Philippine Sports News and Updates

MANILA, Philippines – Welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao obviously enjoyed his first appearance on the American late-night show “Jimmy Kimmel Live” last November that he decided to make a second visit Wednesday night in the US.

Clad in a red leather jacket, Pacquiao chatted with the show's host Kimmel about various topics like his upcoming fight with Joshua Clottey, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and his political plans in the Philippines.

Even before Kimmel was able to start asking questions, the Pinoy-dominated audience started chanting “Manny, Manny, Manny…”

“Fans are very confident that I’ll win the fight [against Clottey],” said the Filipino champ. “But for me, nobody knows.”

“He’s a former champion so I don’t underestimate [Clottey],” he added.

The Filipino boxing hero will be defending his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title against the Ghanaian fighter on March 13.

Pacquiao, who is vying for a congressional seat in Sarangani Province, also said that he’s not yet sure if he will continue fighting if he wins in the coming election.

MANILA, Philippines – Although boxing coach Freddie Roach is confident that Manny Pacquiao will demolish Joshua Clottey, he sees a very hard fight for both boxers.

The prized trainer said he thinks the March 13 bout between reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champ Pacquiao and challenger Clottey might even turn out just like the Miguel Cotto fight last November.

“Just like the Cotto fight... the first half of the fight will be really, really hard for both guys,” Roach said in an interview with FightFan.com.

Roach, who oversees Pacquiao’s training at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, California, acknowledges Clottey’s durability.

He, however, said the Ghanaian’s defense leaves much to be desired so he expects his Filipino ward to assert himself by the middle rounds.

MANILA, Philippines - This time it’s Jean Claude Van Damme dropping by just to get a glimpse of the Filipino icon.

Yes, the Wild Card Gym buzzed with unusual activity yesterday when the Belgian martial arts expert and Hollywood action star came in and joined Manny Pacquiao up in the ring as he was about to begin his daily workout.

Danny Trejo, another screen star who’s so good playing the role of a bad guy, was also there to catch Pacquiao in person.

Van Damme, according to Dr. Ed dela Vega, a Los Angeles-based orthodontist who provides the Filipino boxer with his customized mouthguards, was invited by Pacquiao to come to Texas and watch his March 13 fight.

The 50-year-old Hollywood superstar, who starred in big hits like Bloodsport, Universal Soldier and Timecop, just couldn’t say no, and should be one of the many stars to watch Pacquiao fight Ghana’s Joshua Clottey.

MANILA, Philippines - Asian powerhouse teams China and Iran can be beaten. Smart Gilas Pilipinas’ Serbian Rajko Toroman made this assessment yesterday after the Nationals arrived from Dubai where they finished third in the tough 21st Dubai Invitational.

“The teams we played in Dubai are tougher than China. As for Iran, Jackson Vroman, their import in Dubai, will not play for them in the Asian Games,” Toroman said.

Playing practically All-Filipino the whole tournament, the Nationals wound up third by beating some of the region’s powerhouse teams, including World Championship-bound Zain of Jordan.

The Filipinos could have been in the finals but lost steam in the semis against last year’s titlist Al Riyadi of Lebanon, which lost to Iran of Mahram in the finals.

Although China didn’t see action in Dubai and Iran didn’t cross paths with RP, Toroman said the Nationals have the potential to overcome the region’s powerhouse teams.