Brilliant Pacquiao cements legacy with win

By Martin Rogers, Yahoo! Sports May 3, 12:25 am EDT

LAS VEGAS – It took just 359 seconds to add the latest devastating chapter to a legacy that will last for decades.

Manny Pacquiao’s flurried fists made short work of Ricky Hatton on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and delivered the most emphatic proof yet that boxing has a superstar for the ages operating at his peak.

Pacquiao sent the Englishman crashing to the canvas twice in a frenetic first round, then sealed the contest with a brutal left hook that had Hatton out cold on his back with one tick remaining in the second round.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. may have announced his comeback from a brief and scarcely-believable retirement on Saturday morning. But there can be no doubt that Pacquiao is boxing’s undisputed king as he continues to ride a remarkable wave of momentum.

“Our strategy was the one punch,” Pacquiao said. “Left hook. Right hook. That was going to be the key to this fight.”

The Filipino fighter is a quiet and reserved man out of the ring, but between the ropes he morphs into an electrifying machine – and Hatton felt his full force.

The Hatton camp had hoped their man’s power would be telling, yet he simply had no response to Pacquiao’s pace and precision. A right hook put Hatton down with 54 seconds remaining in round one and proved to be the beginning of the end.

“I knew it was over,” said Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer. “Ricky fights the same way over and over. He doesn’t have the ability to adjust.”

As Pacquiao moved in for the finish in the second round, Hatton tried to cling on only to be sent down again with a fierce straight left. Doctors immediately rushed to the aid of Hatton, who eventually and thankfully was able to walk from the ring under his own steam.

“I am surprised this fight was so easy,” said Pacquiao. “I did work hard in my training camp and it paid off. This is as big a victory for me as when I beat Oscar De La Hoya.”

That December triumph over De La Hoya did not convince the entire boxing fraternity of Pacquiao’s ability, primarily as the Golden Boy’s powers had so clearly dimmed from his prime. Now there is no speculation. Pacquiao is the top dog, until someone proves otherwise in the ring.

Floyd Mayweather Sr. was a no-show at the postfight news conference, leaving Hatton’s co-trainer, Lee Beard, to explain the mauling by Pacquiao.

“We knew about Manny’s speed and that it could play a factor in the fight,” Beard said. “What you saw was two rounds of action and Ricky got caught.”

Roach’s status as a trainer grows in line with each victory his top fighter posts and it became clear his game plan was perfect. Hatton could not avoid Pacquiao, who landed with 73 of his 127 punches. The Brit could only land 18 of 78.

“This is no shock at all,“ Roach said. “Hatton pumps his hands before he throws a punch, and it makes him a sucker for the right hook.

“Manny is a monster. He is the best fighter ever. There is no surprise here.”

Defeat was a bitter blow to the thousands of Hatton fans among the 16,262 in attendance who had journeyed across the Atlantic but saw their dreams dashed within a few brutal minutes.

The typical symphony of chanting carried on even after their man had been sparked out, but it may not strike up again. Hatton, who was alert in his locker room before being taken to the hospital, is one of the most popular boxers ever with an incredible fan base, but his fighting future is now in serious doubt.

For Pacquiao, the future is brighter than ever, and his legend continues to grow.

Said Pacquiao: “I can fight anybody.”

Pacquiao earns place among world’s elite

By Martin Rogers,

Boxing is known as the sweet science for a reason, and its technical workings have perhaps been more closely dissected and studied than those of any other sport.

Some believe this ceaseless search for the slightest and most intricate of advantages imposes a limit as to how much one performer can be better than his peers.

Manny Pacquiao’s latest demolition job may have started to smash through that mind-set with the same sort of force he used on Ricky Hatton’s face and body on Saturday night.

Rarely has a boxer raised the bar of his profession so quickly and emphatically as the Filipino superstar is doing as he marches through a series of weight divisions.

Worryingly, for those with future designs on facing him, there is no ceiling in sight.

The Filipino superstar’s progress since his last defeat, to Erik Morales in 2005, has not purely been built with his physical gifts or inscrutable technique.

His poor upbringing in the Philippines may have limited his formal education, but trainer Freddie Roach believes Pacquiao is a boxing genius.

And, crucially, he has not just the mentality of a fighter, but the sporting intellect reserved for sports’ all-time greats.

Pacquiao probably hasn’t heard of Blaise Pascal, a 17th-century French philosopher. But one of Pascal’s most famous phrases – “man’s greatness lies in his power of thought” – applies to him.

Pacquiao is not simply chasing recognition or success; his ultimate target is fulfillment.

Deep within the closeted mind of this introverted yet phenomenal athlete is the seed of thought that his upper limits are still some way from being tapped.

“I know I can improve my skills as a boxer,” Pacquiao said in an interview with Filipino television. “I am very pleased to have beaten Ricky Hatton but I think I can still get better. How much better, I don’t know.”

No one knows the full capabilities of the 30-year-old’s dancer feet and surgical fists.

However, fueled by the fulsome belief of Roach, the sense is that the end is not yet close.

The crushing flurry that struck out Hatton at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and sent the Englishman to a local hospital didn’t feel anything like a crowning achievement, more a stepping stone to future glories.

For the sport of boxing, the timing could not have been better. With Floyd Mayweather Jr. returning from his brief retirement, there are now two bona fide superstars of generational aptitude.

Pacquiao, though, is an athlete of the purest variety, for whom the essence of his profession is the essence of himself.

If the public began to tire of hyperbole and marketing shtick, it never sickens of witnessing greatness in full flow, and that is what Pacquiao is providing.

His understated personality is a wonderful antidote to the bling culture inherent in many professional sports and his methodology carries a powerful message.

“Every pro athlete should take what Manny does to heart,” said his promoter, Bob Arum. “This young man realized he didn’t know everything and that to be more successful he could still learn.

“He learns every fight, every training session, and gets better and better. The way he lives his life and the way he performs is an example to anyone.”

Pacquiao’s achievements speak for themselves and the way he sent Hatton crashing to the canvas for the final time was the most resounding of finishes.

It has been a long time since a boxer would have been mentioned in a mythical “pound-for-pound” list of the world’s finest athletes.

Yet while Pacquiao does not have the personality of a Tiger Woods, Usain Bolt or Rafael Nadal, his level of achievement must be considered on par.

“Manny Pacquiao is the best man out there in boxing,” said the New York Giants’ Super Bowl-winning running back Brandon Jacobs, an impressed spectator on Saturday. “I can’t think of a single athlete there who would not give him their total respect.

“Power comes in many forms, especially in my sport, but when you see it coming from a man who weighs 140 pounds it is an incredible thing to behold.

“This guy is an artist at what he does. He is the best pound-for-pound boxer and his ability transcends across all sports.

“He has to be one of the best athletes in the world.”

There’s only one Manny Pacquiao

By Kevin Iole,

LAS VEGAS – Four years ago, in the very same ring where he scored a crushing second-round knockout over an opponent many thought would give him the challenge of his career, Manny Pacquiao lost a decision to Erik Morales.

Morales was one of the most entertaining fighters of his time, but never once were “Morales” and “all-time great” ever used together in the same sentence.

In 2005, Pacquiao was a good and exciting but hardly great fighter. After Saturday’s K.O. of Ricky Hatton, though, he stands atop the boxing world, even with the heavily hyped return of Floyd Mayweather Jr., who had been a near-unanimous choice as the world’s top fighter prior to his untimely retirement in June 2008.

Mayweather Jr. unretired on Saturday and said he’d fight Juan Manuel Marquez in July, but he’ll have to defeat Pacquiao if he wants to be regarded as the best after Pacquiao decimated Hatton at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Pacquiao knocked Hatton down twice in the first round and then knocked him cold with a crushing left hand that may have been the best punch of his career late in the second round. Hatton fell face first and laid motionless for several minutes as the arena erupted.

If the Pacquiao Era hadn’t started with his decimation of Oscar De La Hoya in December, it began with a straight left that left promoter Bob Arum squealing.

Arum has promoted many of the game’s finest fighters, including Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler. Arum was so ebullient after Pacquiao’s devastating victory, he was comparing Pacquiao favorably to Ali.

“I promoted Muahmmad Ali and the best Ali I ever saw was the one who fought before he was forced to take a sabbatical for 3½ years,” Arum said. “That was the best Muhammad Ali. He had phenomenal speed and he had terrific reflexes, but he sure as hell didn’t have the explosive power that Manny Pacquiao has. … He was a great, great fighter, but there has never been a fighter with the same combination of speed and explosive power as Manny Pacquiao.”

It was hard to argue with any superlatives hurled Pacquiao’s way after the finest effort of his career. He picked apart a guy who was 45-1 coming into the fight and who was the linear super lightweight champion, making Hatton look like an upstart amateur.

Pacquiao was far too fast and far too strong for Hatton, who fought his entire career as a 140-pounder. Pacquiao, who began at just 106, hurt Hatton with nearly every shot on Saturday.

“Before the fight, a lot of people were saying I’m small at 140 and Ricky Hatton is bigger than me,” an unmarked Pacquiao said. “I didn’t put that in my mind.”

Ever since that disappointing loss to Morales, Pacquiao has made a transformation that has turned him into a superstar and has old-school boxing experts talking of him as an all-time great.

He barely squeaked out a victory over Marquez 14 months ago, but his trainer, Freddie Roach, said it would be no contest if they were to fight now.

“He’s a different now than he was [when he lost to Morales],” Roach said. “He’s not that guy. He’s a different guy. If he fought Marquez right now, I guarantee you he’d knock him out in three rounds. I’m telling you. I know that’s a bold statement, but he’s a much better fighter than the guy who fought those guys.

“Something clicked inside of him. I can’t pinpoint it. He’s just a different guy.”

Pacquiao isn’t a guy who simply goes to the gym to shed pounds to make the weight. He uses his training sessions as a classroom and takes a studious approach to improving himself.

Roach worked diligently with him to improve his right hook and on Saturday, it was his key punch. Hatton would cock his left as he went to throw it, a sign for Pacquiao to unleash his right hook, which he did in devastating manner.

He hurt Hatton with a combination that began with a right hook about 90 seconds into the fight, sending the British star spaghetti-legged in the corner. As Hatton’s many fans in the sellout crowd of 16,262 sang “There’s only one Ricky Hatton,” you had to wonder if Hatton somehow thought there might have been two Manny Pacquiaos the way punches were raining down upon him.

Hatton wasn’t in Pacquiao’s class, though he might have beaten him a few years ago. Pacquiao and Roach now form the best team in boxing as Pacquiao has developed his game to a point where he compares favorably with any man alive.

“What I am watching is something that is astounding,” Arum said. “Usually when a world championship-caliber boxer reaches the top, he can be good for a number of years. But most of the time, there is no improvement. This young man improves every single fight.

“He’s doing things he didn’t do two years ago. He’s doing more things and he’s doing other things he didn’t do before. His defense is tremendous and his reflexes now are tremendous. I have never, ever in more than 40 years – and I say this without hyperbole – I have never seen a fighter combine speed and explosive power the way he does.”

Boxing now needs a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight. If it occurs, it could be the most significant fight in the sport in decades.

But Pacquiao doesn’t need Mayweather to affirm himself as one of the sport’s greats. Pacquiao answered that question plenty well in the ring on Saturday.

It’s been a week since Pacquiao floored Hatton and the aftermath of that fight is sure to linger on for a few more days. So much have been said about Manny’s greatness and I can write all day long about my personal take on our people’s champ. For now, I’ll save my commentaries and share with you some articles from international sports analysts which made me appreciate how big Manny has become up to this date. Posting articles…

Kakagutom, bawal kumain ng kumain, holy week eh. Hanggang imagine na lang…

Eto ang mga the best!

Burger – Amazing Aloha

Fried Chicken – Chickenjoy or KFC original recipe chicken

Shawarma – forgot the name, basta nasa SM Foodcourt sya

Dumplings – LukYuen dumplings

Spare Ribs – Le Ching, undisputed!

Pasta – Amici or Italiannis

Pizza- Aveneto New York Pizza

Barbeque – bbq sa Beach House, yung bagong luto, yum!

Tapsilog – Maty’s or Tapa King

Pares – Goodah

Goto – Batotoys / Goto Beleive in Magic

Bulalo – anywhere in Tagaytay

Seafood – name it, Dampa has it!

Adobo Dish – Adobo Republic

Japanese Food – Saisaki nlng para buffet

Squid Balls - sa Ayala

Fish Balls - sa UP

Isaw - Kalayaan (UP), the best!

Tukneneng – sa Baclaran at sa Alabang

Balot – sa lamay

Sisig – secret, di pedeng sabihin

Bibingka – Bibingkabon/Bibingkinitan

Donuts – Krispy Crème Original Glazed

Iced Tea – Luk Yuen Iced Tea

Soft Drink - ice cold Coke

Ice Cream – Wendys Frostee, Manila Pen’s ice creams

HaloHalo - Digman

Desserts - colossal chocolate chip cookie of Old Sphag or frozen cakes of Fridays/Chillis

Sarap noh. Ano pang nakalimutan ko?

New York Times, April 2008 - In the aftermath of  World War II, the Japanese economy went through one of the greatest booms the world has ever known. From 1950 to 1970, the economy’s output per person grew more than sevenfold. Japan, in just a few decades, remade itself from a war-torn country into one of the richest nations on earth.

Yet, strangely, Japanese citizens didn’t seem to become any more satisfied with their lives. According to one poll, the percentage of people who gave the most positive possible answer about their life satisfaction actually fell from the late 1950s to the early ‘70s. They were richer but apparently no happier.

This contrast became the most famous example of a theory known as the Easterlin Paradox. In 1974, Richard Easterlin, then an economist at the University of Pennsylvania, published a study in which he argued that economic growth didn’t necessarily lead to more satisfaction. People in poor countries, not surprisingly, did become happier once they could afford basic necessities. But beyond that, further gains simply seemed to reset the bar. To put it in today’s terms, owning an iPod doesn’t make you happier, because you then want an iPod Touch. Relative income — how much you make compared with others around you — matters far more than absolute income, Easterlin wrote.

The paradox quickly became a social science classic, cited in academic journals and the popular media. It tapped into a near-spiritual human instinct to believe that money can’t buy happiness. As a 2006 headline in The Financial Times said, “The Hippies were right all along about happiness”.

But now the Easterlin paradox is under attack.

Last week, at the Brookings Institution in Washington, two young economist — from the University of Pennsylvania, as it happens — presented a rebuttal of the paradox. Their paper has quickly captured the attention of top economists around the world. It has also led to a spirited response from Easterlin.

In the paper, Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers argue that money indeed tends to bring happiness, even if it doesn’t guarantee it. They point out that in the 34 years since Easterlin published his paper, an explosion of public opinion surveys has allowed for a better look at the question. “The central message,” Stevenson said, “is that income does matter.”

If anything, Stevenson and Wolfers say, absolute income seems to matter more than relative income. In the United States, about 90 per cent of people in households making at least $250,000 a year called themselves “very happy” in a recent Gallup Poll. In households with income below $30,000, only 42 percent of people gave that answer. But the international polling data suggests that the under-$30,000 crowd might not be happier if they lived in a poorer country.

Stevenson and Wolfers dug into those old government surveys and discovered that the question had changed over the years. In the late 1950s and early ‘60s, the most positive answer the pollsters offered was, “Although I am not innumerably satisfied, I am generally satisfied with life now.” But in 1964, the most positive answer became simply, “Completely satisfied.

It is no wonder, then, that the percentage of people giving this answer fell. When you look only at the years in which the question remained the same, the share of people calling themselves “satisfied” or “completely satisfied” did rise.

Easterlin himself, who’s now at the University of Southern California and who had received a copy of the paper from Stevenson and Wolfers, agreed that people in richer countries are more satisfied. But he’s sceptical that their wealth is causing their satisfaction. The results could instead reflect cultural differences in how people respond to poll questions, he said.