Without the shadow of a Handwrap: Cotto vs Margarito 2 Aftermath

Cotto vs Margarito 2 (Dec. 3, 2011)

Miguel Angel Cotto exacted revenge on Antonio Margarito Saturday night at the Madison Square Garden scoring with a masterful 10th round stoppage to retain his WBA Super World light middleweight title. Referee Steve Moger, acting to the advice of the ring physician, waived the fight off 3 seconds into the 10th round as Margarito's right eye looks to be in bad shape. With or without the cut, however, it seems Cotto was just too fast and superbly conditioned for Margarito to hang around.

Cotto boxed beautifully in the first round, darting in and out, moving left and right, connecting with combos inside and stinging jabs outside while Margarito dogged him tirelessly timing his right cross. The third round saw Cotto's glancing blow opened a cut on the right eye of Margarito - same cut he suffered in the Pacquiao fight. It was ominous.

From hereon, its Cotto targetting the cut and ever so confident in each round while for Margarito, its evident that the cut was bothering him - that and being without a fight for more than a year, the ring rust showed with his decreased volume of punches. By the eight canto, the right eye of Margarito has swelled and was beginning to close so much so that the ringside physician checked it couple of times before ultimately deciding to discontinue the fight.

What was the black material on the handwrap?

Cotto was the emotional favorite after it was discovered that Margarito was loaded with illegal handwraps going into the Mosley fight. Cotto believed the same kind of handwrap was used in their initial meeting (see image above) although the Margarito camp vehemently denied such allegation.

It was a cross-over fight for both - for Margarito, the right eye raises a concern that if he continue fighting he might risk it being permanently injured. Not to mention the question about his broken orbital bone in the left eye, courtesy also of Pacquiao. This very well may be the Tijuana Tornado's last fight.

For Cotto, meanwhile, its a new lease of life in his boxing career. For one, he vindicated his loss, and two, he appears to be headed for a blockbuster showdown with unbeaten Mexican superstar Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.

NBA Lockout is over!!

Oh finally, we are going to have a 2011-2012 NBA Season. NBA owners and players reached a tentative agreement early Saturday to end the 149-day lockout and hope to begin the delayed season on Christmas Day.

Neither side provided many specifics but said the only words players and fans wanted to hear."We want to play basketball," NBA commissioner David Stern said.

After a secret meeting earlier this week, the sides met for more than 15 hours Friday, working to try to save the season. This handshake deal, however, still must be ratified by both owners and players.

Stern said it was "subject to a variety of approvals and very complex machinations, but we're optimistic that will all come to pass and that the NBA season will begin Dec. 25."

Barring a change in scheduling, the 2011-12 season will open with the Boston Celtics at New York Knicks, followed by Miami at Dallas in an NBA finals rematch before MVP Derrick Rose and Chicago close the tripleheader against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

The league plans a 66-game season and aims to open training camps Dec. 9. Stern has said it would take about 30 days from an agreement to playing the first game.

So there you go, for NBA fans it was a real Christmas gift and what a way to start a season on Christmas Day. Now, free agency begins on the 9th of December and we will closely monitor the wheeling and dealing around the league. Fantasy basketball is also alive and many basketball fans will troop to fantasy websites seeking basketball fantasy glory. A big day for basketball indeed!

Pacquiao vs Mayweather - Why the Superfight Must Happen Now!

A disputed majority-decision victory for Manny Pacquiao and an infamous KO win for Floyd Mayweather Jr. – these are very un-superstar-like recent performances from the two best boxers in the planet today. Inspite of all this, the public clamor for them to fight each other never waned, giving them both the benefit of the doubt. With the superfight still projected to shatter existing records should they meet, there is a big reason why the fight must happen now and not later.

Topping my list of failed superfights happened on 2008, when Roy Jones Jr. finally faced Felix “Tito” Trinidad in the squared circle for a light heavyweight tussle. Talks about the match-up started as early as the late 1990’s when the two superstars were on top of the Pound-for-Pound ratings. When they finally inked the fight, Trinidad  had already lost to Bernard Hopkins, retired and un-retired twice while Jones had been brutally knocked out by Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson. And although the fight raked in a respectable 500k PPV buys, there was no question the luster had died out of the two superstars when they met.

Jones vs Trinidad (January 19, 2008)

Sergio Martinez, Juan Manuel Marquez, Amir Khan, Marcos Maidana, Andre Berto, Timothy Bradley, Robert Guerrero – these are the names being loosely thrown around as the next possible opponents for either Mayweather or Pacquiao. I say, forget about them and make the superfight... before one of these hopefuls show up two gears faster and stronger than they are supposed to be and spoil the fun for all of us.

Comparing ourselves

When I was a kid playing pick-up basketball, I befriended a boy who is taller than average. He was so passionate in playing that time in the moment he was the best player out there hustling, rebounding, scoring and when he blocked my lay-up was so pumped up that he raised his fist in the air with a groan "Hell yeah!". After the game we walked out of the court quenched our thirst and ready to go home. During the walk I noticed him with a tear in his eyes and asked "Are you alright? You should be happy you were excellent today". Then he admitted to me that the reason why he was on fire playing is because he was so sick and tired of his parents comparing him to his older brother who excels in school and that he felt he was a jerk and a let down. I feel for him we were young that time and yet was so sensitive about the feeling of comparing to other people particularly within your family. 

Growing up we always encounter competition. We want to be the best, most of us wants to be on top of any aspect in life. Most people I encounter loves to brag about their accomplishments in life, about being proud of their family's legacy. What if you cannot reach the level that they have? What if your family lives an ordinary setting and seeing your rich friends living a luxurious life? What if you are jobless and your circle of friends are enjoying career success? Now, you felt being a bum or a patsy. Think of a moment of STOP COMPARING OURSELVES BECAUSE IT IS A TRAP!

There will always be people who are more talented, richer, smarter, wittier or more popular than we are. At some point we each must decide, "I'm a unique individual,I don't have to be a carbon copy of my famous father or my neighbor or anybody else." Keep in mind " I am not a super hero but I am doing the best I can and working at being a better person AND I accept myself for the moment."

When we cease continually comparing ourselves, we free ourselves to appreciate other people. We then quit the mental point scoring...." Wow he got that new house, new hot gadget and new hot girlfriend! - does that mean he's better than I?" Its time to scrap the destructive "IF YOU'RE MORE, I'M LESS" notion.

Loving yourself is not a matter of boasting to all the world. It is a matter of self-acceptance - of noting your qualities as well as your own shortcomings. You have to choose to be your best friend.

Now, let's play ball and believe in ourselves..

Cinco de Mayo - A Matchmaker's Dream

Mayweather vs Dela Hoya (May 5, 2007)

Cinco de Mayo is a holiday observed annually in the United States and some parts of Mexico in celebration of a Mexican Army's victory over the French forces during the American Civil War. It is seen as a day to celebrate the culture, achievements and experiences of people with a Mexican background who live in the United States.

The last time Cinco de Mayo fell on a Saturday, the boxing world was treated with a spectacle of gigantic proportions when Floyd Mayweather Jr. taught Oscar dela Hoya a neat boxing lesson on May 5, 2007. The much-talked-about fight set the record of 2.15 million pay-per-view buys and $120 million in pay-per-view revenue breaking the previous record held by the fight between Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis..

With May 5, 2012 occurring Saturday anew, boxing fans should expect nothing less than another mega-buck fight featuring a famous Mexican boxer. I'm tossing the matchups below as the most likely fights to happen:

• Manny Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Marquez 4

Team Pacman wants another crack at Marquez after the controversial win. No doubt, this would be another hit as the mexicans would support their top boxer. Another easy money fight for both.

• Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Antonio Margarito

People have been claiming Money May ducked Margarito with not much basis. Well, this fight should silence the critics.

• Saul Alvarez vs Julio Cesar Chavez Jr

At some point, both these budding superstars will have to face tough opposition and having them fight each other at this point is the first step to becoming an elite. Somebody's "0" has got to go.

• Sergio Martinez vs Antonio Margarito 2

Martinez got beaten by Margarito via TKO in 2000, and the former is ready for a rematch. Its payback time.

• Juan Manuel Marquez vs Erik Morales

This one is high up on everyone's list of fantasy fights for about a decade now. Its better late than never. I'm intrigued on how this tactical battle would go.

• Miguel Cotto vs Juan Manuel Marquez 

With Marquez weighing 150lbs on fight night against Pacquiao, a fight with Cotto at 147 or 150 is not far-fetched. From the fight fans point of view, a puerto rican vs a mexican surely would not disappoint.

Me a late blooming gadget buff and maximizing your old gadgets.

Filipinos love gadgets. We are recognized as a top texting capital in the world. Since most Filipino families have atleast an OFW relative, we always invest to buy a gadget as a means of communicating our relatives back home such as cellular phone , laptops and tablets. Most students have gadgets nowadays you name it, touchscreen phones, netbook and android phones. But why most of us are techies despite living in a 3rd world country and yet most of us will try to invest big in gadgets in a nation where most of our countrymen are living in below poverty level. Yes, I love gadgets and I am so passionate owning the one that I love and I don't care if it is brand new, outdated or a pre-owned, in Pinoy terms " Walang basagan ng trip!"

It was funny that I don't even own the latest technological toys. I never owned an Iphone 4s, Ipad 2 and the latest consoles such as Xbox 360 and PS3. What I've got are the "ancient" ones such as the Playstation Portable (PSP), Ipod Touch 2g and the venerated Playstation 2. I never got to own an Android phone too. So you wonder why I self declare as a gadget lover where I cannot even care to buy the latest ones in the market?I am one of a lucky few who prefers to squeeze my old gadgets to their true potential...Maximize the use!

The PSP, it is said that this toy was dead long ago now with the imminent arrival of the more advanced PS Vita. No more publishers are willing to make games for the PSP because of rampant piracy and an expert saying that Sony failed with this one. Sony sold more than 70 million PSP units so its not a failure right? Their new handheld called PS Vita is still 3 months away to become available to the public. Personally I still enjoyed my PSP still playing unfinished games like Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories and continues to feed it with the latest movies inside. In the age of high definition, I am still contented to view a 480p video in PSP so no worries here mate.

Playstation 2 is now a past generation console, it was the all-time best selling gadget of all-time and up to now it is still selling in a decent amount. I only got this 3 yrs ago and I am still happy to use this as a DVD player and oh man being a late bloomer I was looking forward to enjoy playing the 6 yr old Resident Evil 4 and the 4 yr old God of War II. Its not in HD but the gameplay is the bottomline here. PS3 can wait.

The Ipod Touch was probably the most annoying gadget purchase in my life. During my stay in Australia, I bought this 2008 T3 Gadget of the Year and I encountered replacing it not just twice but thrice because of faulty screen. Yes, Apple is the best tech company in the world and sh*t happens anyway, it was worth the effort, the Iphone without the phone features. I downloaded all the apps that I like, all the cutting edge games in the Itunes store. More than 170 apps downloaded and I still enjoyed them. The wifi of this machine is a thing of joy and despite having an outdated IOS 4.0 OS I can still play the console like IOS games Dead Space and Asphalt 6. Got very usable apps such as Dropbox, Twitter, Facebook and Evernote playing a major role in files storage and social networking as well. Truly a jack for all trades machine!

I also have a laptop which sports a decent specs for downloading, surfing and spreadsheeting needs. It serves as my mother gadget in syncing my data to or from other mobile devices.

In general, I realized that technology is so fast evolving, every year we see new models of technology from electronic giants releasing a more advance product prompting gadget geeks to upgrade buying these and removing their old ones. My gadgets are considered old most of them are 3-4 years in use but somehow I found my way to utilize them to their limit feeding it with the latest apps, mp3s, movies and games at their own capacity. Someday, these will all be really obsolete and will buy a more advance device in a year or two but for now I just take my time because after all its never too late to bloom as a tech savvy bloke!

Okay, time to log out and will sync some data.....

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