LONDON (19 Nov) – Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao believes size will be no factor as he looks to take down the ‘Goliath’ Brandon Rios this Saturday night live on BoxNation.
The Filipino powerhouse steps back into the ring for the first time since his devastating knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez last December and has called on Biblical legend to help inspire him against a man whose height advantage has led some to believe will be a key element in how the fight plays out.
The ‘Fighter of the Decade’, however, has dismissed such claims believing that the bigger they are, the harder they fall.
“Am I confident for my fight with Rios? I am more than confident,” said Pacquiao.
“Rios is bigger than me. Remember Goliath was bigger than David and yet David needed just one stone to fell the giant. I enter this fight stronger than ever.
“I have the strength of my country and my people coursing through my body. I fight for them, not for me. I fight for their glory, not mine,” he said.
The eight-division world champion’s belief that he is stronger than ever is something which has been backed by his world renowned trainer Freddie Roach.
Despite two back-to-back losses, one of those a highly contentious defeat to Timothy Bradley, Roach thinks that this will be the very best Pacquiao in a long time.
“Manny’s last training session was nothing short of amazing,” said Roach.
“We were supposed to do six rounds on the mitts and I cut it off after four rounds. They were the best four rounds of mitts I have ever done with Manny. He was blazing. He was throwing the heat. This was the happiest and most productive camp I have had with Manny in years,” he said.
“I know I predicted that Manny would knock Rios out inside six rounds but based on our last workout, I don’t see how Rios makes it past the fourth round,” Roach added.
Such bold claims appear to have had little effect on the unrelenting Rios, whose come forward, all-action style, have made him a fans favourite.
“I want to feel Manny’s power. I want to feel all of it. This is the first training camp I have kept to the game plan and done everything I was told to do. Manny Pacquiao is a big step. I am going to shut everyone up and prove I am the best,” Rios said.
“The second [Mike] Alvarado fight was my bad. I was focused on knocking him out and that’s how I trained and fought, throwing one shot at a time trying to land that knockout punch. It was also the first time I ever lifted weights and by the third round I was slowing down.
“This time I am focusing on winning – not on the knockout – and Robert and his dad have designed a lot of ways for me to do that. My body clock has finally adjusted to Macau. I slept until 7am and was in the gym before 9am,” he said.
“I know we are in Manny’s backyard and I want to win every round. I have trained not to give up a minute to Manny Pacquiao,” added Rios.
Manny Pacquiao vs. Brandon Rios is live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 437/Virgin Ch 546). Visit www.boxnation.com to subscribe.
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Countdown is on to Friday night!
LINCOLN, R.I. (Nov. 19, 2013) — Moments after Peter Manfredo Jr. sat down for Tuesday’s press conference at Twin River Casino, a waitress brought him a dinner roll with several packs of butter, a ticking time bomb for a fighter trying to keep his weight on point several days before a weigh-in.
“You must’ve had this sent to me, Rich!” joked Manfredo as he waved in the direction of his opponent, Rich Gingras, sitting at the opposite end of the table.
Manfredo, Gingras, and former four-time world champion Jaime Clampitt — all of whom now either live or train in Rhode Island — gathered Tuesday for the final leg of their press tour as they wrap up training camp in preparation for “Pride & Power” on Friday, Nov. 22, 2013, the finale of this year’s Twin River Fight Series presented by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports.
Manfredo, dubbed “The Pride Of Providence,” will face the hard-hitting Gingras (13-3-1, 8 KOs) in in the 10-round super middleweight main event while Clampitt (21-5-1, 7 KOs) will return to the ring for the first time in more than three years in her farewell fight against Brooklyn’s Dominga Olivo (8-8-1).
“I actually went and bought two VIP tickets myself,” CES president Jimmy Burchfield said. “That’s how bad I want to see this fight!”
Intra-state rivalries tend to bring out the worst in the fighters involved, but the only shots fired Tuesday were good-natured jabs between Manfredo and Gingras, who share a mutual respect for one another despite the fact they’re preparing for what could be the most difficult test of their respect careers Friday night.
“I remember watching Peter when he was on The Contender long before I even fought my first fight,” Gingras said. “He’s someone we all grew up idolizing.”
“You’re making me feel old!” quipped Manfredo.
“All kidding aside, it’s just an honor to be a part of this event. I know Rich is a tough kid who trains hard and he’s going to be ready to fight. That’s why I didn’t hesitate to take this fight. I’ve known [Gingras’ trainer] Orlondo [Valles] for a long time, too, and [trainer] Jose [Santos]. They do a great job. It’s going to be a great fight. The fans are in for a real treat.”
Former four-time world champion Jaime Clampitt will return Friday for the first time in three years when she faces Brooklyn’s Dominga Olivo on the undercard of the Manfredo-Gingras showdown at Twin River Casino.
Manfredo actually decided to retire following his win over Walter Wright in March, but is back for one more fight in honor of his close friend and former Rhode Island boxing icon Gary Balletto, who is paralyzed from the waist down following an accident at his home in July.
Clampitt also called it quits three years ago after her final fight against Holly Holm ended in bizarre fashion with Clampitt writhing in pain due to a neck injury suffered when both fighters got tangled up and fell awkwardly to the canvas. Now a mother of two, Clampitt admits it’s been difficult to walk away from the sport she grew up with since she was a teenager living in Canada.
“I had about 30 people fly out to New Mexico to watch me that night and to have it end like that was horrible,” Clampitt said of her loss to Holm in 2010. “I was devastated.
“You never truly quit boxing. It’s always a part of your life. I just couldn’t let my career end that way.”
Select tickets are available at $61.00 and $101.00 and can be purchased by calling 401-724-2253/2254, online at www.cesboxing.com or www.ticketmaster.com, or at Players Club at Twin River. All fights and fighters are subject to change.
“Pride & Power” also features a special six-round heavyweight attraction with “The Armenian Assassin” Arthur Saribekian (23-4-1, 18 KOs) returning to the ring for the first time in more than a decade to face Hyannis, Mass., product Jesse Barboza (6-1-1, 4 KOs).
Also on the undercard, Cranston, R.I., welterweight Nick DeLomba (2-0) will put his undefeated record on the line against Carlos Hernandez (3-2-1, 2 KOs) of Bridgeport, Conn., in a six-round bout and Providence middleweight KJ Harrison-Lombardi (2-0-1) will return to Twin River in a four-round bout against Mike Rodriguez of Springfield, Mass., who will be making his professional debut. Harrison-Lombardi and Rodriguez faced one another in the amateurs with Rodriguez winning a close decision. Providence light middleweight Publio Pena (1-0, 1 KO) will face Antonio Marrero (0-1) of Hartford, Conn., in a four-round bout. All fights and fighters are subject to change.