IBR on The Cruelest Sport

“It is the wrong way to end a fight: looking more like the victim of a skydiving misadventure than the loser of a boxing match. Yet, this is how welterweight Manny Pacquiao found himself last December, when Juan Manuel Marquez so stunningly nailed him into the MGM Grand Garden Arena canvas. It is hard to believe that the most memorable moment in a career as improbable as Pacquiao’s may now be a loss. This is not to mistake it for the most defining moment. No, there are too many images of his hands raised, his foes broken, to trump his furious run. Pacquiao, 54-3-2 (38), will always be defined by his wins; by the performances he delivered securing them. But how he responds to the Marquez loss could determine his future in ways none of his previous fights could. For the first time in his career, Pacquiao, who faces Brandon Rios at the Cotai Arena in Macau, China, Saturday night, is faced with questions not even he can answer. Or maybe it is just one question: Is Manny Pacquiao finished as a prizefighter?”

Read “The Specter: Manny Pacquiao-Brandon Rios Preview” on The Cruelest Sport.

IBR on The Cruelest Sport

In close, Ward isn’t looking for a breather, and unlike Bernard Hopkins, he is not there to clown. No, when Ward is in a clinch, he is looking to hurt. Using his feet to take angles, Ward snarls and strikes like a wolverine in a snare. This does not make for a pretty fight, nor does it absolve Ward for the dirty tactics he regularly employs. It does, however, reveal an understanding of craft missing from the fighters he so easily dispatches. Ward dominated Rodriguez, 24-1 (16), wherever he wanted, and by the middle rounds had complete control of the fight. When the twelve rounds of target practice ended, the scores read 118-106, 117-107, and 116-108 for Ward.

Read DOMINATION: Andre Ward W12 Edwin Rodriguez on The Cruelest Sport.

IBR on The Cruelest Sport

“Donaire-Darchinyan II was billed as a grudge match, a rematch the public was clamouring for, which, like most promotional ballyhoo, is at best a half truth. Any fight with Darchinyan, who generates disdain for his opponents like the sun makes heat, is a grudge match. Interest in this rematch, however, was lost to the hour glass. Until being served his comeuppance by Rigondeaux, Donaire, San Leandro, California, had looked mostly dominant. Darchinyan, on the other hand, had suffered four losses since Donaire dealt him a dose of temporary amnesia in 2007.”

Read REPEATER: Nonito Donaire TKO9 Vic Darchinyan on The Cruelest Sport.