it certified but we leave that to the President,” said Gonzales.
If certified as an urgent measure, the RH Bill can be voted on third reading after it is passed on second reading, disregarding the three-day rule. Measures not certified as urgent cannot be deliberated until three days have passed after its second reading.
Aquino had met with some 170 legislators over lunch on Monday to discuss the fate of the RH Bill, urging them to put the measure to a vote. The President also said that if he were to vote he would vote for the passage of the measure.
Gonzales said that it was up to their members how they would interpret the President’s statement.
Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, the main proponent of the RH Bill, said that the President’s words were unmistakably an endorsement for the bill while for Ifugao Representative Teddy Baguilat Jr. the personal appeal was even stronger than a certification as urgent.
Despite the absence of a certification from the President, Gonzales said they would continue pushing for the RH Bill.
He pointed out that even though the antis were persistent “somebody has to give later on. Hindi ko lang alam sino ang bibigay (I don’t know who will give in).”
Lagman has earlier called on fellow lawmakers not to abuse nominal voting on the RH Bill which the antis insisted on during Monday’s session. Gonzales said, however, that the reason he allowed such method was to find out where they stood on the RH Bill.
The House of Representatives is expected to resume tackling individual amendments to the measure once it resumes session at 4 p.m.
 By Karen Boncocan
INQUIRER.net

Read More

52 dead as typhoon Bopha lashes Philippines

Manila: A typhoon slammed into the southern Philippines on Tuesday, setting off a mudslide that killed 44 people, tearing up trees, causing floods and forcing thousands to flee their homes to emergency shelters.

Typhoon Bopha, the strongest storm to hit the country this year, killed at least 52 people in total after making landfall on the east coast of Mindanao island at dawn, packing winds of 210 kilometres (130 miles) an hour.

A mudslide in a mountainous area near an army patrol base in New Bataan town killed 43 civilians and a soldier, and injured more than two dozen others, local military spokesman Lyndon Paniza told reporters by telephone.
An ABS-CBN television reporter said she counted the bodies laid out in a government building that was converted into a temporary mortuary.

An army truck laden with soldiers and civilians was swept away in a flash flood that hit the town, a local official reported earlier.

The typhoon brought driving rain and strong winds to Mindanao, toppling trees and power lines, causing localised flooding and forcing more than 56,000 to seek refuge in emergency shelters, the civil defence office said.

Winds blew roofs off buildings and residents of coastal and low-lying communities moved into shelters as floods hit, residents and AFP reporters said.

Television footage showed logs being swept down a river, utility workers cutting up fallen trees that were blocking highways, and people lying on mats and cardboard sheets on the concrete floors of gyms turned into shelters.

People living in the path of the storm did what they could to protect their homes and possessions.

"We have taken our pigs and chickens inside our house because their shed might be destroyed," said shopkeeper Marianita Villamor, 46, from the southern farming town of San Fermin.

In Cagayan de Oro city, where giant waves crashed down on the shoreline, mayor Vicente Emano told ABS-CBN that police rounded up all residents in low-lying areas and moved them to government shelters.

In Tagum city, hotel waiter Edgie Atilano, 23, said he and his family hunkered down in their home as Bopha bore down.

"At 3:00 am, we were woken by strong rain and howling winds. Trees and branches started snapping off near the house," said the father-of-two.

"This is my first time to experience a strong typhoon. It was a bit scary."

As well as the 44 killed in New Bataan, officials said there were eight other confirmed deaths, all but one of them occurring on Mindanao, with three of the victims crushed by falling trees.

Four fishermen were also reported missing off Mindanao's east coast, said Freddie Bendulo, planning and development officer of Davao Oriental province.

By early evening the weakened typhoon was streaking across the Sulu Sea, having changed course westward in the afternoon after briefly threatening the central tourist islands of Bohol, Cebu and Negros, the state weather service said.

It was heading toward the north tip of the western island of Palawan and the South China Sea beyond.

A total of 146 flights to and from Mindanao and the central islands had been grounded since Monday night and more than 3,000 ferry passengers were stranded as vessels were ordered to stay in port, according to a civil defence update.

Large parts of Mindanao, which is not normally hit by typhoons, were still without electricity on Tuesday night, it added.

Typhoon Bopha comes after tropical storm Washi hit Mindanao in December last year, killing more than 1,200 and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. 

Read More

Suzuki Cup: Azkals reach semis, but 'the best is yet to come' says coach Weiss

After the Philippines defeated Myanmar for the first time in their history, they will now meet Singapore in the semifinals, a team they have already beaten twice this year in friendly games. The Philippines finished second in the group, only dropping points to Thailand, who finished as group leaders, while Singapore topped Group B after victories against Laos and hosts Malaysia.

Defeating Myanmar - fitness and organization

Reaching the semifinals was no easy task for the Philippines. Drawn in the ‘Group of Death,’ Group A had the top four ranked South East Asian sides by the time the tournament kicked off. The key to progress in most competitions, though, is preparation, and the Philippines played more friendly matches and had more camps than any of their opponents.

Only eight players survived from the 2010 Suzuki Cup squad, as the rapid development and professionalization of the local league, the UFL, has lifted the quality of the sport in the country. All in all, five UFL clubs have representatives in the 2012 national team.

With the US training camp and the South East Asian and Middle East tours, the players were fit and ready to run for the full ninety minutes. With a deep bench, those few who did tire were replaced by players just as good.

After the game, speaking on behalf of the Myanmar side, assistant coach Tim Mying Aung said that compared to the Philippine side, “We [Myanmar] lacked fitness and football technique....They were tired.”

Indeed, after a fairly even first half, where neither side made any real scoring opportunities, the Azkals dominated the second half, a staple of their Suzuki Cup group stage, where all of the Azkals’ goals came in the second half. Phil Younghusband grabbed his first goal of the Suzuki Cup, controlling a perfectly flighted Jason De Jong pass, though the impact substitute was Angel Guirado, who changed the game after coming in early in the 35th minute, hitting the post before wrapping up the win in injury time.

The Azkals concept

After the game, Azkals coach Hans Weiss first congratulated the team and noted, “We have now worked on good communication within the team and we found a concept of how to break down teams like Myanmar and also Vietnam....With one move [our players] can decide matches.”

Jason De Jong, who provided the assist for the first goal, noted that the team has been built from the defense upwards. “With Rob [Gier] and Juani [Guirado] in the defense they couldn’t get through. And with me cleaning up the second ball where are they going to go?” he said.

Indeed that strong Azkals backline has kept two clean sheets in the three Suzuki Cup games and four clean sheets in the last six matches.

Myanmar could find no way through the defense, trying to work the channels to avoid the strength and height of Gier and Guirado, but there they only found more misery when confronted by Carli De Murga and Dennis Cagara. De Murga put his body on the line more than a few times during the game and Cagara stood out to the point of being this writer’s man of the match. In keeping Myanmar's star player frustrated all game, and starting the Azkals’ attacks with some sublime passing, Cagara not only shut out Myanmar but put the Azkals on the counter attack.

No more long balls

Another key element in the transition of the Azkals has been the shift away from the long ball. Philippine football used to be dependent on hoofing the ball upfield to an attacker on the counter, but over the last two years, the Azkals have started to play some real, quality football.

That work started with the previous coach Simon McMenemy, but Weiss has taken the Philippines to another level in that regard. All their goals in the group stage came from open play. Passes from Patrick Reichelt, Jason De Jong, Carli De Murga, and two from Angel Guirado particularly carved open the opposition’s defense and presented the chance to score for the Azkals’ five goals so far.

The new quality of passing and build-up play has meant that the Azkals have only failed to score three times in their 21 games so far in 2012, those being in goalless draws with Cambodia and Bahrain, and the 2-0 loss to North Korea.

‘The best is yet to come’

Speaking of the transition, Weiss was very happy with the Azkals’ performances but added that there was still more to come from the Philippines. “[We are] very happy because we felt a bit of pressure....But the team mastered this pressure and it shows the [that their] maturity has come a very long way.

"The best is yet to come.”


The German coach was full of praise for his side and their progress since he took over, saying, “We got out of a very strong group....Since I have taken over, we have made a lot of history.”

Sitting next to him at the press conference, Angel Guirado and Phil Younghusband were both full of praise for the progress of the Azkals too.

After opening the scoring for the Azkals, Phil Younghusband spoke of his relief in finding the net, saying that “as a striker you’re judged on goals and get your confidence on goals....I’m just happy to get to the semifinals. I feel recently I’ve been working hard and tracking back and Coach Weiss has really helped me in that respect...eventually it does pay off and on a personal level it does feel good [to score].”

With the core of the side based in the UFL now, training together every week to improve the team chemistry and cohesion, the Philippines has the resources to continue that progress and continue to rewrite history.

On to the semis

The Philippines will host Singapore on December 8, before flying to Singapore for the second leg on the 12th. In the other semifinal match, Group A winners Thailand will face Group B runners-up Malaysia. Their games will be played on the 9th and 13th December, with the aggregate winner facing the winner between the Philippines and Singapore. - RAF / AMD, GMA News

Read More

Philippines braced for Bopha battering

Super Typhoon Bopha is bearing down on the Philippines and the prospect of severe weather is raising fears of a repeat of the devastation wrought by a similar storm which struck almost a year ago.

Bopha lies in the South Pacific well to the eastsoutheast of the Philippines but it gathering strength as it tracks towards the islands at around 20kph.

Bopha is expected to lose its ‘Super Typhoon’ status, when winds are required to be at least 240kph, by the time it makes landfall at around 2100GMT on Monday 3 December. However, it will still be a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 200kph and gusts of 250kph.

Bopha is then predicted to weaken as it moves across Samar, Nagros and Panay but it will remain a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 155kph and gusts of 195kph.

The northern half of Mindanao, the central islands and southern parts of Luzon will see anywhere between 150 and 300mm of rain, hence the concerns regarding flooding and landslides.

Typhoons rarely affect the southern Philippines as they lie so close to the equator, they do happen.

As recently as December 2011, Typhoon Washi battered the same region.  Although the winds were nowhere near as strong as those predicted for Bopha (sustained winds were ‘only’ 95kph) the rainfall was torrential.

More than 200mm of rain was reported in some areas where rivers were already swollen by recent rains. Consequently, the rivers rose rapidly, by as much as 3.3 metres in less than one hour.

Torrents of water set off landslides in an area made vulnerable by the presence of large populations living in steep-sided valleys.

There were at least 1,268 deaths and the damage was estimated at over $48 million.

There are fears that similar amounts of rain will hit the same area but Bopha will hit after a spell of relatively dry weather, so river levels should be lower.

Coastal flooding may be more of an issue with Bopha it is predicted that the winds will cause a major storm surge of at least 1.5 metres with a peak expected to reach 2.3 metres at Calaya, an island well to the north of Luzon, at 1900GMT on Tuesday.

Al Jazeera will keep you updated on Bopha’s progress in our weather forecasts throughout the day and our reporters will be in the region to bring you the latest news on its impact.

Read More

Aquino urged to certify FOI bill as urgent

MANILA, Philippines - The advocates of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill will fight until the end. They call on both houses of Congress to immediately tackle the bill in plenary, and urge President Benigno Aquino III to certify it as urgent.
"Given that time is running out in the 15th Congress, we appeal to the Senate and House leadership, as well as to the Executive, to accord its passage the urgency it deserves," said the Right To Know, Right Now! Coalition in a statement released on Sunday, December 2.
"On the part of the Executive, President Aquino can certify to the necessity of its immediate enactment, as he did with the sin tax bill. This will place the FOI bill on par with the highest priority measures of Congress, and save it the delay from the interval of days needed in passing bills on second and third readings," the group further said.
Congress will take its Christmas break in 3 weeks. With the campaign period coming up, attendance is expected to be a bigger problem when session resumes next year.
The House of Representatives is also expected to focus on the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill. President Aquino invited the members of the House to a luncheon on Monday, December 3, to appeal to them to put the bill to a vote.
Certifying the FOI bill as urgent is an unlikely move for President Aquino, who did not include the bill in his priority list.
'Evardone still dribbling FOI'
The advocates of FOI have been upset with House committee on public information chairman Easter Samar Rep Ben Evardone for supposedly dribbling the bill. In spite the support of 117 House members for the bill, the committe failed to immediately schedule a vote.
After a series of postponements, the committee finally approved the bill on first reading last week. But the committee report has not been submitted to the plenary, according to the coalition's monitoring. The plenary cannot tackle the bill without the final committee report.
No to Right of Reply
Some members of the House of Representatives have been pushing to add the "Right of Reply" to the FOI bill.
Right of Reply seeks to impose on media organizations to publish or air the side of politicians who have been put in negative light. What media groups find questionable is it aims to strictly specify how the follow-up story will be treated, which page of the newspaper it will be published, or how much time it will get in the newscast.

"We appeal to the proponents of the Right of Reply to allow the passage of the FOI. We urge them to pursue their Right of Reply advocacy independent of the FOI bill's passage. Constitutional and public policy issues remain unresolved around the Right of Reply, which should be fully deliberated in the separate measures also filed with Rep. Evardone's committee, with all the stakeholders consulted extensively," the Right To Know, Right Now! Coalition said.
Open to other amendments
The coalition also said they are open to other amendments to the FOI bill.
"We will support reasonable amendments to the FOI bill, like the provision on safeguard against abuse proposed by Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy. We will likewise support an amendment that will address the concern of the Department of National Defense over the time gap between the repeal of the existing information classification guidelines and the promulgation of the new classification guidelines as provided under the bill," it added.
The coalition's statement was signed by 84 advocates - a mix of members of the academe, media, business community, and civil society groups among others. - Rappler.com

Read More