How Much Does Pacquiao Have Left?

Manny Pacquiao is a fighter of many punches. However, most of the time, he’s a man of few words, which is a bit of a problem when you attempt to interview him. No, it’s not that he’s unpleasant or angry with the media - he’s just the opposite in fact - but by nature, he’s a soft-spoken individual (at least with the American press) and while much is on the line this upcoming Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena against Tim Bradley, you couldn’t sense any real sense of urgency from his answers.

 

Photo © K9 Photos, MaxBoxing

Speaking inside the dressing room from the downstairs portion of the Wild Card Boxing Club with his trusty dog, “Pac-Man” by his side a couple of weeks ago, Pacquiao was at his understated best.

 

Does he still have the same hunger and passion for the sport of boxing?

 

“Yeah, that’s what I’m trying to prove this time around.”

 

What changes in the rematch with Bradley?

 

“I have to put more action, more aggression and throwing more combinations.”

 

Was he satisfied with his return to the ring versus Brandon Rios?

“I felt happy and of course, I proved to myself that I can still box.”

 

Did he feel any apprehension in that fight?

“No, I didn’t feel nervous.”

 

Hey, Manny; slow down. We’re having transcribing your soliloquies. But seriously, this amiable gentleman from General Santos City is about as expansive in his answers to media inquiries as Marshawn Lynch. Whether it’s cultural or not, for Pacquiao, less is more regarding his interactions with the media. But as you see him work out under the guidance of trainer Freddie Roach, you witness a craftsman who still takes great pride in his work with enough energy to light up a metropolis. While he may not want to talk about what’s at stake, those who work with Pacquiao on a daily basis aren’t so shy in expressing their admiration for his work ethic and dedication to this game.

 

Photo © K9 Photos, MaxBoxing

When you ask Roach if his charge still has the same passion for the sport, he says without hesitating,’ “Yeah, he definitely does and that’s why he still does it. He knows he can do other stuff if he wanted. This is what he does best and that’s why he works so hard. If he didn’t like the sport, there’s no way he could go through with what he does every day.” As for the progress he’s seen from the very beginning of the Rios camp to now, the trainer states, “I think we’re all the way there. He’s training really good; he’s sparring well and when he wants to turn it up, he can. He’s not the most efficient guy in the gym - because he only gives you like 50 percent [sparring] - he saves the good stuff for the fight. He’s right where I want him. He’s in great shape.”

 

For this camp, Roach decided to shuffle the deck and employ the likes of Steve Forbes, Lydell Rhodes and Julian Rodriguez to move around with, believing that Pacquiao had gotten much too cozy and friendly with the likes of David Rodela and Ray Beltran. These guys became too familiar for Pacquiao and the sparring sessions lacked the requisite intensity that satisfied Roach. As you see him work with this trio, Pacquiao seems more willing to move his hands than in prior years.

 

“Manny’s been pretty sharp and I know that a couple of weeks ago, he was a little sick and he was getting the rounds in and now he’s been cleared up and like the other day, we sparred and I had to laugh because he was doing some Pernell Whitaker- type moves,” said Forbes with a chuckle while on the steps of the Wild Card before his day’s work with Pacquiao. “His speed is there; his power’s there and he was having fun. I mean, it looked like he’s really having fun in there.” Forbes has been impressed by the enthusiasm Pacquiao comes with everyday. “He’s looking like the lively, fun guy I used to watch all the time.”

 

And does that surprise him?

 

“It didn’t but then again, it did,” said Forbes, “because he has so many commitments with the political stuff he does, family and being a singer and all that stuff. So many obligations but when he came here to camp, he came to be a fighter and that’s what he’s looking like.”

 

This mood has been fun and light in this camp, much of that has to do with the reemergence of Justin Fortune, who, after several years of estrangement from Roach, has seamlessly worked his way back as Pacquiao’s strength-and-conditioning coach. And according to Fortune, it’s not an old Pacquiao but the same ol’ Pacquiao he has reunited with.

 

“Yeah, absolutely; since the last time I worked with Manny, he’s still fast. It’s just a matter of training him back to where he was. So he has good muscle memory, so it comes back. The first week or so there was hard; he was sore and stuff but it’s definitely come back. And his aggression, his passion is still there,” said Fortune last week. “He’s happy; he’s punching well; he’s training hard. The knockout will come, even if he doesn’t look for it - it will come.”

 

It will take a very good version of Pacquiao to defeat the crafty Bradley, who has become one of the most accomplished fighters in the sport. But of course, the consensus is he’s already done that. The overwhelming majority of observers believe that Pacquiao, not Bradley, should’ve had his hands raised in victory back in June of 2012.

 

Including himself.

 

“After the bell for the 12^th round, I thought I won the fight,” admitted Pacquiao as he continued to wrap his hands.” Did he think he won easily?

 

“Yeah.”

 

As the scorecards were being read that night, it was hard to imagine what was about to occur.

“When I heard the announcement of the second judge, I said, ‘Oh, what’s happening?’” recalled Pacquiao. And as the final card was announced for Bradley, a stunned worldwide audience shrieked. Many were outraged. As for the aggrieved party? “I was just smiling. This is boxing.”

 

Surely he had to be pissed off; right?

 

“I’m just surprised. I’m not angry,” said the man who seems to have the patience and understanding of Job.

 

Make no doubt about this; while he dipped his toe back in against the carefully hand-picked Rios, he’s in much deeper versus the “Desert Storm.” In many ways, this is a referendum not just on Pacquiao’s future but his present. When you ask him how much longer he plans on being in this racket, he says, “A couple more years, I’m only 35 now, so I can still fight.”

 

Does Pacquiao still consider himself among the pugilistic elite? His answer is characteristically short and sweet: “Yes, I believe that and the people will get that.”

 

KILLER INSTINCT

 

The term “killer instinct” has served as the buzzwords for this promotion. But given how Pacquiao’s overexuberance led to getting knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez in their fourth contest, how does Roach reconcile that result with his own belief that his fighter is better off pressing the gas pedal and never letting up?

 

“I just remind him that the thing is, ‘You tell me that you want to give the fans what they want and what they want is knockouts,’ He actually agreed with me on that because we had a little discussion about what the fans really want,” said Roach. “So I said to him, ‘Manny, people love it when you’re knocking people out and that’s what made you the star you are and when you hurt these people, you can’t give them the opportunity to go more rounds because they might get lucky and knock you out like Marquez. Knock Marquez out a round earlier, there would be no questions.’

 

“So the thing is, you can’t just keep letting these guys off the hook.”

 

FIGHT NIGHT

 

Perhaps it’s not saying much but this past Friday night’s card on the NBC Sports Network from Philadelphia was the year’s best televised card thus far. Middleweight contender Curtis Stevens had to rally late to score a controversial stoppage over the talented Tureano Johnson in the 10^th and final round. Then Steve Cunningham had to get off the canvas twice in the fifth round to decision the raw-but-hard-punching Amir Mansour over 10 frames.

 

It was exciting, controversial and, most of all, entertaining. All in all, an enjoyable night.

 

Stevens needed a KO to win this fight and that’s exactly what he got with less than a minute to go after shaking Johnson with a left hook. Now this stoppage wasn’t without controversy as it seemed that referee Gary Rosato stepped in prematurely. Just my opinion, Johnson had more than earned the right to see if he could weather the storm for another split-second or two and while some will reference the tragic events between Magomed Abdusalamov and Mike Perez, that fight was one in which Magomed had taken a sustained beating. Here, Johnson had controlled much of the action. Not every (non)stoppage is the same - nor should they be.

 

As for “USS” Cunningham, you can question his size or his punch resistance but you can never question his heart or constitution. At just 206 pounds, he’ll always be an undersized heavyweight (at least for this modern era) but while you can hurt him, you can’t necessarily sink this battleship. Like the Liberty Bell, Cunningham cracked but he never broke - and he captured the USBA heavyweight title in the process.

 

There were no real losers on this night. It was the rare show in which you came away wanting to see all four participants again - and soon - on television. With a budget that is a fraction of a fraction of what the premium cable networks spend on their shows, Main Events and NBC Sports Network simply staged a great show. It’s another example of that it’s never enough to spend big on marquee names; match-ups and matchmaking are absolutely just as vital.

 

FINAL FLURRIES

 

 

A bout between middleweights Matthew Macklin and Daniel Geale will accompany the heavyweight bout between Bryant Jennings and Mike Perez on May 24^th on HBO...PR Best Boxing Promotions announced over the weekend that Rocky Martinez is ill and has been pulled from his fight against Ray Beltran on the Pacquiao-Bradley undercard. Martinez has been replaced by Arash Usmanee...Vic Darchinyan will face WBA featherweight titlist Nicholas Walters on May 31^st in Macao, China...How bout dem “Cardiac Cats” of John Calipari?...“Game of Thrones” is back. All is good in the world…

Wake becomes mandatory for Frampton, Amagasa bounces back, Takano claims a belt and Suriyan picks up a win!

Tokyo, Japan
The big show this past Wednesday came from the Korakuen Hall where fans got a real treat of a card with several notable names in significant bouts.

The most notable of the bouts was the shows main event which saw talented southpaw Shingo Wake (19-4-2, 11) show off his ability and dominate Thai veteran Mike Tawatchai (35-8-1, 21) in an IBF Super Bantamweight world title eliminator. The bout was all Wake who dropped only a round or two against a man who really had no answer to his skills, speed or movement. The fight was for the right to become Carl Frampton's mandatory and it's fair to say that Wake will be a very interested party when Frampton defends his title against Alejandro Gonzalez Jr in July.

Another notable man in action was former world title challenger Hisashi Amagasa (29-5-2, 19) who easily out pointed Patomsith Pathompothong (12-4, 5) in what was Amagasa's first bout since his loss to Guillermo Rigondeaux last December. Although Amagasa failed to get the knockout he was completely in charge from the opening round.

Another one sided bout saw popular female fighter Tomomi Takano (8-1, 5) claim her first title as she won the OPBF female Super Bantamweight title with a dominant display against Thailand's Nongbua Lookpraiaree (9-13-1, 1). Takano used her reach and height to keep Nongbua at range where she was unable to land anything of note. Although the win was a clear one for Takano it seems obvious that she was fighting a tailor made opponent who never had anything to threaten her with.

On the bottom part of this card there was a trio of 8 round under-card bouts. One of those saw the return to the ring of the touted Kenta Onjo (5-1, 3) who easily out pointed San Saknarong (2-3). This was Onjo's first bout since his surprise defeat to Jonathan Baat earlier this year.

Another of the under-card bouts saw Takaaki Ishikawa (11-6, 6) score a 4th round TKO against Kanae Onogi (6-8-1, 3) whilst another saw Kazuki Matsuyama (12-5, 6) score a 3rd round TKO against Yoshiyuki Suzuki (5-8-5, 1).

Khon Kaen, Thailand
As well as the card in Japan there was also one in Thailand.

The headline bout here saw highly regarded Bantamweight hopeful Suriyan Sor Rungvisai (42-6-1, 21) score a 2nd round KO against Filipino slugger Jomar Fajardo (14-8-2, 7). Sadly this bout ended with Fajardo suffering a nasty looking injury to his shoulder.

Another bout here saw the exciting but limited Kongfah Nakornluang (22-0, 14) defeat Filipino visitor Wilber Andogan (10-20-4, 4) in a gruelling contest. Andogan retired in his corner with what appeared to be another injury.

We also know that Jirapan Nakornluang was in action on this show though we're unsure on who he was facing or the eventual result from from the bout.

Friday Night Fights recap: Mike Tyson and Teddy Atlas, Iron Mike's sobriety, and a pair of good fights

 

Tom Casino/Iron Mike Productions

Argenis Mendez and Arash Usmanee went to a draw in tonight's main event, while Claudio Marrero was upset by Jesus Cuellar. But Mike Tyson and Teddy Atlas stole the show, including a post-fight quote from Tyson that wasn't on TV.

Tonight's ESPN Friday Night Fights had a Teddy Tantrum, some controversy in the main event, a world title that didn't change hands, and an upset in the co-feature. Mike Tyson's debut as a promoter (which is about as legit as Jack Tunney the WWF President) went pretty well in terms of in-ring entertainment, as both of the bouts on tonight's card were spirited affairs, but Tyson predictably stole the show, and after the cameras were off, perhaps not in a good way.

Tyson and ESPN commentator Teddy Atlas have a long and unpleasant history with one another, as Atlas was one of Mike's early trainers at Cus D'Amato's camp in Catskill, New York, a relationship that ended very badly in 1983, when Tyson was sexually inappropriate toward an 11-year-old niece of Atlas', which led to Atlas pulling a gun on Tyson.

The show started tonight with a shot of Atlas and Tyson at ringside, shaking hands and embracing. It was a nice moment between a man who says he has changed his ways and started to walk a new path in life (more on that in a moment) and a man who had a legitimate beef going back 30 years. Atlas only would say on camera that Tyson came to him as a man, and he respected that.

Tyson later spoke with ESPN's Todd Grisham, the host of FNF, and discussed his sobriety and his desire to make amends with people he's hurt in the past. It came off very sincere, and it probably was. Corey Erdman was on the scene tonight in Verona, New York, though, and tweeted that after the show, Tyson said, "I've been lying to everyone saying that I've been sober," admitting he hadn't drank or done drugs in just the last six days.

What you make of that -- and what you make of Mike Tyson in general, really -- is up to you. Now that we've got that all out of the way, let's just talk about tonight's fights, a pair of good scraps that closed shop on a fine season of Friday Night Fights that had an extremely limited budget, even more than before.

In the main event, Argenis Mendez (21-2-1, 11 KO) and Arash Usmanee (20-1-1, 10 KO) went to a disputed draw, with most feeling that Mendez had clearly won the fight, even if I saw nobody that had it as lopsided as Atlas, who scored it 119-109 for Mendez. BLH had it 115-113 Mendez, which was a score I saw quite a bit on Twitter, along with 116-112 for Mendez. I didn't see any 114-114s or scores for Usmanee, so in the end, it looks like Arash Usmanee started the FNF season on January 4 by getting robbed, and ended it on August 23 by getting a very lucky draw.

Atlas ranted and raved at ringside as he often does, pleading with the public (I guess?) that we need to have someone overseeing the sport's judges. My questions on that are many, but that's beside the point, really. Atlas isn't wrong when he rails against the shoddy and possibly corrupted scoring in boxing, but OK, fine. Now what? Teddy's got some connections in the sport. He'd be a great mouthpiece for some kind of serious movement of this nature. Is there anything that can actually be done, or do we all just have to sit back and accept the sport for what it is, warts and all? Probably that, but maybe not. I'd be very interested in seeing Atlas put his money where his mouth is, or whatever. I don't have any suggestions for how to go about it. That's for Atlas. He's the guy. Not me. I'm just a blogger.

Anyway, in the co-feature, Argentina's Jesus Cuellar made about 6000 people ask "What's in the water there?!?!?!" by scoring an upset over house prospect Claudio Marrero, winning on scores of 115-112, 114-113, and 116-111. BLH had it 115-112 for Cuellar, who may have been the more crude of the two, but was also by far the more determined fighter, scoring a knockdown on Marrero (14-1, 11 KO) in the sixth round and basically brawling his way to the victory. It was a really fun fight, and Cuellar (23-1, 18 KO) probably earned himself a return TV date in the States. So, too, should Marrero, who has things to work on, but did show some real promise. There's plenty of time for him to learn from this setback.

Canada’s Arash Usmanee returns to Alberta on Friday’s KO Boxing “Collision Course” card in Edmonton!

News and notes about KO Boxing’s latest “Collision Course” card featuring the Alberta homecoming of top lightweight world contender Arash Usmanee that takes place Friday night in Edmonton, Canada!

After another exciting showing on the Manny Pacquiao vs. Tim Bradley II undercard, Afghan-Canadian warrior Arash Usmanee (20-2, 10 KOs) returns home to Alberta Friday night in Edmonton when he will headline KO Boxing’s “Collision Course” card. All of the action goes down Friday night, June 13 at the beautiful Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. The action is set to get underway at 7:15pm. General Admission Tickets available at Ticketmaster.ca
“It feels great for me to be back home to showcase my talent for my family and friends,” Usmanee told FightFan.com this week. “I’m looking forward to putting on a show and excited to produce what will hopefully be another epic moment, God willing!”

Edmonton fans will be in for a treat as fast rising Alberta-based prospect Josh Wagner (4-0, 3 KOs) will fight in a co-featured bout against the always durable Dave Aucoin. The bout has fire-fight written all over it as both men like to come forward and bang, although the edge should rest with Wagner who is an adept boxer-puncher.

“I love fighting on these cards at the shaw conference centre,” Wagner told FightFan.com this week. “Mel and Milan put on great shows and I’m so happy to be a part of the team. My career is progressing just how I pictured it and it’s only going up from here. We plan on being 10-0 by the end of the year and then let the titles begin! For any Fight Fans out there… remember the name Josh ‘The Boss’ Wagner!”

Surging Canadian lightweight Cam O’Connell of Red Deer, Alberta was set to see action in the co-main event, but his opponent pulled out at the last minute and unfortunately there wasn’t enough time to find a replacement.

“I’d like to say sorry to my fans, friends and family,” O’Connell said on his Facebook page. “Unfortunately my opponent has pulled out at the last minute and a replacement couldn’t be found. I apologize to those who were planning to make the trip but I promise the card will still be a good one because my big bro Arash Usmanee was looking mean in camp and he will surely put on a great fight. Please come out and support him and what will be a great night of boxing in Edmonton!”
There is no shortage of action, however, with Cody Ries, Taylor Bull, Suki Keo, Justin Hocko and Sheena Kaine all slated to throw down.

Computational Geometry, C++ and Wykobi

A brief introduction in computational geometry algorithms using Wykobi and C++

Introduction

Good C++ computational geometry libraries to date have been hideously over-designed and incorporate usage patterns that in most cases require extensive redesigns and rewrites of code in order to functionally integrate within an existing project.

Sometimes a lightweight portable solution that has a bit of error is deemed to be more appropriate and reasonable. However these libraries even though being more than able to cater for such a requirement still burden the end user with undue code clutter, very steep learning curves and in some cases unnecessary overheads.

The solution to such a situation is to simplify use, implementation and application. This can be achieved by reducing the number of contact points between the computational geometry back-end and the developer-application combo. But at the same time giving full control of the computations and ensuing folding processes to the user to the extent where the user can decide between using a general solution for a particular problem or a more specialized solution.

For example, say you have two line segments and you want to know if they are intersecting, one could use a general solution, but say if you had prior knowledge that the line segments were either always going to be vertical or horizontal, this would allow one to use a more efficient method to obtain the same result. Typically (but not always) a generalized result is less efficient than a specialised result for the specialised case - by virtue of the fact that the generalised result has to take into account the 1001 other possible scenarios.

A possible solution to the above mentioned problem is Wykobi. Wykobi is an efficient, robust and simple to use multi-platform 2D/3D computational geometry library. Wykobi provides a concise, predictable, and deterministic interface for geometric primitives and complex geometric routines using and conforming to the ISO/IEC 14882:2003 C++ language specification.

The design and structure of Wykobi lends itself to easy and seamless integration into projects of any scale that require a robust yet efficient 2D/3D computational geometry back-end.

Wykobi as a library can be used to efficiently and seamlessly solve complex geometric problems such as collision and proximity detection, efficient spatial queries and geometric constructions used in areas as diverse as gaming, computer aided design and manufacture, electronic design and geographic information systems - just to name a few.

Wykobi provides a series of primitive geometric structures for use within the various algorithms of interest such as intersections, distances, inclusions and clipping operations.

An assessment of recent Iranian fertility trends using parity progression ratios

Abstract

Background: In 2013 a draft population bill was introduced in the Iranian Parliament. Based on the presumption that fertility in Iran had fallen to a very low level, the bill proposed a wide range of pronatalist policies with the aim of increasing fertility to 2.5 births per woman. The draft law called for restrictions on the employment of women and young single people and inducements for women to marry in their late teens. New estimates of fertility, such as those provided in this paper, cast doubt upon the view that fertility had fallen to a very low level. In May 2014 a statement issued by the Supreme Leader provided guidelines for a more moderate approach to sustaining fertility at around the replacement level.

Objective: To measure the trend in fertility in Iran, especially from 2000 onwards.
Methods: Using the 2010 IDHS, the synthetic cohort parity progression ratio method is used to measure the fertility trend in Iran. Synthetic parity progressions are compared with real cohort parity progressions to examine the presence of tempo effects. Comparison is made with age-based measures from surveys, censuses, and the birth registration system.
Results: This paper demonstrates that fertility in Iran was constant for the decade 2000-2009, at a level of around 1.8-2.0 births per woman.
Conclusions: Our findings provide evidence supporting a more moderate approach to sustaining fertility in Iran at around the replacement level.
Comments: The paper demonstrates the advantages of parity-based measurement over age-based measurement when tempo effects may be involved.