Bleacher Talk

Bleacher Talk Nov. 26, 2006 Golden Boy, Top Rank & Pinoy Boxing Aren’t you already confused with all the alphabet organizations that make professional boxing the most cluttered sport in terms of initials? Well here are two more sets of initials that you’ll have to add to your boxing vocabulary: GB and TR. While they’re already well-known and are acknowledged as big names of the sport from an international angle, GB and TR will now be closer to us Pinoy boxing fans as they have now dipped their fingers into the Philippine boxing scene, many thanks to Manny Pacquiao. Let’s all extend our “Welcome to Pinoy Boxing” greetings to Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions (GB) and Bob Arum’s Top Rank Promotions (TR), the two most prestigious boxing outfits in boxing today. We have always known the two as promoters of big time boxing events that have featured the country’s best boxers in the U.S. But with the recent developments that have seen more Pinoy world title prospects finally gettin...

Bleacher Talk Nov 19, 2006 Boxing 101 with Pacquiao Mark your calendar. November 19, 2006. Sunday. This will go down as the biggest fight in Philippine boxing history. You name it, it’s got it. And it’s a cinch to break every record in local boxing history in terms of “bigness.” What else is there to say when it already has everything one looks for in a great fight? If you do a survey among sports fans, this will easily reach 100% awareness levels. I mean who in the local sports world doesn’t know what’s taking place at around 10 o’clock this morning? Who in the boxing world –not only the Philippines- doesn’t know what’s happening in Las Vegas? You’re going to see everything in the country come to a halt, literally and figuratively. Traffic will be very light. Business will be so-so. And you’ll find Pinoys in only one place: in front of a screen. They’ll be seated in front of a TV at home or at a bar or movie theater nearby. I’m even willing to dare say that this will be the most-watc...

Bleacher Talk Nov 12, 2006 Choosing a Leader for SBP For awhile, it was all good news for Philippine basketball family. It looked like the estranged members of the family were all committed to get the family back as one, after having another one of those usual in-fighting among family members. But just like serious family troubles, the main issues that have kept the basketball family into two sides refuse to go away. And so we’re all back to square one. Just as the formation of the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP) had overcome the rough roads of the initial stage of its conception, it now looks like there are even tougher roads up ahead, complete with uphill climbs, winding roads and terrible weather slowing everything down, with a serious threat of stalling the momentum completely. The family is so close, yet so far in finalizing what could be the biggest moment in Philippine basketball history, with only one more thing stalling us. Who is to lead the new ...

Bleacher Talk Nov. 5, 2006 Keeping Boxing in the News Have you noticed that with Pacquiao-Morales III two weeks away, it seems like all boxing fans are already aware of all the details about the fight? Well ok, this is expected of a fight of this magnitude with only two more weekends left. We can even go back to the day after the Pacquiao-Larios fight in July or the formal launch of the Grand Finale. If you do a survey among boxing fans on their awareness of the Grand Finale somewhere between then and today, you’ll surely get high awareness rating level. While the fight was a product that may not have needed any introduction, it still needed a machinery that would keep fans reminded and up to date about the fight. Not that fans would forget about the fight easily. The fight’s promoters and producers just wanted to be sure that it would be the “only” event that boxing fans would be talking about so the promoters could maximize everything out of the event, i.e. the business...